Latest news with #Thunderbirds
New York Times
7 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
8 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.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Seattle Thunderbirds Braeden Cootes Drafted 15th Overall By The Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have selected Braeden Cootes 15th overall in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old center was the sixth WHLer selected, and third in a row. Listed at 6'0", 186 lbs, Cootes spent part of this season as the captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Cootes had a successful year both at the WHL an international level. He recorded 63 points in 60 regular-season games before putting up eight points in six post-season games. Cootes also captained Canada to a Gold Medal at the U18s, recording 12 points in seven games. Braeden Cootes of the Seattle Thunderbirds (Photo Credit: Evan Morud/Everett Silvertips/WHL) Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Tri-City Americans Jackson Smith Drafted 14th Overall By The Columbus Blue Jackets Advertisement Everett Silvertips Carter Bear Drafted 13th Overall By The Detroit Red Wings Calgary Hitmen Ben Kindel Drafted 11th Overall By The Pittsburgh Penguins Brandon Wheat Kings Roger McQueen Drafted Tenth Overall By The Anaheim Ducks Seattle Thunderbirds Radim Mrtka Drafted Ninth Overall By The Buffalo Sabres
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Fighter pilot reveals near miss with 'perfect rectangle' UFO that defied the laws of physics
A veteran US fighter pilot has broken his silence about a near-collision with a UFO that defied the laws of physics and left the Air Force in stunned disbelief. Major Ryan Bodenheimer, a retired F-15 and F-16 combat pilot, revealed in a YouTube video that one of the 'wildest experiences' of his career involved a close encounter with a rectangle-shaped UFO as he flew with his squadron over southern Wyoming. Bodenheimer, who served in the Air Force for 13 years, said the large craft suddenly appeared out of nowhere during a training mission and looked to be on a collision course with his plane. 'Then I realized we weren't going to hit, and all of a sudden it came more into view, and it was a rectangular shape. This was like essentially a perfect rectangle,' Bodenheimer revealed in his video on June 8. The military veteran described the UFO as being 30 to 50 feet in height and appearing to be glowing around the edges of its bright white body as it flew alongside the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's elite aerobatic demonstration squadron. Bodenheimer added that this craft had no visible vapor trail coming from an engine, no radar signal, and was traveling at approximately 400 knots (460 miles per hour). 'It really was defying any type of aeronautical laws that I've learned,' Bodenheimer said. Bodenheimer then revealed that his report to air traffic control left officials in 'dead silence' before the entire matter was apparently dismissed as an 'anomalous object.' The strange rectangle UFO got so close to Bodenheimer's F-16 Falcon at 30,000 feet in the air that he said he could make out every detail of the craft before it eventually flew off and was never seen again. When air traffic controllers in Denver asked Bodenheimer if he could give them any more details about the UFO, he revealed that it had a cream-colored interior that became transparent or had a hole in its center. 'I know it sounds like I'm talking about a delicious pastry, but this was the wildest experience I've ever had,' the fighter pilot joked. The only evidence of Bodenheimer's sighting was a report made by air traffic control saying that an object had been spotted in the area where the Thunderbirds were training that day, but he never heard from anyone about the incident again. The former combat officer explained on his channel, Max Afterburner, that this UFO could not have been a weather balloon, a high-tech drone, or some kind of light trick. 'There was nothing that made me think this was some sort of illusion. It was clear as day. It was right down our wing line, a 30 to 50 foot object,' the pilot continued. Bodenheimer then speculated whether this could have been an extraterrestrial craft, noting that he's never been a fan of 'science fiction' but admitted that his encounter matched many of the incidents involving military pilots that 'defied physics.' 'Going against aerodynamics definitely blows my mind. Anti-gravity, something that cloaks radar, I didn't see anything on the radar,' he added. The object wasn't even tilted to deflect the wind while traveling at that speed. It stayed completely vertical as if the wind did not affect the UFO's ability to fly at over 400 mph. Bodenheimer said that he has never heard about the UFO sighting since he reported it to officials with air traffic control in Denver This wasn't the only time the Air Force veteran had encountered a UFO. He added that 'lightning-fast triangle' while training with the Thunderbirds near Area 51 - the military's top secret base in Nevada. 'There's been lots of crazy stuff that's been reported out there,' Bodenheimer said. On this day, the mysterious jet-like object flew past Bodenheimer's F-16 as his squadron was coming in for a landing. 'This lightning-fast triangle blitzed past me as we were setting ourselves up on a final [approach],' the pilot revealed. 'I just remember this thing going massively fast past me... It had basically done an interceptor maneuver, a dust-off. So maybe this was its way of having fun, saying maybe this should be Top Gun 3,' Bodenheimer detailed. The pilot noted that he hopes coming forward will encourage more of his fellow pilots to reveal what they've seen during their time in the military, noting that there have been roughly 800 UFO reports in just the last four years.
The Advertiser
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Fever take down Thunderbirds and storm to top spot
Rampant West Coast Fever have stretched their Super Netball winning streak to a competition record-equalling nine straight after defeating the Adelaide Thunderbirds 68-63 at RAC Arena. A powerful start and a strong finish in Perth on Friday night allowed the Fever to move prohibitively into top spot, edging past the NSW Swifts, who can reclaim first position by beating the Giants on Sunday. Wing attack Alice Teague-Neeld racked up game-highs of 34 feeds and 18 assists, combining magnificently with powerhouse Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, who buried 63 goals. "That was a hectic battle," Teague-Neeld said after the match. "I feel like there's no option other than to step up in those close contests. "It's really hard to put out a four-quarter, 60-minute performance and always be on top, especially against a team like the Thunderbirds. "We knew it was going to dip a little bit, but we got out of it in the last quarter, which is great." West Coast raced out of the blocks, piloted by superstar shooter Fowler-Nembhard's 18 goals without a miss and Teague-Neeld's work rate. At the other end, defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney curbed the impact of Jamaican teammate and Thunderbirds goaler Romelda Aiken-George to push the Fever ahead 20-14 at quarter-time. At the break, Adelaide coach Tania Obst eyeballed her underperforming front court and said: "How's our talk out there, because it looks like we don't like one another." The Thunderbirds responded to the spray with a much-improved second term. Sanmarie Visser replaced Sophie Casey at wing attack and briefly slowed the rampant Teague-Neeld, while Aiken-George started getting the better of Dehaney. Meanwhile, Lauren Frew caught fire from long range to trim the margin to 36-32 at halftime. Adelaide's fightback continued in the third quarter, led by Frew, who got on a roll from super-shot territory. In a frenetic finish to the term, Frew gave the Thunderbirds their first lead with her sixth super shot, then a two-point lead when she nailed her seventh two-pointer - from eight attempts - with seven seconds left. West Coast quickly raced up-court and found Fowler-Nembhard, who fired a rare deuce on the three-quarter-time to square it at 51-51. It was still neck-and-neck through most of the fourth quarter, before the Thunderbirds lost their way late. Frew suddenly couldn't find her radar from range, while a couple of crucial Adelaide cough-ups were capitalised on by the Fever with a late 6-1 surge. Rampant West Coast Fever have stretched their Super Netball winning streak to a competition record-equalling nine straight after defeating the Adelaide Thunderbirds 68-63 at RAC Arena. A powerful start and a strong finish in Perth on Friday night allowed the Fever to move prohibitively into top spot, edging past the NSW Swifts, who can reclaim first position by beating the Giants on Sunday. Wing attack Alice Teague-Neeld racked up game-highs of 34 feeds and 18 assists, combining magnificently with powerhouse Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, who buried 63 goals. "That was a hectic battle," Teague-Neeld said after the match. "I feel like there's no option other than to step up in those close contests. "It's really hard to put out a four-quarter, 60-minute performance and always be on top, especially against a team like the Thunderbirds. "We knew it was going to dip a little bit, but we got out of it in the last quarter, which is great." West Coast raced out of the blocks, piloted by superstar shooter Fowler-Nembhard's 18 goals without a miss and Teague-Neeld's work rate. At the other end, defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney curbed the impact of Jamaican teammate and Thunderbirds goaler Romelda Aiken-George to push the Fever ahead 20-14 at quarter-time. At the break, Adelaide coach Tania Obst eyeballed her underperforming front court and said: "How's our talk out there, because it looks like we don't like one another." The Thunderbirds responded to the spray with a much-improved second term. Sanmarie Visser replaced Sophie Casey at wing attack and briefly slowed the rampant Teague-Neeld, while Aiken-George started getting the better of Dehaney. Meanwhile, Lauren Frew caught fire from long range to trim the margin to 36-32 at halftime. Adelaide's fightback continued in the third quarter, led by Frew, who got on a roll from super-shot territory. In a frenetic finish to the term, Frew gave the Thunderbirds their first lead with her sixth super shot, then a two-point lead when she nailed her seventh two-pointer - from eight attempts - with seven seconds left. West Coast quickly raced up-court and found Fowler-Nembhard, who fired a rare deuce on the three-quarter-time to square it at 51-51. It was still neck-and-neck through most of the fourth quarter, before the Thunderbirds lost their way late. Frew suddenly couldn't find her radar from range, while a couple of crucial Adelaide cough-ups were capitalised on by the Fever with a late 6-1 surge. Rampant West Coast Fever have stretched their Super Netball winning streak to a competition record-equalling nine straight after defeating the Adelaide Thunderbirds 68-63 at RAC Arena. A powerful start and a strong finish in Perth on Friday night allowed the Fever to move prohibitively into top spot, edging past the NSW Swifts, who can reclaim first position by beating the Giants on Sunday. Wing attack Alice Teague-Neeld racked up game-highs of 34 feeds and 18 assists, combining magnificently with powerhouse Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, who buried 63 goals. "That was a hectic battle," Teague-Neeld said after the match. "I feel like there's no option other than to step up in those close contests. "It's really hard to put out a four-quarter, 60-minute performance and always be on top, especially against a team like the Thunderbirds. "We knew it was going to dip a little bit, but we got out of it in the last quarter, which is great." West Coast raced out of the blocks, piloted by superstar shooter Fowler-Nembhard's 18 goals without a miss and Teague-Neeld's work rate. At the other end, defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney curbed the impact of Jamaican teammate and Thunderbirds goaler Romelda Aiken-George to push the Fever ahead 20-14 at quarter-time. At the break, Adelaide coach Tania Obst eyeballed her underperforming front court and said: "How's our talk out there, because it looks like we don't like one another." The Thunderbirds responded to the spray with a much-improved second term. Sanmarie Visser replaced Sophie Casey at wing attack and briefly slowed the rampant Teague-Neeld, while Aiken-George started getting the better of Dehaney. Meanwhile, Lauren Frew caught fire from long range to trim the margin to 36-32 at halftime. Adelaide's fightback continued in the third quarter, led by Frew, who got on a roll from super-shot territory. In a frenetic finish to the term, Frew gave the Thunderbirds their first lead with her sixth super shot, then a two-point lead when she nailed her seventh two-pointer - from eight attempts - with seven seconds left. West Coast quickly raced up-court and found Fowler-Nembhard, who fired a rare deuce on the three-quarter-time to square it at 51-51. It was still neck-and-neck through most of the fourth quarter, before the Thunderbirds lost their way late. Frew suddenly couldn't find her radar from range, while a couple of crucial Adelaide cough-ups were capitalised on by the Fever with a late 6-1 surge.
