Mavericks sign Cooper, Dziurzynski

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – The Kansas City Mavericks have added high-scoring forwards Mark Cooper and Darian Dziurzynski for the 2018-19 season.

The Mavericks are the ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames and the American Hockey League's Stockton Heat.

Cooper, 26, returns for his second season with the Mavericks following a team-leading 47-point campaign (23g-24a) that earned him team MVP honors last year. The Toronto, Ontario native began his professional career in the 2016-17 season, splitting time between the Rapid City Rush and the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. In 54 games with Rapid City, Cooper registered 42 points (16g-26a) to finish as the second-leading scorer on the squad.

Prior to turning pro, Cooper played college hockey at Bowling Green State University, amassing 91 points (45g-46a) in 157 career games with the Falcons. Following his senior season in 2015-16, Cooper made his AHL debut with two games with the Chicago Wolves.

Dziurzynski, 27, comes to the Mavericks following an impressive season with the Indy Fuel in which he helped guide the team to its first-ever playoff appearance with 46 points (24g-22a) in 47 games. The Lloydminster, Alberta native split the 2017-18 campaign between Indy, Rapid City (eight games), Toledo (10 games) and Slovakia’s HKM Zvolen (five games). All told, Dziurzynski ran up 51 points (25g-26a) in 65 ECHL games last year.

He first turned pro in the 2012-13 season and has played in 184 AHL games. He was selected in the fifth round (141st overall) by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. The upcoming season will be Dziurzynski’s second stint with the Mavericks, previously joining the club for 17 regular-season games during the Brabham Cup-winning 2015-16 season, totaling 13 points (10g-3a). He added four assists in 10 postseason games that season.