‘So fun to be around’: Canucks prospect Cootes reflects on time with Quinn Hughes

Braeden Cootes is excited about the future, both what sits right around the corner and what awaits further down the road.

The Vancouver Canucks prospect also looks back fondly at his recent past.

Cootes made the NHL club out of training camp at age 18 and played three regular-season games before being returned to the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds in October.

The Sherwood Park, Alta., product, now taking part in Canada’s training camp ahead of the world junior hockey championship, got a taste of living his dream. And he rubbed elbows with one of the game’s best.

Quinn Hughes, who the Canucks traded last week to the Minnesota Wild in a stunning blockbuster deal, took Cootes under his wing at training camp and offered him pointers about life in the show during their brief time together as teammates.

And then there was the on-ice spectacle from the team’s captain and Norris Trophy-winning defenceman.

“It was eye-opening,” Cootes, selected 15th overall by Vancouver at the 2025 draft, said this week in Niagara Falls, Ont. “Just getting to see what (Hughes) did every day at practice, how good he was, how much he competes, how confident he is, and the way he controls the game out there was quite fun to watch.

“Being on the ice with him a good bit was something I’ll never forget, because I don’t know if I ever will again. He was awesome — so nice to me, so fun to be around. He’s a special player.”

Cootes, who has 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points across 17 WHL games this season, was equally excited to see the return coming Vancouver’s way. The Canucks received highly-touted defenceman Zeev Buium, forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and the Wild’s 2026 first-round pick in the swap.

Cootes, along with the players acquired, will hopefully hit their NHL strides around the same time.

“I’ve watched Zeev at world juniors,” Cootes said. “He was really good last year … one of the best players in the tournament. He’s kinda similar to Quinn. He’s not there yet. Quinn’s a special talent, but he could get there.

“Rossi looks really good, too. It’s exciting that we got some good players and a first-round pick.”

Something else to look forward to is the opportunity ahead for Cootes with the under-20 men’s national team.

Canada is coming off back-to-back disastrous fifth-place finishes, but is looking to turn the page in search of a record 21st gold medal. Cootes could be a big part of the equation in Minnesota when the tournament gets going Boxing Day.

“Plays a good, solid, two-way game,” said Mark Hunter, part of the program’s management group. “That’s what a lot of players have to figure out. It’s another level in the National Hockey League. He can play that way. Some young guys can’t. Then they lose ice time and wonder, ‘Why?’ The coach doesn’t feel comfortable because of mistakes.

“He’s responsible, understands where to go, intelligent. You talk to him one-on-one, he’s mature.”

Cootes skated on a line with Carter Bear and Cole Reschny in Canada’s 2-1 victory over Sweden in pre-tournament play Wednesday in Kitchener, Ont., and has been on the first power-play unit alongside the likes of Gavin McKenna and Zayne Parekh.

“Any time you put on the Canadian jersey, it’s a huge honour,” Cootes said. “Just trying to put my best foot forward … we’ve got higher standards than anyone else.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2025.