Vancouver Canucks Rookie Braeden Cootes Opens Up Following His NHL Debut
Photo credit: Bob Frid - Imagn Images.
Vancouver Canucks rookie forward Braeden Cootes opened up to reporters following his National Hockey League debut on Thursday night against the Calgary Flames.
After an impressive training camp and performance throughout the team's preseason, 2025 first round pick Braeden Cootes earned himself a spot on Vancouver's opening night roster, which was announced earlier this week.
"He's such a mature kid off and on the ice here. I think he's level-headed. I think he doesn't get too far ahead. I believe that he's preparing himself for just the next day,. I think it's more load management, matchups, I think those are things that come into the coach's decision on how to play him there. In terms of skill set and how he fits in with the group, he's been impressive up to this point," Patrik Allvin said about Cootes recently.
Cootes was in the lineup on Thursday for his National Hockey League debut and while he might not have made an impact on the scoresheet, there was still a lot to like about his game in limited minutes.
Vancouver Canucks rookie Braeden Cootes opens up after NHL debut
The 18-year-old finished the game as a minus-one in 11:14 of ice time and afterwards, spoke with reporters about how he felt making his debut in the National Hockey League.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool. You kind of black out for a second and try to take it all in. But no, it was awesome. The boys played good, got the first win in the home opener, so you couldn't ask for anything better." Cootes said.
He later added, "Yeah, it was for sure different. It was awesome, something that I'll never forget and yeah, it was pretty cool."
He later added, "Yeah, it was for sure different. It was awesome, something that I'll never forget and yeah, it was pretty cool."
Head Coach Adam Foote told reporters that he felt a little bad at the start of the game because he wasn't able to give Cootes many minutes due to special teams.
Foote also added that later on in the game, before Vancouver extended their lead to 5-1, he didn't want to put Cootes out there in an overly physical situation where the Flames could take liberties, which was certainly the right call.
The Sherwood Park, Alberta native and the rest of the Vancouver Canucks will be back in action tomorrow night on Hockey Night in Canada as they head to Edmonton to take on Connor McDavid & the Oilers. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. PT.
Previously on CanucksDaily
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