Vancouver’s Hidden Gem: Braeden Cootes and His Quest for an NHL Spot

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Canucks preseason is here which means NHL hockey is almost back! Even with the loss to the Kraken on Sunday, the Canucks got to see some very promising play from their younger players, specifically their 15th overall pick Braeden Cootes. Who is Braeden Cootes and why should you be excited to have him in Vancouver? Lets get into it!

Braeden’s Journey Pre NHL

In his youth Braeden played Hockey for a local team in Sherwood Park Alberta before moving to B.C. when he was 14 to play for Abbotsfords Yale hockey academy for one year. After his time in Abbotsford the Sherwood Park native had spent the next 3 years playing in the WHL for the Seattle Thunderbirds. During his 3 seasons for the hockey club he thrived, and even captained the team and was youngest captain in the WHL last season. Not to mention he also captained the Canadian U18 team to a gold medal in 2024. Being so young yet holding such a big responsibility definitely played a part as to why he was ranked No.15  in the first round of this years draft.

What He Can Bring to The Canucks

Cootes is a natural leader and has a quiet confidence that later down the line the Canucks may really benefit from. Not only is he a great 2 way player but he also has the ability to take the game into his own hands and create plays and score goals. He has gotten the Brayden Point comparison quite a bit and tries his best to copy the game style of the Tampa Bay centre. Although he was unfortunately an Edmonton Oilers fan growing up and even described being upset when they lost in the finals again this year, he said he has now moved on and is fully committed to the Canucks organization and prioritizes winning before all else.

How Soon Can He Break Into The Team?

The way the current Vancouver roster is looking, all the young players are gonna be having to fight tooth and nail for a place in the lineup. The Canucks have some amazing young talent coming up from Abbotsford Canucks all wanting their shot to play for first team. I think we will see Cootes playing with the Canucks quite a bit this season and if he continues to play how he has started pre season, we could see him playing in the team full time in less than 2 years.

How do you feel about Braeden Cootes in his first pre season game?