Cooke with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
Born	September 7, 1978 (1978-09-07) (age 31), Belleville, ON
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team F. teams	Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Vancouver Canucks
Ntl. team	Canada
NHL Draft	144th overall, 1997 Vancouver Canucks
Pro career	1998 – present

Matt David Cooke (born September 7, 1978, in Belleville, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. His playing style has made him effective as a "pest" and he is therefore known for his ability to aggravate opponents to his team's advantage. He has so far won one Stanley Cup, with Pittsburgh during the 2008-2009 NHL season.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 International play 3 Personal 4 Awards 5 Career statistics 5.1 International 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Playing career

Cooke played major junior in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons predominantly with the Windsor Spitfires prior to playing professionally. Recording an impressive 95-point (10th overall in the league), 146-penalty-minute campaign in his second OHL season, he was drafted 144th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Returning to the OHL for a third season after being drafted, he was traded from Windsor to Kingston on December 17, 1997, in exchange for Brent L'Heureux. Cooke would finish the season and his OHL career with Kingston.

Splitting the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons between the Canucks and their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, Cooke would play for the Canucks full-time in 2000-01.

Typically playing in the role of a checking winger, Cooke recorded a career-high 42 points in 2002–03 and earned the Fred J. Hume Award as the team's unsung hero.^[1] Continuing to show offensive capabilities, after returning from an injury in 2003–04, he was promoted to the Canucks' top line towards the end of the season. On account of Todd Bertuzzi's infamous suspension, Cooke joined Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison on the Canucks' top line for the final thirteen games of the season and the playoffs.^[2]

Perhaps Cooke's most memorable moment with the Canucks occurred during this stint on the first line as the Canucks entered the 2004 playoffs against the Calgary Flames. With the Canucks down by a goal in the final minute of the series-deciding seventh game, Cooke drove the net on a Markus Naslund rush and dramatically tied the score with 5 seconds to go in regulation – it was also Cooke's second goal of the game. However, as the Canucks were short-handed at the time, Calgary began the overtime period on the powerplay and clinched the series.^[3]

After a year of inactivity on account of the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Cooke would play two more full seasons with the Canucks, scoring at a similar pace. However, with Cooke's contract set to expire at the end of the 2007–08 season, he was sent to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Matt Pettinger at the trade deadline. The trade ended Cooke's tenure with the Canucks in his ninth season with the club. At the time of the trade, he was 12th all-time in games played as a Canuck with 556.^[4]

Finishing the 2007–08 season, Cooke would play 17 games with the Capitals, scoring 7 points. In the off-season, on July 5, 2008, Cooke signed a two-year, $2.4-million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.^[5] He injured his ribs in his first season with the Penguins in October, missing four games, but was able to return by the end of the month.^[6] On December 2, 2008, he was named to the rotating position of alternate captain for the Penguins for the month of December.^{[citation needed]} The next month, Cooke was suspended for two games on January 27, 2009, for a headshot that he delivered to Carolina Hurricanes forward Scott Walker seven days earlier. He was assessed a minor penalty for interference on the play.^[7] He won his first Stanley Cup in 2009 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

[edit] International play

Medal record
Competitor for  Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
Gold	2004 Czech Republic

Cooke made his first international appearance, playing for the Canadian national junior team at the 1998 World Junior Championships. He scored 2 points in 6 games, but could not help Canada medal, losing to Russia in the quarter-finals. He then competed for Team Canada at the 2004 World Championships. Named to the team with Vancouver Canucks teammate Brendan Morrison, Cooke helped Canada clinch gold, tallying 4 points in 9 games.

[edit] Personal

Matt has been married to Michelle since 2001 and has 3 kids^[8]; 8 year old daughter Reece Lynn Cooke and 6 year old son Jackson Cooke as well as Michelle's 16 year old daughter Gabby who Matt adopted.

Matt and wife Michelle run a foundation called The Cooke Family Foundation of Hope ^[9], that's based out of Vancouver.

[edit] Awards

• Fred J. Hume Award (Vancouver Canucks' unsung hero) - 2003
• Gold medal (Team Canada) - 2004 World Championships
• Stanley Cup Champion - 2009

[edit] Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1995–96	Windsor Spitfires	OHL		61	8	11	19	102		7	1	3	4	6
1996–97	Windsor Spitfires	OHL		65	45	50	95	146		5	5	5	10	10
1997–98	Windsor Spitfires	OHL		23	14	19	33	50		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Kingston Frontenacs	OHL		25	8	13	21	49		12	8	8	16	20
1998–99	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		30	0	2	2	27		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		37	15	18	33	119		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		51	5	7	12	39		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		18	5	8	13	27		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		81	14	13	27	94		4	0	0	0	4
2001–02	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		82	13	20	33	111		6	3	2	5	0
2002–03	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		82	15	27	42	82		14	2	1	3	12
2003–04	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		53	11	12	23	73		7	3	1	4	12
2005–06	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		45	8	10	18	71		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		81	10	20	30	64		1	0	0	0	2
2007–08	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		61	7	9	16	64		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Washington Capitals	NHL		17	3	4	7	27		7	0	0	0	4
2008–09	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		76	13	18	31	101		24	1	6	7	22
NHL totals				659	99	142	241	753		63	9	10	19	56

[edit] International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998	Canada	WJC		6	1	1	2	6
2004	Canada	WC		9	2	2	4	8
Junior int'l totals				6	1	1	2	6
Senior int'l totals				9	2	2	4	8

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Matt Cooke's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Matt Cooke's NHL player profile