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Canucks Weigh Keeping 18-Year-Old Braeden Cootes on Opening Roster After Standout Camp

His preseason poise, coupled with Nils Höglander’s injury, has forced a real-time reassessment of where he should start the season.

Braeden Cootes, Vancouver Canucks (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Overview

  • The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, via Pro Hockey Rumors, reports Cootes is in the driver’s seat to make Vancouver’s season-opening roster after an impressive camp.
  • Internal debate has shifted from giving him a brief look to whether his play could hold across a full NHL season or be better served by a WHL return.
  • Höglander is expected to miss significant time, creating roster opportunity that could ease keeping Cootes with the big club to start the year.
  • Rules limit his options to NHL or WHL at age 18, and he could get up to nine NHL games without burning the first year of his entry-level contract.
  • Despite the strong push, many observers still see a WHL return as the likeliest path, with any NHL action this season potentially coming as a short early look or later call-up.