Canucks 2025 NHL Draft Target: Braeden Cootes

Before the clock starts ticking on the draft in June, the Canucks coverage team here at The Hockey Writers will be profiling potential targets at 15th overall. First up, we are heading to the Western Hockey League (WHL) and focusing on Seattle Thunderbirds and Team Canada captain Braeden Cootes, who is coming off a very impressive showing at the U18s where he led his team in points and eventually won gold over Team Sweden.

Braeden Cootes’ Scouting Report

What Cootes did at the 2025 U18 World Championship will undoubtedly have teams taking a closer look at him heading into Day 1 of the draft. While most rankings have him beyond the 15th pick (except for THW’s own Dayton Reimer), he could be one of those surprising risers a la Beckett Sennecke, who was always projected in the bottom half of the first round and went third overall in 2024. Cootes won’t jump that high, but he could be on the radar of teams like the Canucks in the 15-20 range.

The first thing that jumps out about Cootes is his work ethic and all-around two-way game. He’s always one of the hardest-working guys on the ice and can be relied upon in all situations, from the power play, penalty kill, to last-minute faceoffs defending a lead. Dayton encapsulated his playstyle perfectly in his prospect profile: “Cootes’ work ethic is infectious. He has an unrelenting motor and no matter the score, he never stops pursuing the puck and pushing the play. Few teams in the league have a counter to him simply because he’ll just outwork whoever he’s up against.”

That alone will make Cootes a valuable player in the NHL one day. But that’s not all he has in his toolbox. He won’t be mistaken for Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl in the skill department, but he does have solid puckhandling abilities, a decent wrist shot, and, because of his hockey IQ and relentless motor, a knack for winning battles for loose pucks on the boards and at the front of the net.

Cootes has all the attributes to become a top-six center in the NHL. What might prevent him from reaching that ceiling is skating. He does have good top speed, but due to a heavier stride, it takes him a while to get there. With the right skating coach, that can be tweaked, which might be a game-changer in his development, shifting him to a top-line center rather than a do-it-all checking line center.

Beyond the technical, Cootes also has the intangible of leadership. He has already been named captain of two teams in his hockey career – the biggest being Team Canada, which not many players get the honour of becoming. He was also the youngest to wear the ‘C’ for the Thunderbirds and the youngest captain in the WHL this season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him wear it one day for an NHL team, too. As Dayton put it, “He leads by example and asks everyone on his team to work as hard as he does.” That sounds like an NHL captain to me.

What Others Are Saying

“Braeden Cootes has all the intangibles you want in a prospect, especially as a center. He plays with grit, battles to the max, and was given the captaincy on the Canadian U18 team, showing the leadership he can provide. Cootes is really strong on his skates and in his lower half, which leads to him going into puck battles along the boards confidently. His skating has improved throughout the year to the point where it’s fair to say he’s a really good skater rather than just average.” – Kareem Elshafey, FC Hockey

“As a true heart-and-soul kind of player and a natural leader, the impact that he leaves both on and off the ice cannot be measured in goals and assists alone, though his numbers in those departments are both still highly respectable. Mix in the ability to play center in all situations and the ease with which he earns the trust of coaches and the overall result is someone who is surely being coveted highly by NHL scouts.” – Derek Neumeier, McKeen’s Hockey

“Braeden Cootes is one of the hardest working players in this draft class with his drive, as he’s always hunting down pucks, establishing attacks with his forechecking style and 200-foot game. He is extremely persistent and constantly coming out on top of puck battles. He plays heavy, is very intense and doesn’t back down from a battle. Defensively, he’s just as effective hustling back to help on the backcheck, getting the inside edge on puck carriers, lifting sticks and quickly regaining control.” – Peter Baracchini, The Hockey Writers

Cootes’ Fit in the Canucks’ Prospect Pool

The Canucks still need a lot of help when it comes to their prospect pool, especially once Aatu Raty, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander graduate to the NHL. Their biggest positional need is center, as Raty is the only prospect with the ceiling of a top-six center. As mentioned, Cootes has the potential to become one if he can work on his skating mechanics. And if that sounds familiar, the same thing was said about former Canucks captain Bo Horvat, who eventually turned that weakness into a strength and is now one of the better skaters in the NHL.

If you read Horvat’s scouting report from his draft year, you could copy and paste a lot of it into Cootes’. From the high-end work ethic and motor, solid two-way game, and high hockey IQ all the way down to his leadership qualities and the need for his skating to improve, he could be mistaken for the former London Knights star. The Canucks could use a player like Horvat right now, too. They are frighteningly thin down the middle – both in the NHL and their pipeline – and while Cootes won’t be in the mix for a few years, he could follow the same trajectory as Horvat and start in the bottom-six as early as 2026-27 or 2027-28 when he is 19 or 20 years old, all due to his work ethic and already mature defensive game.

Should the Canucks Draft Cootes?

Cootes could be a bit of a reach at 15, but he’s exactly what the Canucks need more of in their system. Players like Horvat, who have an infectious work ethic and the ability to add leadership to a locker room. Also, after the U18s Cootes had, he will be drafted around the 15-20 mark, not in the latter half of the first round like most rankings projected before the tournament. The Canucks should snag him at 15, based solely on his NHL-readiness defensively, as they need all the help they can get down the middle right now – preferably sooner rather than later.