On June 27, 2025, the Vancouver Canucks drafted center Braeden Cootes 15th overall. Not even half a year after, Cootes is preparing to make his NHL debut on Thursday night in Vancouver’s season-opener against the Calgary Flames. Having already passed the tests provided by the prospects showcase, training camp, and pre-season, Cootes is taking a low-stress approach to skating in his first NHL game.
“I’m just trying to tell myself, ‘I’ve been playing this game for how long, it’s just hockey at the end of the day.’ So I’m just trying to do my best with it,” he told the media after practice on Tuesday.
While there’s no doubt about Cootes’ skills, there weren’t many who thought the young center would make the team straight out of pre-season and training camp. However, a strong showing during his in-game performances as well as his strikingly mature mindset ultimately helped the forward earn his way onto Vancouver’s opening night roster.
“I think we owe it to Braeden, obviously, that he earned his way to be here today and looking like he’s playing on Thursday, but I think we’ve got to be a little bit careful here and evaluate as we go along,” Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin said while discussing the decision to keep Cootes on the team’s opening-night roster. “No difference from what we have done since he earned his first game in Seattle and continues to earn another day. He’s young, but he’s playing a very, very mature game, so we’ll see here as we move along.”
“He got better. He’s smart, playing with good players,” Canucks head coach Adam Foote said about what he saw from Cootes during the pre-season. “He seems not to get confused, or he doesn’t slow down. Obviously, at times, there might be an adjustment for certain things, but he’s handled it well and wants to take it day to day.”
“Everything feels a bit more normal, so to speak,” Cootes added regarding what he has learned. “When you’re playing with such good players here, honestly, sometimes it feels — not easier, but sometimes you get pucks in better spots and quicker, because they’re so good and they can make such good plays.”
Canucks Have A Natural Leader In 2025 Draft Pick Braeden Cootes
12 years after the Vancouver Canucks drafted Bo Horvat, the organization selected two-way center Braeden Cootes 15th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old served as a captain for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL in 2024–25, with this being his third year spent with the club.
When he was first drafted, many took to comparing the young center as Bo Horvat-esque with his leadership and two-way skillset. Quinn Hughes has only shared the ice with Cootes since the pre-season began, but already, the Canucks captain has been impressed with how the young center approaches the game.
“He’s reliable, he’s got good reads defensively, he plays a mature game offensively. He’s got skill, good instincts all around the ice, and he’s just going to continue to get better and better,” Hughes said. “He’s a pretty impressive player. It’s hard at 18, even first-overall picks struggle, but I think Footy and the coaching staff have done a good job with him and kept it positive. I’m excited for him, happy for him, and he’s definitely earned to be here.”
Canucks head coach Adam Foote has taken this a step farther by drawing parallels to Ryan O’Reilly’s game.
“With a guy like Cootes, there’s always the next play, the next job, and moving your feet to the next position. We want all our players to be like that, but he’s been good at it, and that helps him with the physical part, because he’s usually in a better body position, so then he’ll let his brain and his body defend. O’Reilly defended like that for a long time.”
Cootes, on the other hand, describes his game a bit more simply.
“Something that’s reliable that you can put out in the D-zone, that doesn’t cheat the game, so to speak, that I can play defence, I can play a 200-foot game and be reliable.”
Thursday night’s game means a lot for the 18-year-old, who is originally from Edmonton. Cootes noted that “it’s a little extra motivation” playing against the Flames — the provincial rivals of the Edmonton Oilers, who he’d grown up cheering for as a kid. The first NHL game in any player’s career is always one of the most important. It’s a feeling that Hughes remembers from his own first game back in March of 2019.
“I’m excited for him,” the Canucks captain said. “Rookie lap will be pretty cool, it’s something you always remember. He should just enjoy it, because he’s gonna play for a long time, but you only have one first game.”
Fans can catch Cootes and the Canucks on their season-opening night on October 9. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
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