Making opening night roster ‘an honour’ for Vancouver Canucks rookie Braeden Cootes

VANCOUVER — Growing up outside of Edmonton, Braeden Cootes always cheered against the Calgary Flames.

Now the 18-year-old Vancouver Canucks centre is preparing to play Calgary as he readies for his first NHL game.

The milestone is one Cootes has long been looking forward to, and the fact it will come against the Flames makes the moment all the sweeter.

“It’s a little extra motivation. I’m not too big a fan of them,” said the teen, who grew up in the Edmonton suburb of Sherwood Park. “But it’s cool.”

Cootes’ inclusion on Vancouver’s opening night roster came as a surprise to some.

Selected 15th overall by the Canucks in June’s NHL entry draft, the five-foot-11, 183-pound forward will be one of the youngest faces in the league to start the campaign.

Making it through Vancouver’s final cut was “a big honour,” Cootes said.

“Obviously, I proved myself,” he said. “I’ve still got to be playing well and taking it day by day. But step one is I’m here and I’m playing. So that’s a huge accomplishment and I’m really proud of it.”

Cootes is expected to be in the lineup Thursday when the Canucks host the Flames in their season opener.

He’ll have a few family members, including his parents and one of his brothers, in the crowd, cheering him on.

The game will be a special one for the rookie, said Quinn Hughes.

“I’m excited for him. Rookie lap will be pretty cool, something you always remember,” said Vancouver’s captain. “And he should just enjoy it, because he’s going to play a long time, but you only have one first game.”

Cootes comes to Vancouver after playing parts of three seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.

Last season, he captained the team and registered 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 games.

Through much of training camp, Cootes has centred a line with veteran winger Evander Kane and Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who won the Calder Cup with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks last spring.

Cootes has improved throughout camp and pre-season play, said Canucks head coach Adam Foote.

“He’s smart, he’s playing with good players, he can read off it,” Foote said. “And the information, he seems not to get confused, or it doesn’t slow him down.

“Obviously, at times, there might be an adjustment with certain things, but he’s handled it well. And we’re just going to take it day to day.”

How long Cootes will remain with the NHL club remains to be seen.

The young forward earned his spot on the opening night roster, said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin, but the club needs to be “a little bit careful and evaluate as we go along.”

“He’s young, but he’s playing a very, very mature game,” Allvin said. “So we’ll see here as we move along.”

Vancouver made some late substitutions to its opening night roster Tuesday, placing defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph on injured reserve retroactive to Sept. 30 and calling up Victor Mancini from Abbotsford.

Depth forward Teddy Blueger also won’t be in the lineup for Thursday’s game as he recovers from an injury he picked up in Vancouver’s final pre-season tilt on Friday, a 3-2 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Canucks will also be without winger Nils Hoglander to start the season as he works his way back from lower-body surgery after getting hurt in the team’s pre-season game against the Calgary Flames on Sept. 24. The 24-year-old Swede is expected to miss 8-10 weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.