The Florida Panthers agreed to terms with undrafted goaltender Cooper Black on a two-year, entry-level contract on April 2, 2024 after the towering stopper completed his season season of NCAA hockey with Dartmouth College.
As a sophomore, Black appeared in 30 games with the Big Green in 2023-24, posting a 13-8-8 record, .910 save percentage, 2.58 goals against average and two shutouts en route to being named a finalist for the Ken Dryden ECAC Goaltender of the Year Award. The first of his two shutouts came in the 34th annual Ledyard Classic against Lake Superior State, while the other was against Clarkson, in a 3-0 victory that started a six-game Dartmouth winning streak. Black allowed only three total goals in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal sweep of Union, sending the Big Green to Lake Placid, NY for the league semifinals for the first time since 2015-16.
Black’s freshman season saw him start all 30 of Dartmouth’s games. He finished the campaign with 790 saves, a .899 save percentage and a 3.07 goals against average. He recorded his first career shutout with a 28-save performance in a 6-0 rout over Yale on November 4, 2022. He blanked Yale again on January 21 and also posted a shutout on home ice against Union in February. He was named the ECAC Hockey MAC Goaltending Goaltender of the Week on November 7. Black attended development camp with the Colorado Avalanche after the season.
Prior to enrolling at Dartmouth, Black led the Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) to a Coastal Conference championship in 2021-22. He finished with a league-leading .924 save percentage, and went 24-7-1 with a 2.62 goals against average and two shutouts.
After inking his entry-level deal, Black made his professional debut on April 21, 2024, while on a PTO with the Charlotte Checkers (a 4-1 loss to Lehigh Valley) and then attended both development and training camp with the Panthers.
Black earned his first AHL win on October 26, 2024 in a 5-2 victory over the Bridgeport Islanders, In addition to collecting the “W”, he also drew an assist in the game. He posted the first of his three shutouts on November 30, when he made 23 saves to blank the Iowa Wild in front of a delighted crowd at Bojangles Coliseum.
Due to the presence of veterans Chris Driedger, Ken Appleby and Kaapo Kähkönen, Black appeared in just 17 games, but his numbers were exactly what one wants to see in a ascending goaltending prospect. He went 11-4-1 with an impressive 1.98 goals against average and .910 save percentage, making the most of his limited opportunities.
Black also toiled in seven ECHL games with the Savannah Ghost Pirates. He went 4-3 with a 3.07 goals against average and .910 save percentage.
This past season saw Black take the number one role with Charlotte and run with it. He played in 42 games and posted a 25-13-4 record, 2.47 goals against average and .903 save percentage. Black’s 25 wins were fourth-most in the league and his 2501:53 of time between the pipes ranked eighth. His only shutout of the campaign came on February 6, when he made 27 saves to blank the Grand Rapid Griffins.
He stopped 58 of 65 shots faced in the opening round of the playoffs as the Checkers were stunned in three games by the Springfield Thunderbirds. Black’s stat line for the series was a 1-2 record, 2.16 goals against average and .892 save percentage. His teammates couldn’t come up with a second goal in Game 3 to get Charlotte to the next round.
After signing a two-year, two-way contract extension on June 8, Black is slated to be back with the Checkers this season, where he will share the net with fellow prospects Kirill Gerasimyuk and Tyler Muszelik, who recently joined the organization after starring at UConn. He will most likely be the first call-up option if Jacob Markstrom or Akira Schimd suffer an injury.