Has Braeden Cootes Turned Into the Canucks Top Prospect?
If you’re looking for something to feel good about in a season where the Vancouver Canucks haven’t given fans much, it’s the prospect pool. It’s been an unexpectedly strong year for the kids. A bunch of late-round swings are putting up the kind of seasons that make scouting staffs look smarter than they probably felt on draft weekend. And right in the middle of that wave sits Braeden Cootes, the 15th-overall pick from 2025, who might be the crown jewel of the whole group.
Cootes has had a good season wherever he's played.
Cootes has had one of those nomadic seasons that can only happen in junior hockey, where a player can live out half a career’s worth of suitcase miles in a few months. He’s already worn four sweaters. First, the Canucks at development camp, then the Seattle Thunderbirds, then Team Canada at the World Juniors, and now the Prince Albert Raiders. Some players get rattled by that much movement. Cootes looks sharper because of it.
He landed in Prince Albert right after helping Canada to bronze at the 2026 World Juniors, and he didn’t waste a second settling in. Since the medal went around his neck on January 5, he’s been on an absolute heater: nine goals and 24 points in 17 games. He had a five-game goal streak going before someone finally managed to quiet him, and even then, they didn’t do it for long. He’s stacked up nine multipoint nights in that stretch, and opponents have kept him off the scoresheet only four times. That’s not just a good run—that’s the kind of production that makes a GM feel better about giving up a mountain of assets to acquire him.
Cootes’ game is becoming more complete.
What stands out most is how complete the game is starting to look. The hands and shot have always been there, but the pace and confidence have taken a big jump this season. He’s hunting pucks, driving the play through the middle of the ice, and creating offence in ways that project straight to the NHL. You can see the outlines of a future top-six forward taking shape, and not in some distant, optimistic way. He’s tracking toward it fast.
The Canucks’ season hasn’t offered many bright lights at the NHL level, but Cootes has been one of those prospects who makes you think the next wave might be better. He’s part of the new core—no question about that. The real thing to watch now is which of those other breakout prospects will be joining him.