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The Vancouver Canucks’ prospects took to the ice on Monday afternoon as development camp kicked off with a dynamic warmup at noon followed by a 1:30 skating session with all players and coaches on the ice.

Players and coaches ran through rush drills as well as some board battle drills. The goalies took to the ice with Vancouver Goalie Coach Marko Torenius for a workout before the players took the ice.

Canucks’ first round pick from the most recent draft Braeden Cootes spoke to the media following the skate and discussed a few crazy days leading up to camp and what he is trying to take in during the week of development.

“It’s been a crazy couple of days, getting picked obviously, then coming straight here, but it’s been pretty cool. It’s hard to believe that you’re at this stage right now, but [I’m] just trying to soak it all in and just try to learn,” said Cootes.

“It’s pretty crazy with the Sedins; I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from them. They’re obviously two unbelievable players, and I’m just trying to learn a lot from them.”

The young centre spoke about how much he enjoys spending time at the rink and talked about his setup back home in Edmonton.

“I love to shoot pucks. It’s a pretty fun thing to work on, that’s for sure. Back in my gym and in Edmonton, we’ve got a pretty nice shooting area there that I like to work on a lot. Watching guys and different ways to score. I like to do a lot of video,” Cootes said.

Something Cootes wants to develop is his ability to shoot on NHL goaltenders. He knows that it will be much more challenging than scoring on WHL netminders, but he is ready to put in the work to develop that skill.

“I haven’t really shot on an NHL goal yet, but I’m sure I will in a couple of months, and I’ll get a good standard on what that’s like and then kind of go from there,” said Cootes. “I’m just trying to learn different things, new things to score more.”

Anthony Romani was selected in the sixth round of the 2024 draft and was also made available to the media, as he attended his second development camp.

Romani closed out his four-year OHL career with the Barrie Colts this past season and is now moving on to the NCAA, joining the Michigan State Spartans.

“I’m pumped; Michigan State is a really great school. The thing I’m most excited for is the development they have there. They have great facilities, great coaches, and I head there next week for summer training as well. I’m super excited for that,” said Romani.

“It’s a new opportunity, it’s a shorter season, so I think it’ll be good for myself to have more time off the ice to do workouts, get stronger and prepare my body for a pro game.”

The group gets going early Tuesday morning and has a full day of learning as the week rolls along.

Coaches Jason Krog, Mikael Samuelsson, and Mike Komisarek took the lead during practice on Monday, and this week means a lot to them as they look to establish a culture with the prospects and teach them how to be a Canuck.