Cooke: A 4th round pick that hit the bullseye

Is Jordon Cooke the best goaltender the Kelowna Rockets have ever drafted? Without hesitation, the answer is yes. Taken in the fourth round of the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft, 79^th overall, Cooke is the highest drafted goaltender by the organization since Josh Lepp was taken 4^th overall in 2000.  Lepp never came close to elite status and will be considered a first round failure. It happens. Every team has a similar story. You have to think Josh Lepp’s lack of success may have scared the organization off from selecting a goalie with that coveted first round pick? They haven’t come close to taking a goalie that high in 12 subsequent drafts. Do you blame them? Whether it was pure luck or a calculated move, nabbing Cooke in the 4^th round was not only gutsy for the Rockets scouts, who may have felt they got burned in the past, but it will now go down as the best drafted player Lorne Frey and his crew have selected at that critical position.
Now 20, Cooke boasts the best goals against average in the WHL. A 1.85 average, Cooke’s record reflects the team’s success. A personal 8-0-0-2 mark, Cooke was instrumental in back-to-back wins in Victoria on the weekend.
In a 4-1 win Friday night, Cooke had to make two penalty shot saves in the teams’ 8^th win of the season and then was named the first star in a 2-1 shootout victory one night later. Over the weekend, Cooke stopped 61 of 63 shots he faced.  Those numbers only add to the success he has had in the month of October.   In seven starts, Cooke is 6-0-0-1, with a glowing goals against average of 1.67 and a save percentage of .947. Those numbers are one of many reasons why the Kelowna Rockets sit atop the BC Division standings with 9 wins and only two regulation losses after 13 games.