It’s no secret the Vancouver Canucks are looking to strengthen their offence down the middle this off-season, and while we have yet to see what kind of moves they’ll make in free agency, they stayed true to that priority when they selected centre Braeden Cootes 15th overall Friday night.
Sure, Cootes — currently playing just 230 km south of Vancouver with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds — will need time to develop his game before he’s ready to make the jump to the pros, but his presence in the organization’s prospect pool is certainly a bright one.
In a draft cohort top-heavy in elite skill, Cootes’ offensive abilities — while impressive, considering his team-leading 63 points in 60 games this past season — don’t tell the whole story. It’s his relentless energy, his hard-nosed pursuit of the puck, and his physicality in all aspects of his game that give him an elite edge, and his leadership that makes him a can’t-miss prospect for a team in transition. It’s those same qualities that will have Canucks fans eager to see him don a Vancouver sweater — perhaps with a letter, to boot — down the line.
Here’s what you need to know about the Canucks’ top pick in the 2025 Draft.
Team: Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
Position: Centre
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Sherwood Park, Alberta
Age: 18 (Feb. 9, 2007)
Height: Six feet
Weight: 183 pounds
WHAT THE SCOUTS ARE SAYING
Back in October, Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino projected Cootes could be a riser of this year’s class, and he was right. After debuting at No. 20 in Cosentino’s prospect rankings back in October, Cootes hovered around the middle of the pack for much of the year before jumping to his highest point, No. 14, in May’s rankings and then being projected as the 18th overall pick in Cosentino’s June mock draft.
“Left a lasting impression at the U18s where he played his typical, high-energy, in-your-face type of game,” Cosentino wrote in his mock draft. “Cootes proved that he could elevate his game in high-pressure situations, against difficult competition, not unlike what he might face years down the road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
That rise in draft stock is reflected in the NHL’s Central Scouting database, too, where he landed a second- or third-round project at the beginning of his draft year before being listed as the 20th-ranked North American skater by season’s end.
Regardless of where he found himself throughout the year on any given prospect ranking, Cootes was consistently praised for his gritty game that prioritized forechecking and two-way play as well as his compete level that had him winning races all over the ice. And while he’s certainly no stranger to putting the puck in the net — 26 goals in 60 WHL games says as much, as does his six-goal count at the U-18 world juniors — he’s considered more of a playmaker than a pure goal-scorer.
Cootes is captain material
All those gritty, gutty, energetic descriptors? Those are accurate, and they make him a really fun player to watch. But it’s his character that really makes him one of the most well-rounded prospects in his class.
As Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala indicated upon his selection, Canucks fans could be looking at their future captain.
“He’s gonna drive the bus for this franchise going forward,” Bukala said. “He’s gonna be the future captain of the Vancouver Canucks.”
There’s plenty of precedent.
Cootes was named to the leadership group of the Thunderbirds last season and is currently the youngest active captain in the WHL. That leadership was on full display at this spring’s U18 World Championship, too, where he wore the C for Team Canada and led the squad to gold in May. That tournament, which saw him top the team’s stat sheet with six goals and 12 points in seven games, showcased his skillset at its very best and boosted his draft stock in the process.
