Saskatoon Blades forward Cooper Williams commits to UND – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — UND coach Dane Jackson said in his introductory press conference last month that he wants the Fighting Hawks to be a leader in recruiting Western Canada.

On Friday, UND landed one of the top-performing young players in the Western Hockey League.

Saskatoon Blades forward Cooper Williams, who tallied more points than any 2008-born player in the WHL this season, announced his commitment to UND on Instagram.

Williams scored 21 goals and tallied 57 points in 68 regular-season games for the Blades.

The 6-foot, 150-pound Calgary native was one of six finalists for the WHL’s Rookie of the Year honor.

“He’s very, very smart,” Saskatoon coach Dan DaSilva told

Global News

in December. “He has a high hockey IQ. He’s in the right position. He knows where to go on the ice — both offensively and defensively. That’s his biggest asset, I’d say, is his ability to think and to read plays.”

Williams, 17, is expected to return to the Blades next season. His date of arrival on campus is yet to be determined.

Williams, who is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, visited UND last week.

“It was awesome,” he said. “Everything was so cool. I met a couple of guys on the team. They were awesome. The staff was awesome as well.”

Williams said he had been thinking about attending college for a while. He signed with Saskatoon, but in November, the NCAA changed its rules to allow players from the three Canadian Hockey Leagues to retain their college eligibility.

“I was thinking about (college) for a while now, even before the WHL Draft,” Williams said. “It was a 50-50 split. It’s awesome that the rules changed.”

Williams said he knew about UND because of former Fighting Hawks defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, who helped coach hockey at Williams’ elementary school in Calgary.

“I talked to one other school over the phone, but I didn’t want to check out other schools,” Williams said. “(At UND), the facilities are great, the campus is unreal and it just seemed like the right fit for me.”

Williams is the second 2008-born player to commit to UND, joining West Fargo’s Keaton Jundt.

UND has a commitment from one 2009-born player in forward Eli McKamey, who accelerated his education and will be a senior next year.

The Fighting Hawks have been busy building the 2025-26 roster since Jackson was announced as head coach in late March.

Their 2025 commitments have included freshmen Jack Kernan (center) and Jan Špunar (goaltender). They’ve also picked up transfers Ellis Rickwood (Clarkson center), Anthony Menghini (Minnesota Duluth winger), Isaac Gordon (Michigan Tech winger), Gibson Homer (Arizona State goaltender) and Zach Sandy (Minnesota Duluth goaltender).

Williams is the first non-2025 commit of the Jackson era.

Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.