Coop is Back! Leading Scorer Marody Returns

Signs Two-Year Deal with Phantoms

July 30, 2024

Allentown, PA – One of the most popular players on the Phantoms over the last two seasons is coming back! The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have signed forward Cooper Marody to a two-year contract to run through the 2025-26 season.

Marody, 27, is the team’s leading goal-scorer and point-producer over the past two seasons with 34 goals and 95 points in 115 games for the Phantoms. He was tops on the team in the 2023-24 season scoring 19-37-56 in 68 games. He went on to rack up five assists in Lehigh Valley’s Calder Cup Playoff run which included a thrilling first-round sweep of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Marody was especially proficient on the man-advantage finishing tied for third in the AHL with 20 power-play assists and tied for sixth with 26 power-play points. He is eighth in Lehigh Valley history with 62 career assists and also rates  11th in goals with 34 and 12th in points with 96. He is in line to become just the 10th player in Lehigh Valley history to reach the 100-point milestone with the team.

The Brighton, Michigan native has also been an active and frequent representative of the Phantoms in the team’s community outreach efforts and was one of the team’s recipients of the first-ever Community Spirit Award in the 2022-23 season. Marody personally presented a postgame testimonial following the team’s Faith Night game on March 3. He has also engaged in multiple visits to patients at Lehigh Valley Health Network and helped grow the sport in our region via appearances at Phantoms Youth Hockey practices.

“Cooper embodies what a true fan favorite is all about. He competes hard on the ice, successfully battling through adversity and raising his teammates higher, and all the while fully embracing the fans and community,” said Rob Brooks, owner of the Phantoms. “Cooper is not only an excellent player, but also a fantastic person, always volunteering and taking a leading role in our community initiatives. We are very proud to have Cooper back on our team and in our community!”

Marody is pleased to have the opportunity to return to the Valley and continue building on the team’s success and accomplishments. He’s hungry for more!

“It was a great last season that we had,” Marody said. “Being able to make a run in the playoffs was fun. And I think we’re really excited for this year because we should have a great team with our re-signings and other free-agent signings. And (young) guys gaining another year of experience should really help our team. I’m really looking forward to getting going.”

Marody is one of the top producers in the American Hockey League over the past six seasons. Since his first full campaign in the 2018-19 season, Marody is tied for fifth in the AHL with 178 career assists and is eighth with 281 career points. He is also second in assists and points among all who played in the Eastern Conference last year trailing only Alex Barre-Boulet of Syracuse.

Marody led the way in Lehigh Valley’s thrilling comeback win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on February 21, 2024 when he scored the tying goal with under nine minutes left before blasting home the overtime winner against the rival Baby Pens.

Marody has two career hat tricks with the Phantoms and is only the fifth player in Lehigh Valley history with multiple trifectas. On March 29, 2024 he became just the second Lehigh Valley Phantom (joining Danick Martel) to record a hat trick in consecutive seasons when his three-goal performance led the way in a wild 6-4 victory at the Syracuse Crunch.

His first hat trick with the Phantoms two seasons ago was even cooler. His third goal of the contest came with just 48.5 seconds remaining and with the goaltender pulled to force overtime against the Belleville Senators on March 11, 2023. He then perfectly set up Ronnie Attard cutting to the net to finish an overtime triumph and the historic 1,000th win in franchise history.

Another enjoyable career highlight came on December 17, 2022 when his goal unleashed a chaotic torrent of thousands of stuffed plushies during the Phantoms’ annual Teddy Bear Toss game.

For his entire career with Bakersfield and Lehigh Valley, Marody has scored 103 goals with 178 assists for 281 points. Marody won the league’s Willie Marshall Award in the abbreviated 2020-21 season when led the league with 21 goals while playing for the Bakersfield Condors. The University of Michigan product has also played in seven career NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers.

Marody was originally a Round 6 draft selection of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015 but was traded to Edmonton in 2018 while he was still playing collegiately at Michigan. He returned to the organization in 2022 when he signed as a free agent with the Flyers.

 

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms officially begin the 2024-25 season with Opening Night at PPL Center on October 12 against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Phantoms Premier Memberships for the upcoming 2024-25 season are available now. Your year-long membership includes tickets to all Phantoms home games inside PPL Center as well as year-round benefits and experiences exclusive to Premier Members.

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