The Vancouver Canucks were looking to acquire a second-line centre with the 15th-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
It's entirely possible that they did exactly that, only by using the pick rather than trading it.
The Canucks selected Braeden Cootes with the 15th-overall pick, a right-shot centre and captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL.
Braeden Cootes is a "one-man forecheck"
There was no surprise that the Canucks picked Cootes, as they were connected to the centre in rumours heading into the draft after taking him out for dinner at the draft combine. He fits the style of game the Canucks want to play: a play-driving, north-south, hard-forechecking player with leadership and character in spades.
Really, the biggest surprise wasn't about who they picked but that they picked anyone at all. It seemed like a given that the Canucks would trade the pick in their pursuit of a top-six centre for next season. But the Canucks couldn't find a taker before the draft, though not for lack of trying, with reports that they offered the Minnesota Wild a package including the 15th-overall pick for Marco Rossi.
The upshot is that the Canucks added an intriguing talent to their prospect pool in Cootes, who could become the second-line centre they're looking for, albeit in a few years, rather than next season.
The 5'11" Cootes led the Thunderbirds in scoring, putting up 26 goals and 63 points in 60 games. That is modest production compared to some of the other top prospects coming out of the WHL, but it has to be considered in the context of playing on a mediocre Thunderbirds team.
“A one-man forecheck, Cootes’ motor and energy are undeniably elite,” reads his scouting report from Elite Prospects. “In a single shift, he can amass multiple retrievals, guiding opponents into a big hit, spinning off a check and passing, winning another race by winning inside position metres before the boards, and repeating over and over until the puck finds twine.”
The defensive details in Cootes's game give him a high floor, as he seems almost certain to play NHL games as, at the very least, a bottom-six centre. What's intriguing is his offensive upside, as there's a lot more to his game than his points would suggest.
"He's one of my favourites," said an anonymous NHL scout quoted by The Hockey News. "He doesn't have anyone to play with and gets the tough matchups, and he still makes things happen. He's really smart, with deceptive skill. He skates well and plays hard. He checks all the boxes."
"His game resembles that of a young Brendan Gallagher"
Cootes does a little bit of everything offensively, whether it's attacking off the rush, setting up teammates on in-zone possession, and sniping on the power play with his excellent wrist shot.
"Cootes isn’t the most elite offensive player in the draft class," said Sportsnet's Jason Bukala, who ranked him 15th on his draft board, "but his game resembles that of a young Brendan Gallagher.”
The Canucks would certainly take a Gallagher: a 40-50 point forward capable of popping in 30 goals.
Cootes showed some of that offence on Team Canada at the World Under-18 Championship, scoring 6 goals and 12 points in just 7 games to lead his team in scoring as he captained Canada to the gold medal. Along with the offensive explosion, Cootes continued to dominate defensively.
"Cootes, yet again, was the best defensive forward on the ice," said Elite Prospects' Daniel Gee in a scouting report from the Under-18s. "Stick-in-release pressure, down-low lane clogs, and physicality — it was all there."
"We dare you to find someone who will say something bad about Cootes"
Essentially, Cootes projects to be a player who can be whoever you want him to be on the ice. He'll kill penalties, he'll win faceoffs, he'll play on the power play, and he'll be on the ice when you're defending a one-goal lead and when you're trailing by a goal and desperately need to score. Odds are, he'll end up wearing a letter on his chest at some point in his career.
The only question for Cootes is if he can fulfil that projection. There are some questions about his upside and whether he can be more than just a bottom-six forward at the NHL level.
"His skill is elite, he’s a strong skater, he wears the C, and he brings it every game," said one NHL scout quoted by Elite Prospects. "He just makes the game harder than it needs to be, though. He’s probably going to be a checker despite his size, just because he doesn’t have much feel for the game."
That question mark is why some independent draft rankings had Cootes in the back half of the first round, though no one had him lower than 22nd overall. Honestly, that kind of consensus was fairly rare in this draft class, which speaks to how Cootes impressed everyone who watched him play, even if they didn't all believe in his offensive upside.
"We dare you to try to find someone who will say something bad about Cootes," said Ryan Kennedy in The Hockey News' Draft Preview. "In a draft class that isn't seen as very strong, Cootes has a chance to go pretty high, as there aren't many flaws to his game. Heck, if he were three inches taller and 15 pounds heavier, we might be talking about him in the top five."
That's the kind of value you like to see at 15th overall: a player underrated because he's an inch short of 6'0" and didn't play on a team stacked with other offensive talent. There's a good chance that this pick looks like a steal as early as next season, as he's likely to explode in the WHL.
On top of it all, Cootes has a local connection, as he played his youth hockey at the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford. Patrik Allvin led off his video interview by cracking a joke about selecting a Canadian.
"Hello, Braeden, welcome back to the right side of the border again," said Allvin with a big grin. "Very excited to have you here in Vancouver."
Canucks fans should be excited too.
