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New York Times
5 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Why the Canucks landed on Braeden Cootes with 2025 first-round pick
Late this season, new Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes was dealing with a hip injury. During a year in which the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds were rebuilding but were nonetheless led to the postseason by their fiery, precocious 17-year-old captain, the decision was made to rest Cootes for a couple of games late in the schedule. Advertisement It was precautionary. Seattle wanted to give Cootes some time to rest, heal up and get back to playing at full tilt before the playoffs. 'We kept him out for a couple of games,' Seattle general manager Bil La Forge recalled to The Athletic on Friday evening, 'So after the game-day skate, he was playing some two-on-two with the scratches against our coaches, and he just can't handle losing. 'He's just out there to get a sweat, but he was going way too hard. Harder than we wanted him to go! 'He just couldn't accept that they weren't winning that game. That's Braeden. There's no event, no competition, whether it's pickleball against his teammates, or little drills in practice, that he doesn't want to win.' 'Oh yeah,' laughed Thunderbirds head coach Matt O'Dette, recalling that game day skate. 'The coaches took some lumps there when Cootesy was injured.' 'I do remember that skate,' Cootes told The Athletic on Friday, following his selection by the Canucks with the 15th pick at the 2025 NHL Draft. 'I remember it vividly,' he added for emphasis. 'The thing is our assistant coaches, Carter Cocharne and Taylor Makin, they're really into those two-on-twos during the scratch skates,' Cootes continued. 'And they love to celebrate when they win. 'I wasn't going to let that happen. Even if my hip was dinged up.' It's an anecdote that captures why Cootes has a chance to be special. After all, the newest Canucks prospect doesn't have the glitziest statistical profile. His draft-season scoring profile isn't particularly high-end, and compares most closely to third-line centres like Jarrett Stoll, Brandon Sutter and Cody Eakin. Good players who had good careers and were capable of helping teams win, but not exactly players with superstar upside. Cootes is widely viewed by amateur scouts as a player with a very high floor due to his high work rate, solid skating ability and that he's a right-handed centre who's likely to stick in the middle as he moves up to the professional ranks despite lacking prototypical NHL size for the position. Advertisement However, he has been painted as having somewhat of a low ceiling, with some east-west playmaking limitations. Even Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin on Friday night touted Cootes as having 'middle-six upside.' That's not to say that Cootes was a reach with No. 15 pick that the Canucks, even if, in their heart of hearts, would've preferred to find a way to trade for win-now help down the middle of their forward group. Cootes was absolutely in range, value-wise, for where the Canucks selected him in the middle of the first round. However, Cootes' scoring profile requires some context. Seattle was the sixth-lowest scoring team in the WHL, which limited Cootes' opportunities to manufacture offence. In his age-17 campaign, Cootes led the team in scoring, and did so while only picking up one-third of his points on the power play. Cootes' overall scoring profile in his draft year doesn't remotely compare to similarly gifted, undersized top-six NHL centres like Nick Suzuki or Brayden Point, but he'd hardly be the first mid-first-rounder to round out his offensive game toward the tail end of his teenage years and become a top-of-the-lineup type option. We've seen it in the past with players like Bo Horvat or Florida Panthers pivot Anton Lundell. And if it's going to happen for Cootes, it's going to be because of his hard-driving personality. That overwhelming hatred of losing. The same stuff that caused him to battle on an injured hip because he couldn't stand the idea of his assistant coaches celebrating a win in a rinse skate drill. 'I have two brothers, so that's for sure where it started,' Cootes said of his competitive edge. 'It's something I was born with. 'I don't like to lose. In fact, I hate losing more than I even like winning.' Evaluating potential NHL players as 17- or 18-year-old men is nearly impossible to do accurately and scientifically, even for professional evaluators. Advertisement At the draft, NHL amateur scouting departments do their best to place the best bet possible on the most talented players, but there's so many factors — health, personality, situation, development, the ability to retain information, the discipline required to add strength or improve skating mechanics — that will shape outcomes every bit as much as talent will. There were, arguably, higher upside bets than Cootes still available on the board when Vancouver made its selection. Cootes, however, has the sort of personality and character where the Canucks felt confident that he would do everything in his power to maximize that potential. '(His character) along with the position where he plays, and being a right-shot center, which is extremely hard to get in the league, and for a young player like him, what he brought to the team in Seattle and around Hockey Canada too, he's an impressive young man,' Allvin said in explaining Vancouver's thought process in selecting Cootes. 'He doesn't get outworked off the ice, and he doesn't get outworked on it,' La Forge said. 'He's responsible, his number one care isn't his name bar, it's the crest. He plays for his team, he plays for his teammates. He's a special human being.' Which is why the Thunderbirds made Cootes their captain at 17 years old. He was the youngest captain in the WHL last season. 'When it comes to that, we didn't make him captain,' La Forge said, 'he made himself the captain of our team with the way he carries himself … He was the captain before we gave him the 'C.'' 'Sometimes when you make a 17-year-old your captain, there's going to be some grumbling from the older guys on your team,' O'Dette added. 'Not with Cootesy, though. I think everyone just knew.' In the big picture, for this Canucks team at this moment, adding a top centre prospect like Cootes is probably a better use of the 15th pick than spending it on a win-now centre — unless that win-now centre was under 25, and an already established top-six option. Advertisement Vancouver was a motivated buyer and was willing to sell its first-round pick, but was ultimately unable to find the sort of deal it had hoped to. Allvin noted, following the draft, that the trade market simply didn't bear much in the way of active players for first-round picks outside of the Noah Dobson to Montreal mega-deal. 'I've been aggressive for a couple of months here, but I think the reality is, you look around the league, most of the teams are looking for roster players,' Allvin said Friday. 'Usually, you can see some transactions regarding roster players with first-round picks, but that was not the case this year.' Selecting Cootes may not have been plan A. And it's worrying that just like at the trade deadline, Canucks hockey operations leadership was publicly citing market forces beyond their control to explain their inability to achieve what they'd wanted (to sell Brock Boeser at the deadline, and to utilize the 15th pick to acquire win-now help at the draft). Zooming out, though, for a Canucks team that's in desperate need of hitting some home runs — not just connecting on some singles, or even doubles with short-term goals in mind — to add value to their organization, adding a prospect of Cootes' quality isn't a consolation prize. In fact, Cootes is precisely the sort of high-variance bet that the Canucks should be making in bulk. It's a bet on a top prospect with real potential, and perhaps more importantly, a bet on a high-quality person willing to empty the tank to reach it.
National Post
6 hours ago
- Sport
- National Post
Canucks' new draft Braeden Cootes wants to be Brayden Point
The Seattle Thunderbirds have become an NHL prospect engine and the Vancouver Canucks have jumped aboard. Article content That much is clear after snagging centre Braeden Cootes 15th overall at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, a player everyone says plays with heart, has sneaky-good skills and, above all else, is a top-notch leader. Article content Article content He was captain of the Thunderbirds and captain of the Canada U18s. Leadership is his thing. Article content It's a statement about the culture of his family and the values of his junior team. Article content 'Above the line,' he said during his first meeting with the media, was a lead value of his team. Article content 'You keep pounding the stone. It's eventually going to break,' was another. Article content Culture in Seattle is huge. So is talent. And scouts tell you that Cootes' playing style hide his skills, but he has them, even if they don't pop. Article content 'Watch his goals this year,' Seattle GM Bill La Forge said after the Canucks made the pick. His talent and his desire have long been evident. Article content When he was 15, he spent the last few months of the WHL season with Seattle. His heart and his skill were so evident even then, he drew the attention of his teammates; he'd be a preferred third player in three-on-three drills. Even veterans like Brad Lambert and Dylan Guenther would pick him. Article content 'They have a lot of great history of NHL players coming out of that program and Braeden being a captain, a leader of that team, that excited my staff,' Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. 'And how he played and how prepared he was and the consistency. And I think that's something in that program that they, from the top, are teaching those young players.' Article content Article content Cootes listed a couple former teammates as players he's learned to model his own leadership on: Lucas Ciona, who was captain in Seattle in that first tastes of the WHL in 2022-23, and Lucas Gustafson, who was captain in 2023-24. Article content Article content 'Two guys I looked up to big time in how they led and just everybody there really,' he explained. 'Like I said, the culture in Seattle, I mean, it's just kind of the person that I became. Obviously what we do there is top notch in how we handle ourselves as people and players.' Article content For some time there had been speculation that the Canucks would trade the pick, especially to grab a second-line centre. Article content But in the end they went with the future. Article content Allvin downplayed what was available. Article content 'The conversations didn't lead much,' he claimed. Earlier in the week he'd suggested he was willing to trade back, though whether that changed when it became clear he could draft Cootes at 15 he didn't say.
The Province
7 hours ago
- Sport
- The Province
Canucks' new draft Braeden Cootes wants to be Brayden Point
Patrik Allvin found a leader of leaders in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Get the latest from Patrick Johnston straight to your inbox Braeden Cootes poses with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks with the 15th overall pick during the first round of the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft in Los Angeles. Photo by Bruce Bennett / Getty Images The Seattle Thunderbirds have become an NHL prospect engine and the Vancouver Canucks have jumped aboard. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors That much is clear after snagging centre Braeden Cootes 15th overall at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, a player everyone says plays with heart, has sneaky-good skills and, above all else, is a top-notch leader. He was captain of the Thunderbirds and captain of the Canada U18s. Leadership is his thing. It's a statement about the culture of his family and the values of his junior team. 'Above the line,' he said during his first meeting with the media, was a lead value of his team. 'You keep pounding the stone. It's eventually going to break,' was another. Culture in Seattle is huge. So is talent. And scouts tell you that Cootes' playing style hide his skills, but he has them, even if they don't pop. 'Watch his goals this year,' Seattle GM Bill La Forge said after the Canucks made the pick. His talent and his desire have long been evident. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. When he was 15, he spent the last few months of the WHL season with Seattle. His heart and his skill were so evident even then, he drew the attention of his teammates; he'd be a preferred third player in three-on-three drills. Even veterans like Brad Lambert and Dylan Guenther would pick him. 'They have a lot of great history of NHL players coming out of that program and Braeden being a captain, a leader of that team, that excited my staff,' Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. 'And how he played and how prepared he was and the consistency. And I think that's something in that program that they, from the top, are teaching those young players.' Cootes listed a couple former teammates as players he's learned to model his own leadership on: Lucas Ciona, who was captain in Seattle in that first tastes of the WHL in 2022-23, and Lucas Gustafson, who was captain in 2023-24. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Two guys I looked up to big time in how they led and just everybody there really,' he explained. 'Like I said, the culture in Seattle, I mean, it's just kind of the person that I became. Obviously what we do there is top notch in how we handle ourselves as people and players.' For some time there had been speculation that the Canucks would trade the pick, especially to grab a second-line centre. But in the end they went with the future. Allvin downplayed what was available. 'The conversations didn't lead much,' he claimed. Earlier in the week he'd suggested he was willing to trade back, though whether that changed when it became clear he could draft Cootes at 15 he didn't say. But he acknowledged that the lack of trades and movement in the order suggested teams saw what he saw: a lot of similar players available at each spot in the draft. The overall draft class isn't considered that strong. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Allvin has been a scout for a long time, but wasn't keen to compare Cootes to a player he'd scouted before. 'He's a really, really solid two-way centre with the leadership,' was all he'd say. 'We've all seen a lot of them over the years. But I don't want to put a name here; then it's just going to be hard for him right away. But what I will say, though, is that we're extremely excited about the way he plays and the way he helps his line mates to be better and the team to be better.' Cootes wasn't shy to admit he'd like to be Brayden Point. 'His complete game and his work ethic,' Cootes said were the main attractants. 'He kind of does everything right. He's a really smart player too: high hockey IQ, a guy that's kind of always in the right spot and is a good skater as well. And he's a winner. I mean, two Stanley Cups, it's a pretty good resumé.' pjohnston@ Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks NHL Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks
CTV News
7 hours ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Canucks select Braeden Cootes with 15th overall pick at NHL draft
Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, right, speaks as general manager Patrik Allvin listens during the NHL hockey team's end of season news conference, in Vancouver, on Monday, April 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck LOS ANGELES — The Vancouver Canucks picked Braeden Cootes of the Western Hockey League's Seattle Thunderbirds with the 15th overall selection in the NHL draft Friday. Cootes produced 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 games with the Thunderbirds this season. The five-foot-11, 183-pound forward from Sherwood Park, Alta., is also Seattle's captain. Vancouver finished 10th in the Western Conference last season, six points behind the playoff cutline. The Canucks have already been active this off-season, acquiring forward Evander Kane from the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Scoring winger Brock Boeser will become an unrestricted free agent if unsigned before the market opens Tuesday. Rounds two through seven of the draft take place on Saturday. The Canucks have five remaining draft picks, one for each round except the fourth. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
CTV News
8 hours ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Canucks select Braeden Cootes with 15th overall pick at NHL draft
Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, right, speaks as general manager Patrik Allvin listens during the NHL hockey team's end of season news conference, in Vancouver, on Monday, April 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck LOS ANGELES — The Vancouver Canucks picked Braeden Cootes of the Western Hockey League's Seattle Thunderbirds with the 15th overall selection in the NHL draft Friday. Cootes produced 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 games with the Thunderbirds this season. The five-foot-11, 183-pound forward from Sherwood Park, Alta., is also Seattle's captain. Vancouver finished 10th in the Western Conference last season, six points behind the playoff cutline. The Canucks have already been active this off-season, acquiring forward Evander Kane from the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Scoring winger Brock Boeser will become an unrestricted free agent if unsigned before the market opens Tuesday. Rounds two through seven of the draft take place on Saturday. The Canucks have five remaining draft picks, one for each round except the fourth. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
