WHL’s Raiders acquire Braeden Cootes in blockbuster trade with Thunderbirds

PRINCE ALBERT — The Western Hockey League’s Prince Albert Raiders have acquired forward Braeden Cootes, fresh off a bronze medal at the world junior championship, in a big trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds involving a dozen players and draft picks.

Cootes was a first-round pick (15th overall) of the Vancouver Canucks in 2025 and played three games with the NHL club before he was returned to the WHL.

The 18-year-old centre from Sherwood Park, Alta., had two goals in seven games for Canada at the world men’s under-20 tournament that concluded Sunday in Minnesota.

The Raiders, who top the WHL’s East Division, picked up Cootes from the T-Birds alongside draft picks in the fourth and sixth rounds in 2026, and a conditional second-rounder in 2028 in the deal announced Wednesday by the club.

But Prince Albert paid handsomely for Cootes in sending first- and second-round picks in 2026, a first-round pick in 2028, a third-round pick in 2027, forward Ethan Bibeau and prospects Knox Burton, Diego Gutierrez, and Tripp Fischer to Seattle.

The six-foot, 183-pound Cootes compiled 10 goals and 13 assists in 17 games for the Thunderbirds this season, and 50 goals and 72 assists in 148 games overall with Seattle.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2026.