Jason Cotton

Jason Cotton (born February 7, 1995) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Chicago Wolves.

Early life Cotton was born on February 7, 1995, in Parker, Texas to parents Peggy and Steve. He grew up the middle of three siblings and played hockey with his younger brother David.

Playing career Amateur Cotton finished the 2011–12 season with 39 points in 40 games for the Thunderbirds U16 team and planned on joining the Tri-City Storm the following season. On July 12, 2012, Cotton announced his commitment to play NCAA Division I college ice hockey with the Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey team. After playing one season with the Storm, recording six points in 45 games, He made his BCHL debut on September 20 where he scored two goals in a 5–3 win over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. As a result of his play with the Warriors, Cotton was ranked 162nd overall amongst North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau prior to the 2014 NHL entry draft. After going undrafted, he returned to the Warriors for the 2014-15 season, recording 27 goals in 58 games. He chose to forgo the remainder of his freshman year and played with the Youngstown Phantoms for the season. He returned to college for his sophomore year but was forced to redshirting for the 2016–17 season before joining the Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team. As a result of his play, Cotton was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award

Professional On March 24, 2020, Cotton concluded his collegiate career and was signed by the Carolina Hurricanes to an entry-level contract alongside his brother. His one-year, two-way contract was worth $700,000 at the NHL level and $50,000 at the American Hockey League (AHL) level. When the AHL resumed play in 2021, Cotton and David were reassigned to the Chicago Wolves and eventually became the second set of brothers to play in the same game for the Wolves.

After just 1 game with the Wolves in the 2020–21 season, Cotton was re-assigned by the Hurricanes to the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. He registered 4 goals and 6 points through 17 games before opting to conclude his professional hockey career, and mutually terminating his contract with the Hurricanes on April 7, 2021.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2012–13 Tri-City Storm USHL 45 1 5 6 8 — — — — — 2013–14 West Kelowna Warriors BCHL 50 23 36 59 14 3 0 1 1 0 2014–15 West Kelowna Warriors BCHL 58 27 31 58 28 5 1 1 2 0 2015–16 Northeastern University HE 8 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2015–16 Youngstown Phantoms USHL 28 6 5 11 4 — — — — — 2017–18 Sacred Heart University AHA 39 12 9 21 8 — — — — — 2018–19 Sacred Heart University AHA 37 9 14 23 6 — — — — — 2019–20 Sacred Heart University AHA 34 20 17 37 14 — — — — — 2020–21 Chicago Wolves AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2020–21 Fort Wayne Komets ECHL 17 4 2 6 2 — — — — —NCAA totals 118 41 40 81 30 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2012 United States IH18 7th 4 0 0 0 0Junior totals 4 0 0 0 0

Awards and honors Award YearUSHL USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2013College AHA First All-Star Team 2020 AHA Player of the Year 2020 East Second All-American Team 2020 New England D1 All-Stars 2020 New England Hines Award 2020 Hobey Baker Finalist 2020