Braeden Cootes’ junior team is trending in the right direction.

Cootes, who was the Vancouver Canucks ’ first-round pick (No. 15 overall) in June’s NHL Draft, is the second-earliest selection from that process with the Seattle Thunderbirds now, what with the Buffalo Sabres sending No. 9 overall choice Radim Mrtka back to the WHL club last Friday.

Mrtka, 18, is a 6-foot-6, 216-pound defenceman from Czechia. He had three goals and 35 points in 42 games with Seattle last season after coming over from Europe partway through the campaign.

With his leadership skills and his strong two-way game, Cootes, 18, will be highly coveted by WHL contenders if Seattle isn’t in that mix at the Jan. 8 trade deadline. That said, Seattle was already a young team on the rise — they went six games in the fi

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