LJ Mooney

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn

Photo by: Brady Paitrick

Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn

Position:
Forward
Ht./Wt.:
5-8 / 165
Class:
Freshman
Shoot/Catch:
R
Hometown:
West Mifflin, Pa.
Previous Team:
US NTDP U18
NHL Rights:
Montreal (2025)

PRONUNCIATION

2025-26 | FRESHMAN
• Skated in 34 of the team's 36 games in his first campaign, missing two due to injury
• Was the Gophers' top-scoring freshman behind a 30-point year on seven goals and a team-leading 23 assists
• Picked up an assist in his college hockey debut against Michigan Tech (Oct. 3) before scoring for the first time the next night
• Thirteen of his assists and 18 total points came in 18 appearances versus against top-10 opponents
• Put up nine games with multiple points, tying for the most on the team
• Tallied a season-long point streak of seven games from Jan. 16 to Feb. 6, totaling two goals and nine assists during that stretch, including three-straight multi-point outings to cap the run
• Tucked home four power-play tallies, ranking second on the team, with all four scored during a 14-game span from Nov. 29 to Feb. 26
• Posted a season-best three assists during a home victory over No. 8/7 Wisconsin (Jan. 31) as part of a five-point weekend
• Won a season-high seven faceoffs in a home win over No. 8/7 Wisconsin (Jan. 30)
• Had three outings with a plus-2 rating
• Gophers owned a 6-2-1 record when he tallied multiple points and were 5-2-0 in games he scored a goal
• Earned first letter

JUNIOR/HIGH SCHOOL
• Spent two seasons playing with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program from 2023-25 and saw the ice in 112 games
• Made 51 appearances with the U18 team in 2024-25, tallying 10 goals and 41 assists for 51 points
• Ranked fifth on the team in scoring and tallied 14 multi-point outings, including a season-high three points on five separate occasions
• Played for Team Blue in the 2025 Chipotle All-American Game
• Split time between the USNTDP U17s (41 games) and U18s (20 games) during the 2023-24 campaign
• Posted 33 points on 17 goals and 16 assists with the U17s before recording 20 points behind seven goals and 13 assists as part of the U18s
• Spent four seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite AAA program from 2020-23

INTERNATIONAL
• Posted three assists in five games as one of the youngest players on Team USA at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship
• Put together a multi-assist outing versus Slovakia (Dec. 29) and added an assist against Sweden (Dec. 31)
• Skated for Team USA at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championships in Frisco, Texas, and finished with a bronze medal
• Registered 11 points on two goals and nine assists across seven games at the tournament
• Named the Player of the Game after a two-assist performance versus Czechia (Apr. 23) in the tournament's opening contest
• Picked up a bronze medal at the 2025 U18 Five Nations Tournament after winning gold during the 2024 U17 Five Nations Tournament, where he had seven points in four games
• Helped the Americans to a silver medal in the 2024 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship in Finland

PERSONAL
• Son of John and Donna Mooney
• Father, John, spent two seasons of NCAA hockey at Colorado College (1989-91) before a professional career with the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs (1991-92) and the CHL's Memphis RiverKings (1992-93)
• Has five older sisters, Kaley, Ireland, Shannon, Brin, and Faryn
• Cousin of former Gophers' All-American center Logan Cooley
• Uncle, Tom Mooney, played four years of college hockey at Notre Dame (1984-88) and served as a team captain in 1986-87
• Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft as the 113th-overall pick