Playing career
.
Club
Cooper started his senior ice hockey career with the Durham Wasps during the 1984–85 season when he was still playing junior ice hockey with the Wasps' junior team, the Durham Hornets. Appearing for the Wasps 30 times that season, he scored just three goals. His career took off the following season when he appeared exclusively for the Wasps and scored 38 goals and 36 assists in all competitions and helped the Wasps to retain their British Hockey League (BHL) Premier Division title. [1]
Cooper stayed with the Wasps for two more seasons — being named to the 1988 BHL all-star team along the way [2] — before an ambitious Cardiff Devils in Division 1 of the BHL offered him enough money to play full-time and signed him and his brother for the 1988–89 season. Cooper helped Cardiff to win the promotion playoffs to the Premier Division as well gaining his second all-star team award. [3] The following season, Cooper helped the Devils to win the league championship and the playoffs.
Being able to get professional wages in his home town, Cooper returned to the Durham Wasps for the 1990–91 season where he helped them to win a grand slam of the Norwich Union Trophy, the league championship and the playoffs. After helping the Wasps to retain the league championship and the playoffs in the 1991–92 season, Cooper returned to the Cardiff Devils for the 1992–93 season. During his six seasons with the Devils, Cooper helped them to win two league championships and two playoffs in the BHL and one league championship and a Bensons & Hedges Cup in the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL).
Cardiff did not renew Cooper's contract in 1998 and he joined the London Knights as captain for their inaugural campaign in the 1998–99 season of the ISL. He stayed with the Knights for 18 months until they arranged his move to the Guildford Flames where he finished the 1999&] in the BNL and then 10 games for the Chelmsford Chieftains in the English Premier Ice Hockey League, Cooper retired from ice hockey moved into media management as a career.
International
Cooper first appeared for the Great Britain national ice hockey team when he represented his country at the under-18 level in 1985. He has made a total of 80 appearances for the national team in the under-18, under-20 and the senior teams. During his time with the senior team he helped them climb the international ranks from Pool D to Pool A of the Ice Hockey World Championships before cementing their position in Pool B. Cooper described the Pool B gold medal he won in 1993 as "something special".
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