A product of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, Cole has made his mark in the NHL.

Cole was the No. 18 selection by the St. Louis Blues in the 2007 NHL Draft after completing his second season with the national team program. He headed straight to college as a true freshman at Notre Dame and went on to become the highest-drafted hockey player in school history.

As a freshman, he led Notre Dame defensemen with eight goals, helping the Fighting Irish advance to the 2008 Frozen Four championship game.

Before playing in the NHL, the native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, represented the United States three times, winning a silver medal at the World Under-18 Championship in 2007 before appearing in the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2008 and 2009.

After his junior year with Notre Dame, Cole turned pro and signed with the Blues. He appeared in nine games with Peoria in the American Hockey League in 2010 before making his NHL debut on Nov. 6 of that year.

Cole split time between St. Louis and Peoria for three seasons before finding a regular role with the Blues at the start of the 2014-15 season. But after 167 games and five seasons with St. Louis, Cole was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 2, 2015.

Cole saw his ice time increase following the trade and settled into a stay-at-home role with the Penguins. Though Cole is not known for his offense, the first playoff goal of his NHL career proved important; he opened the scoring in Pittsburgh's 3-1 victory in Game 4 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, a series the Penguins would win in six games.

Cole had nine assists in 25 playoff games in 2017 when the Penguins won a second straight Cup. He spent most of the 2017-18 season with Pittsburgh before being traded twice in a three-day span in February 2018 and ending up with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

An unrestricted free agent, Cole agreed to a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 28, 2021. He signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 13, 2022.