Braeden Cootes is never going to be a player you gauge strictly off point totals.

The Vancouver Canucks 2025 NHL Draft first-round pick (No. 15 overall) has offensive flair, but he’s been lauded especially for his well-rounded, 200-foot game and his leadership. He was captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds last season, and also wore the ‘C’ for the Team Canada entry that won gold at the Under-18 world championships in May in Texas.

Ask him about his goals for the upcoming campaign and he talks about helping lead Seattle in taking a step forward from last year’s team that finished eighth in the WHL Western Conference and lost in six games in the first round of the playoffs to the first-place Everett Silvertips.

The 6-foot, 183-pound right-shot centre from Sherwood Park, Alta., also talks

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