Leo’s Hockey Report: Braeden Cootes makes strong case to crack opening night roster

Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes following his first preseason game. (Credit: Bob Frid/Imagn Images)

The 2025-26 National Hockey League (NHL) season is on the horizon. In preparation for the new season, teams are finishing training camp and preseason action. 

Playing five or six games before the season shows the coach and general manager who is ready for the bright lights of professional hockey and who may need an extra bit of seasoning.

One of the major storylines leading up to the start of the new season is the performance of junior players. These athletes, who would normally play for teams in the Canadian Hockey League, typically use the preseason as a determinant for the rest of their season. 

Someone who is turning heads during training camp is Braeden Cootes, who is in the midst of a preseason to remember.  

Cootes came into the Vancouver Canucks’ camp with high expectations. The Sherwood Park, Alberta native was drafted 15th overall by the team in last summer’s NHL Entry Draft.

Plus, the prospect is coming off a year where he captained the Seattle Thunderbirds. He was the youngest captain in the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season. 

Thus far, the 18-year-old has had a strong impact. 

Cootes has three points in three games, clicking on a point-a-game average. He is also bringing a rare leadership and skillset to the table. This leadership was something that drew Canucks management to him at the draft.  

He presents a certain maturity and a special two-way style of play, which makes you forget that he is only 18 years old.  

Cootes played his first game of the preseason against the Seattle Kraken. During the game, Vancouver found themselves on the wrong end of an early 2-0 deficit. However, their luck changed once he tipped home the Johnathan Lekkerimaki shot.  

His unofficial first NHL goal led to a 4-2 comeback win.  

Cootes played his third preseason match the other night against Edmonton. He scored a goal in a game where the Canucks fell just short of coming back from a four-goal deficit. Vancouver lost 4-3.  

Many believe he was the top player on the ice for the Canucks at times.  

When he was on the ice, Vancouver outshot Edmonton five to zero. Cootes, Lekkerimaki and Drew O'Conner outscored opponents 2-0 when that line found themselves in action. 

Individually, Cootes was all over the ice, not afraid to take on Edmonton’s big guns like Conner McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. 

He also made some big plays along the boards and in open space. 

The performance is also impressing his counterparts. All signs point to Cootes making a strong case to crack Vancouver’s opening night roster for their game against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 8.  

“I think [Cootes] has the right mindset. I've listened to some of his comments in the media, and just getting to talk to him a little bit around the dressing room, he's obviously taking the experience in,” Vancouver forward Evander Kane told reporters.“He's a sponge, but he's not just here for experience. He's here to make a team, and that's the right attitude to have. At the end of the day, this is a business and you're trying to steal another grown man's job.”  

Granted, Cootes has only played three games in the NHL. Before we jump to conclusions, we should take his early impressive performances with a grain of salt. 

Cootes is only a mere youngster. He may still need a year or two to continue his development and unlock his full potential. Therefore, it might be good for the Canucks to send him to Seattle and serve as captain for a second season.  

At the same time, Cootes’ impressive play should remind fans of another junior player who made the roster as a junior player. That player was Bo Horvat.   

Horvat was drafted ninth overall in the 2013 Entry Draft. A year later, he made the team, serving as the team’s fourth-line centreman.  

Horvat spent parts of nine years on the West Coast, serving as captain for three and a half of those seasons. He was never a true superstar, but possessed the qualities of a character centreman with a smooth two-way game.  

Cootes is not a carbon copy of Horvat. Yet, he still holds many of those same qualities.  

Trevor Linden was another player to make the Canucks roster under the age of 20, as is Elias Pettersson. 

“I try not to focus on it too much,” Cootes told reporters. “Obviously, you have that confidence in the back of your head that you can make it. Anytime you go into a camp, you're not just going there to get experience. That's not my mindset. I'm a competitive person. Anytime I go to a tryout or anything like that, I want to make the team … But I’m just trying to focus day by day right now.” 

Right now, Vancouver has two options for what to do with Cootes: they can either send him down to Seattle to continue developing his game or keep him at the big club for a short period to fill a vacant roster spot.  

Forward Nils Hoglander was recently ruled out for the next eight to ten weeks with a high ankle sprain. Having Hoglander start the season on the shelf opens a middle-to bottom-six role, one that could be filled by Cootes if he continues to impress.  

No matter what happens, Vancouver can find solace in the fact that they have a solid prospect who will be a huge part of the team’s success going forward.