Canucks' Braeden Cootes and the Confidence Shift
There’s a moment in almost every young player’s career where the dream stops being abstract and starts becoming something you have to actually live inside. For Braeden Cootes, that moment came a year ago on draft night. But what’s interesting about his story now is that he’s already moved past the “dream fulfilled” stage and into something more complicated. Now he’s experiencing the part of his career where expectations, routine, and responsibility start to settle in.
Cootes remembers how his family reacted to his selection at the NHL Draft.
When Cootes looks back at that night, he doesn’t talk about the rink or the stage or even the hockey side of it first. He talks about his family. That’s usually where the real story is anyway. He recalls the emotions, the reactions, and the usually quiet people suddenly becoming less quiet. His mom and his grandpa are images that stay with him. And there’s something important in that. For all the structure around hockey development, the human part still sits beneath it all.
What stands out now, though, is how quickly that moment has turned into action. Cootes has already been through a season that most players would consider a career’s worth of experiences. He’s played NHL games, World Juniors, and a deep WHL playoff run. He’s also experienced all the in-between development work that doesn’t make headlines but has helped build him as a player. And instead of sounding overwhelmed by it, he sounds more settled and aware of where he fits.
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Cootes appreciates the impact the Sedin brothers have had on his growth.
That’s where the Sedin influence quietly matters. Daniel and Henrik Sedin didn’t just give him drills or video work; they gave him permission to play his game without shrinking inside the environment. “Be confident, don’t take a back seat,” is simple advice, but in a market like Vancouver, it carries weight. He believes it helped him find his own voice.
Now he’s heading into another development camp, another summer of structured ice time and informal leadership moments with other prospects. But the difference is that he’s not the new face anymore. He’s a familiar one. That shift alone changes how these camps feel, even if nobody says it out loud.
Cootes has gained confidence in his game.
There’s also a subtle thread running through his comments about confidence. Last year was about learning what everything felt like. This year is about arriving, already believing he belongs. That’s usually the stage where careers start to separate a little. They are no longer based solely on talent, but also on comfort in the NHL environment.
And for a young player in the Canucks’ system, that might be the most important step of all.