Braeden Cootes just signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday afternoon and sat down with Canucks Insider Podcast host Chris Faber last week to discuss Canucks development camp, his season with the Seattle Thunderbirds, his experience as captain of Canada, his brother’s goalie fight, and much more.
The 2025 first-round pick talked about being captain of the Thunderbirds in the WHL at the age of 17 and how it meant a lot to him to be a leader for his team. He also discussed how proud he was of his team for bouncing back from a tough start to the season.
“It was pretty crazy when I heard. I had a bit of a feeling I would have a letter, but maybe not the C. I was co-captains with [Sawyer] Mynio when he was there, which was cool. When Myni left, it was just me. It was obviously a huge honour and I enjoyed it,” Cootes said.
Cootes captained the U18 Team Canada group to a gold medal at the most recent U18 World Championships, tallying 12 points (6-6-12) through seven games.
“It's kind of a feeling that you'll never forget. Kind of looking at the jersey for the first time was really special. It was such an honour to be named captain for that team, and then obviously winning gold,” Cootes said.
This past season, he developed a consistency in his game, and he talked about the desire to take his game to another level. He’s been training with the same group of players over the summers for the last five years, and he’s continuing to grind away this summer.
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