Tuhia he haere tonu mo tenei whitianga - I takaro a Cooke i te hockey hukapapa rangatahi i te Ontario Hockey League (OHL) mo nga tau e toru, ko te nuinga o nga Windsor Spitfires, i mua i te purei ngaio. I te tuhi i te 95-tohu whakamiharo (te tekau o te riiki katoa), 146-meneti whiu i tana wa tuarua o te OHL, i tohua ia e te 144 o te katoa e te Vancouver Canucks i te 1997 NHL Entry Draft
He aha? I hoki mai ki te OHL mo te wa tuatoru i muri i tana whakaingoatanga, i whakawhitihia ia mai i Windsor ki te Kingston Frontenacs i te Tihema 17, 1997, hei utu mo Brent L'Heureux. Ka mutu a Cooke i te wa me tana mahi OHL me Kingston.