Braeden Cootes Wild WHL Ride Has Turned Heads
It wasn’t the ending Braeden Cootes and the Prince Albert Raiders were hoping for. However, it was still the kind of season that had Canucks fans expecting he could push for the big club next year. Prospect Braeden Cootes was pretty impressive, even if his team was swept from the Western Hockey League’s postseason. This was a season where he basically saw everything junior hockey can throw at a player, and then some.
Cootes was a well-travelled young hockey player in 2025–26.
Cootes wore four different jerseys this season, starting with a brief NHL look after making the Canucks out of training camp. He played three games in Vancouver before being sent back to junior, where he immediately resumed a leadership role with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He put up 23 points in just 17 games there and looked like a player who hadn’t missed a beat.
Then came international hockey, where he suited up for Canada at the World Juniors and chipped in two goals on a bronze-medal team. Not bad for a teenager still trying to find his long-term pro footing.
After that, he was dealt to Prince Albert and quickly became a major piece of their playoff run. In 28 regular-season games with the Raiders, he put up 40 points, and then followed it up with 23 points in 20 playoff games, finishing near the top of the WHL postseason scoring race. That’s the kind of production that doesn’t just happen by accident — especially in high-pressure games.
Fans should expect Cootes to have a good chance of making the Canucks roster next season.
Now that his WHL season is over, there’s a real chance Cootes has played his final junior game. Over his WHL career, he finished with 162 points in 176 regular-season games and another 31 points in 26 playoff games. That’s a pretty solid body of work for a player who has also already had a taste of NHL life.
The next step is where things get interesting. Cootes will head into Canucks camp in 2026–27 with a real shot at pushing for a full-time NHL role. And if that doesn’t happen right away, the new CHL–NHL transfer rules could allow him to start his pro career with the Abbotsford Canucks instead. Either way, the junior chapter looks like it’s officially closed — and the pro one is about to begin.