Braeden Cootes’ – Braeden Cootes turned the Vancouver Canucks’ development camp spotlight into a statement, scoring in a three-on-three game with fellow top prospect Caleb Malhotra after the pair spent the three-day orientation camp as roommates. With the franchise in a rebuild
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — The moment Braeden Cootes separated Caleb Malhotra’s forecheck to start a solo rush. it felt like the kind of play development camp was built for: one burst of control. one decisive step. then a spectacular three-on-three goal on Thursday at the Vancouver Canucks’ development camp.
It wasn’t just a highlight reel strike. It was also a reminder that two of the organization’s most important prospects have already found rhythm with each other. Cootes and Malhotra were roommates for the three-day orientation camp.
“ I never played against him before. but getting to know him these last three or four days has been awesome. ” Cootes said. “ He’s played with a couple of guys that I played with before. and I’ve heard nothing but great things (about him). He’s a great kid and an unreal player with a really bright future. So I’m really excited that we picked him.”.
When asked what Malhotra is like day-to-day, Cootes kept it simple. “Low maintenance,” he said.
The camp at Rogers Forum — home of Vancouver’s minor-league team — opened just four days after the Canucks selected Malhotra third overall on Friday. using the franchise’s highest draft pick in 27 years. For Cootes, the shift is immediate and obvious. He was Vancouver’s “favoured first-born child” among prospects last year. Now that Malhotra has arrived, the attention has started to rotate.
Still, Cootes remains the one most likely to be on the team’s roster next fall. He appeared in three NHL games last October, becoming the first 18-year-old to make the Canucks out of training camp since Petr Nedved in 1990.
Malhotra is 18 and figures to head to Boston University.
Cootes, 19 and from Edmonton, is trying to stick with Vancouver after an excellent draft-plus-one season in junior hockey. But he doesn’t frame the moment as a personal battle. Yielding some of the spotlight to Malhotra is part of the plan.
“It’s good that we’re getting more players,” Cootes said of Malhotra’s arrival. “That’s what you want. We want to build a good team. I don’t want it just to be me, right?. Like, I want more really good players, and that’s how you build a championship team. So it’s awesome that we’re getting high draft picks. Hopefully, in the future, we don’t need high draft picks, and they’re all on the team. It’s just exciting that we get these really good players.”.
What the Canucks are watching for now is whether that “really good” label can be applied to Cootes at the NHL level — sooner rather than later. After using his impressive NHL training camp as a launch pad. Cootes made Canada’s team for the world junior championships this past season. He amassed 63 points in 45 junior games for Seattle and Prince Albert. He was traded mid-season by the rebuilding Thunderbirds, and he helped drive the Raiders to the Western Hockey League final.
By the time he showed up at development camp, he looked different from last summer. He was noticeably bigger, stronger and faster. But Cootes said his biggest improvement wasn’t physical at all — it was mental.
“I’m probably five or seven pounds more, like 191 or 192,” the six-foot centre said. “In (Prince Albert), I had awesome billets and they fed me like a king. I was pretty spoiled. I actually gained a little bit of weight — good weight — being there, and I’ve been trying to do that.
“I think the biggest thing is just confidence, honestly. I know I wasn’t fully ready (for the NHL last fall). but it gave me a sense of. like. ‘I want to get back there as soon as possible.’ I knew I can do it. and I can be a good player in that league. just maybe not then. When I went back to Seattle … it kind of lit a little fire under me just to. you know. work as hard as I could so I could get back there.”.
The Canucks, meanwhile, weren’t standing still. When Cootes made the NHL team’s opening-night lineup nine months ago. Vancouver were an experienced group led by superstar defenceman Quinn Hughes. and were plotting a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. By December, Hughes had been traded. Other veterans soon followed, and the Canucks plummeted to last place in the league as their rebuild took hold.
For a young player trying to climb into the league, that change in the organization’s direction matters. It also made the timing feel sharper.
“It was kind of an interesting situation,” Cootes understated when asked about watching the Canucks from afar. “But also it was tough to see. like. Quinn. (Conor) Garland and (Tyler) Myers go because they’re such awesome players and good people. But that’s just kind of how hockey goes sometimes; it doesn’t always go your way. So, I mean, when I saw what was happening … I was kind of excited for the opportunity. We’re kind of going in this direction with a younger group. Especially for myself and where I’m at in my career, that’s exciting.
“I mean, it’s tough to see the team take kind of a step back, but there’s a lot of things in the future to look forward to.”
Then he returned to where his confidence comes from. “I feel a lot more ready. I mean, mentally, just from those three games (in the NHL) and from my season last year, I think there’s a lot. A little faster, a little stronger, but I would say just more mentally ready.”
At minimum, Cootes has made his case inside the same building where other top prospects were making theirs. Most of the Canucks’ top prospects showed well at development camp. In Thursday’s three-on-three tournament. the three most impressive players were Cootes. Malhotra. and 18-year-old Adam Novotny — the big. fast Czech winger Vancouver selected 24th on Friday from the Peterborough Petes. Malhotra played against Novotny in the Ontario Hockey League with the Brantford Bulldogs.
For the coaching staff, the performance is only part of the story. Mikael Samuelsson, the Canucks development coach, said what stands out is that Cootes is starting to shift from junior focus to something else.
“I see he’s starting to become ready for something else (other) than juniors,” Samuelsson said Thursday. “That’s what I see, and a lot of things come to mind when I say that. I see a guy who’s, like, on a mission. He wants to be the difference-maker, he wants to be the guy. But when we’re sitting down. just being around the guys. (he is) the kind of guy we want on the team. What a great human being. We have his eyes when we’re talking; he’s listening. He’s listening to the experienced guys, too, whoever talks. He’s humble and treats people the right way.”.
Under new management, headed by general manager Ryan Johnson, the Canucks are putting a premium on character and leadership as ingredients for building a healthier culture within the team. Cootes was Seattle’s captain, and Samuelsson said those leadership qualities already show.
“I say it like this: First, you’re quiet,” Samuelsson explained of the adjustment to professional hockey. “You’re actually learning, but you’re still quiet. And then you can start to talk (and be a leader). He’s in the learning process now. You can see he’s taking a lot of things in. It’s like he’s getting ready for something else — to be a great teammate and a heckuva player. I think.”.
There’s plenty still to prove before roster decisions in the fall. But Thursday’s three-on-three goal wasn’t isolated. It landed inside a larger picture: Cootes’ quieter confidence. his growing leadership. and a Canucks franchise — now fully in its rebuild — that is looking for exactly the type of young. mentally prepared center who can handle being relied on.
Braeden Cootes Caleb Malhotra Vancouver Canucks development camp Rogers Forum NHL roster world juniors Quinn Hughes Ryan Johnson Mikael Samuelsson Adam Novotny Seattle Thunderbirds Prince Albert Raiders