Braeden Cootes surprisingly made the Vancouver Canucks out of training camp as an 18-year-old. He was drafted 15th overall in 2025, and after just three games, the team has reassigned him to the WHL to play another season of junior hockey.
With the assignment, the Canucks don’t burn the first year of Cootes’ entry-level contract, but a center, the position they are most thin at, is taken out of use for the team this season.
Cootes’ Outlook This Season
Of the forwards who played this season for the Canucks, Cootes was given the least opportunity, averaging 10:47 of ice time per game. From what the Canucks have shown this season, they are not favouring young talent, as the other players with the lowest ice time this season include Jonathan Lekkerimaki (11:50), Autu Raty (12:03), Ashdeep Bains (12:14), and on defense, Elias Pettersson (13:36), and Victor Mancini (15:24).
Cootes only played 32 minutes before the Canucks sent him back to junior, but he didn’t produce any points and was a -2. Realistically, Vancouver should have sent him back to play out another season in the WHL, just not quite yet. The team shouldn’t be rushing someone like Cootes to the NHL in a full-time role, even if they need another player at center.
In the WHL last season, Cootes put up 26 goals and 63 points in 60 games as a 17-year-old. For the majority of players coming through the CHL, they will play their 18-year-old season in junior before taking the step into the NHL or AHL. It is only the select few, and almost always top-5 picks, who are the exception.
Where Do the Canucks Go From Here?
The Canucks weren’t in a good place to start the season at center, and it was highly unlikely a 15th overall pick who is just 18 years old was going to change that. He gave the organization hope for the future and should see games, whether that is in a full-time role or not, next season, but for now, the role has to be filled elsewhere.
Teddy Blueger started the season injured, so that gave the Canucks the opportunity to give Cootes a slight look in the NHL. He is only listed as day-to-day, so the assumption is that the injury keeping him out isn’t that serious and he should be back soon.
In the meantime, Max Sasson, who put up two goals in two games for the Abbotsford Canucks, was recalled and should start on the fourth line. The center depth is as follows: Elias Pettersson, Filip Chytil, Raty, and Sasson, with Blueger eventually stepping in to likely slide in on the third line. That needs upgrading when compared to the teams also expecting to compete for the Stanley Cup or even just the playoffs.
There’s no guarantee that Sasson, who has played just 29 games in the NHL by the age of 25, will give any more to the Canucks than Cootes did in his short time with the team. Vancouver took an option off the table early as they could have seen Cootes in up to nine games before sending him down. David Pagnotta said, “I do think the Canucks…are going to start just looking around for a mid-six, bottom-six type of forward; they started poking around, I think they’ll escalate that a little bit.” That should mainly focus on a center option if possible.
Canucks Put in Worse Spot After Assigning Cootes to WHL