Cole Tyler Koepke (born on May 17, 1998) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

currently playing for the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). As a member of the

Sioux City Musketeers The Sioux City Musketeers are a junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Musketeers' home ice is Tyson Events Center. The team was founded in 1972, and has won three Anderson Cups a ...

, Koepke was drafted 183rd overall by the

in the

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

. He then played three seasons with the

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The team play ...

team before joining the

of the

(AHL).

Early life

Koepke was born on May 17, 1998, in

Hermantown, Minnesota Hermantown is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 10,221 at the 2020 census. A suburb of Duluth, it was at one point the only city in the county to grow in population, as much of the area's residential and ...

, U.S to parents Jim and Julie Koepke. He began playing ice hockey after watching his older brother Travis play the sport. As a student at Hermantown High School, Koepke played defence on their varsity soccer team. He also served as a senior assistant team captain as the hockey team captured the 2015–16 Minnesota State High School Class A title. During the tournament, he scored four goals and two assists in their 11–3 quarterfinals win and finished their state championship run with 11 total points.

Playing career

Following high school, Koepke joined the

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

(USHL) for two seasons and served as an assistant captain for one. He played 22 games as a rookie, recording five points and time on the penalty kill and the power play, before being sidelined due to a knee injury. Early in the 2017–18 season, Koepke signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

with the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

. Leading up to the

, Koepke was ranked 215th among North American skaters by the

NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the profe ...

. He concluded the season with 28 goals and 39 points in 60 games and was eventually drafted in the sixth round, 183rd overall, by the

. Following the draft, Koepke was invited to participate in their Development Camp.

Collegiate

Koepke joined the

team as a rookie for their 2018–19 NCAA season. During the season, he often skated on the left wing on a line with Parker Mackay and

Justin Richards Justin Richards (born 14 September 1961) is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day. He has written ...

who helped him record 19 points. At the conclusion of the season, Koepke helped the Bulldogs captured their second-consecutive national championship. The following season, Koepke reigned as the

National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference formed on July 9, 2011. The league began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a combina ...

(NCHC) leader in goals and completed his sophomore season riding a 10-game scoring streak. He ended his sophomore campaign with 33 points in 34 games and earned first-team all-NCHC and second-team All-American honors. Koepke returned to the Bulldogs for the 2020–21 NCAA season and served as an assistant captain. During his junior season, Koepke lead the team in shots with 115 and finished second on the team in goals. He helped the Bulldogs return to the NCAA finals, recording one goal, as the team lost to the eventual champions

University of Massachusetts Minutemen The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the ''Minutemen'' nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as ...

. At the conclusion of the season, Koepke was again named to the first-team all-NCHC and a

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton University ...

nominee.

Professional

Koepke officially concluded his collegiate career by signing a two-year entry level contract with the Lightning on April 13, 2021. Following the signing, he joined their

(AHL) affiliate, the

, for the remainder of the season. In his second game with the Crunch, Koepke scored his first professional goal in a 7–1 win over the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wit ...

. On October 11, 2022, Koepke made his NHL debut with the Lightning. Koepke skated on the Lightning's third line in a loss to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koepke, Cole Living people 1998 births People from Hermantown, Minnesota AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey right wingers Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey players Minnesota Wilderness players Sioux City Musketeers players Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Tampa Bay Lightning players