Braeden Cootes is done with the Edmonton Oilers.
Born and raised on the outskirts of Edmonton in Sherwood Park, A.B., Cootes grew up cheering for the Oilers, right through the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, expressing that the Oilers losing in the Final was "pretty disappointing" in . From this day forward, however, Cootes is all about the Canucks.
"Today's obviously my last day being an Oiler fan," said Cootes via Zoom after the Canucks selected him 15th overall in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Cootes is familiar with B.C. already, as he took a break from playing youth hockey in Sherwood Park to spend a year at the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford when he was 14. He stayed on the West Coast to play junior hockey in the WHL, albeit south of the border in the U.S. with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Now, he'll be returning to Canada — "The right side of the border," as Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin put it.
"It's a dream come true," said Cootes. "Growing up in Edmonton, I know everything about a Canadian market and the expectations...I'm so excited to be a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canuck."
"Being on the West Coast is awesome," he added, noting that it's a relatively short flight back home to Alberta.
That's not to say that his time in the States hasn't been positive. This past season, Cootes was named co-captain of the Thunderbirds with his fellow Canucks prospect Sawyer Mynio, then became the team's sole captain when Mynio was traded to the Calgary Hitmen. He was the youngest captain in the WHL.
Playing on a young team without much offensive firepower around him, Cootes carried the Thunderbirds to the WHL Playoffs, leading the team in scoring while playing tough, match-up minutes against the best the WHL had to offer. While the team he was playing on may have limited his offensive output, it helped make him a stronger leader.
"When I went to Seattle, we have such a good culture there," said Cootes. "The things we do are what made me an even better leader and person. Obviously, my parents as well, how they raised me to be a good person and carry myself the right way."
Cootes credited the two previous captains of the Thunderbirds, Jordan Gustafson and Lucas Ciona, for what they taught him about leadership and for helping establish and maintain the culture in Seattle that he was tasked with sustaining.
"I'm not the loudest guy in the room, that's for sure," said Cootes. "I lead more by example and how I carry myself as a person: working hard and making others around me better. I'm just being the person I am, not trying to be anybody I'm not. It came pretty natural."
Cootes also learned a lot from being a captain in another context: on Team Canada at the World Under-18 Championship. There, he learned he can be more than just a solid two-way player and a leader; he could rack up points too, leading Canada in scoring with 6 goals and 12 points in 7 games en route to the gold medal.
"I learned I can raise [my game]," said Cootes. "A lot of people ask me, 'Why did you have a little more points there?' I mean, we had a really good team there, I was playing with really good players. It's a little different in Seattle, we play a little different game there, and we like to wear teams down. I learned that I can be a top-end guy."
That's what's so exciting about Cootes as a prospect: he can help a team win no matter what style of game they play. He can out-battle opponents on the boards, on the forecheck, and in the defensive zone, but he can also create scoring chances with his vision and passing, and snipe corners with his shot. Whatever is required to win, Cootes will do it.
"All I care about is winning," said Cootes. "Don't care about anything else — I just want to win."
Cootes' two-way game might bring to mind Bo Horvat, with a little less size and better skating, but he compares himself more to Brayden Point, a similarly-sized Western Canadian centre with the type of play-driving, zone-gaining, whatever-it-takes-to-win game that Cootes wants to play in the NHL.
"I think it's just his complete game and work ethic," said Cootes when asked about the Point comparison. "He does everything right. He's a really smart player too, high hockey IQ, he's a guy that's always in the right spot, and he's a good skater. And he's a winner: two Stanley Cups, that's a pretty good resume."
There's still work to do to get there, of course. Getting drafted by the Canucks feels like a destination, but it's just one step on a much longer journey.
"Maybe be a bit more dynamic offensively," said Cootes when asked what he wants to add to his game. "I mean, the way I play, though, it's a complete 200-foot, do-whatever-it-takes-you-to-win kind of game with speed. So, I'm not trying to change that at all. I honestly can just say my overall game. I need to get better at everything to be the player that I want to be."
Given his work ethic and competitiveness, there's little reason to bet against Cootes becoming that player.
