| Paul Cotter | |
| Birth Date: | 16 November 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Canton, Michigan, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 0 |
| Weight Lb: | 198 |
| Position: | Left wing |
| Shoots: | Left |
| League: | NHL |
| Team: | New Jersey Devils |
| Prospect League: | AHL |
| Former Teams: | Vegas Golden Knights |
| Draft Year: | 2018 |
| Draft: | 115th overall |
| Draft Team: | Vegas Golden Knights |
| Career Start: | 2019 |
Paul Cotter (born November 16, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Vegas Golden Knights, who drafted him in 2018 and with whom he won the Stanley Cup in .
After playing his draft-eligible season with the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and recording 18 goals and 39 points in 51 games, Cotter was selected in the fourth round, 115th overall, by the Vegas Golden Knights at the 2018 NHL entry draft.[1]
Although Cotter began the 2018–19 season with Western Michigan University, he left in November 2018 after appearing in eight games and signed with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), in part because he believed going the major junior route would help him secure an entry-level contract with Vegas. He recorded just one point in his college hockey career, an assist.[2]
During the, Cotter was recalled by the Golden Knights and made his NHL debut on November 9, 2021, against the Seattle Kraken. On November 11, he scored his first NHL goal against Cam Talbot of the Minnesota Wild.[3]
Cotter, as a rookie, spent the entire, on Vegas' roster, ultimately playing 55 regular-season games and recording 13 goals. Vegas would ultimately go on to win the Stanley Cup Finals; although Cotter did not play any playoff games, he automatically qualified for inscription on the Stanley Cup by playing in over half of Vegas' 82 regular-season games.[4]
On June 29, 2024, Cotter was traded by the Golden Knights to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Alexander Holtz and Akira Schmid.[5]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2016–17 | Brookings Blizzard | NAHL | 59 | 28 | 32 | 60 | 103 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Lincoln Stars | USHL | 51 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 64 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2018–19 | Western Michigan University | NCHC | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | London Knights | OHL | 48 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 56 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Henderson Silver Knights | AHL | 38 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Henderson Silver Knights | AHL | 59 | 20 | 15 | 35 | 62 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 55 | 13 | 5 | 18 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 76 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 138 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Award | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAHL | |||
| Central Forward of the Year | 2017 | ||
| Central MVP | 2017 | ||
| All-Central Division Rookie Team | 2017 | ||
| All-Central Division Team | 2017 | ||
| All-Rookie First Team | 2017 | ||
| First All-Star Team | 2017 | ||
| Rookie of the Year | 2017 | ||
| USHL | |||
| All-Rookie Team | 2018 | ||
| NHL | |||
| Stanley Cup champion | 2023 | [6] | |