On Wednesday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they have signed Braeden Cootes to a three-year entry-level contract (ELC). The 18-year-old center was drafted 15th overall by the Canucks in the 2025 NHL Draft.
“Braeden showed really well at our development camp, and we are happy to get him under contract,” said Allvin. “His compete level and desire to be one of the best players on the ice at UBC was apparent from the very first day. We liked his hard work and attention to detail, and we look forward to helping him improve as a hockey player.”
Cootes is coming off a career-high 26 goals and 63 points with the Seattle Thunderbirds, a season where he co-captained the team before Sawyer Mynio was traded to the Calgary Hitmen. He then became the full captain for the rest of the season. He also wore the “C” for Team Canada at the 2025 U18 World Championship and led them to a gold medal over Sweden. He had a team-leading six goals and 12 points, finishing as a top-three player for Canada, while posting a tournament-best 71.79 faceoff percentage.
While it might be too early to expect Cootes to hit his ceiling as a top-six center right out of the gate, he could make the Canucks out of training camp and, at the very least, play nine games and then get sent back to the Western Hockey League (WHL). It was confirmed by insider Rick Dhaliwal shortly after being selected 15th overall that Cootes would not be joining an NCAA team, but returning to the Thunderbirds if he doesn’t make the NHL roster.
With Cootes signing his ELC, it adds a little more intrigue to training camp, especially if the Canucks haven’t addressed their need for a second-line center by then. He has the play style to make it early in his career, similar to Bo Horvat when he played his first full season in the NHL at 19 years old. Cootes would be doing it a year earlier, but given his work ethic and two-way game, I wouldn’t put it past him to surprise everyone and play past the nine-game trial period.
