It has been a year since Braeden Cootes had his dream come true when his name was called on night one of the NHL Entry Draft.
We caught up with Cootes to reflect on his big night in the summer of 2025 and look ahead to the upcoming Canucks development camp and training camp in the fall.
When Cootes thinks back to his draft night, the first thing that comes to mind is his family’s reaction and how happy they were to see his dream become a reality.
“Spending time with my family, and how much they did for me, just having that moment with them, I think, was the coolest part of the whole thing. Getting to share the experience with them, because it's not just me. Honestly, it takes a lot of people to get to that point, so I think just celebrating it with them was the coolest part,” said Cootes.
He said the favourite reactions he remembers were from his mom and grandpa. He loved seeing his mother's raw emotion, and he was also surprised to see his grandpa let his feelings out.
“My grandpa, he's a pretty quiet guy, and I’ve never seen him so excited,” said Cootes.
Cootes had a feeling the Canucks would select him with their first-round pick, but when the organization announced the selection, it was still a surreal moment for the young centre.
“When I heard my name called, it was kind of like an out-of-body experience for a second, but then you kind of just try to enjoy it and take it all in. I was a little more on the edge of my seat for when the Canucks were on the clock,” said Cootes.
He has been skating with some draft-eligible players during his summer skates and has been happy to provide guidance or answer questions to players who are about to experience a whirlwind week. Cootes says this year’s draft is much less stressful than last year's, and he is already looking forward to Canucks development camp next week.
“Last year’s development camp was a lot of fun,” said Cootes. “It’s your first time feeling like an actual NHL player because at Canucks development camp, we do so much. We were doing different things around Vancouver, we were on the ice, and doing media. It was a great way to get your feet wet in the NHL.”
It was a long season for Cootes. He played three NHL games, competed with Canada at the World Juniors, and reached the final round of the WHL playoffs. He is looking forward to seeing some of the fellow Canucks prospects he built relationships with at camp last year.
In his NHL stint last season, Cootes worked a ton with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. It was a lot of extra work on the ice and in the video room after practice, and he took their advice to heart for the 2025-26 season.
“They helped me out with that a lot,” he said about the Sedin twins. “I remember them telling me to be confident and not take a back seat to anyone, just play my game, be confident, and be yourself. Hearing it from those guys obviously helps a lot. So, yeah, they were a huge help for me last year.”
Following the development camp, Cootes will continue to skate with a prolific group of players near Edmonton. He then has the World Junior camp with Team Canada. And following that, it’s time to grind and look to be in the best shape of his life as he attempts to make the jump to being a full-time pro.
Last season, he had an impressive training camp with the Canucks and continued to prove himself with each passing day. That goal will remain the same this fall, and he is feeling even more confident now than he was at the start of last season.
“I feel good. Last year, I didn't really know what to expect, and this year, I feel a lot more comfortable and confident coming in, just playing my game and not being too worried about making mistakes or anything like that. Especially since we have a younger team and are going through a rebuild. It gives you a sense of excitement in wanting to be a part of that. I'm really excited to come in and just show that I belong and can be an NHL player,” he said.
“And Manny is awesome. He was our rookie tournament coach, and I really like him. I think the way he coaches is really similar to how I play. It’s all about high compete and playing an honest game. He was also really good at faceoffs, so I’m excited to learn a lot from him there. I was really excited when we the organization hired him.”
Day one of the draft gets going on Friday at 4:00 p.m. PT. You can pick up your free tickets for our watch party HERE.
