Canucks select Braeden Cootes with 15th overall pick at NHL draft

Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, right, speaks as general manager Patrik Allvin listens during the NHL hockey team's end of season news conference, in Vancouver, on Monday, April 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

LOS ANGELES — The Vancouver Canucks picked Braeden Cootes of the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds with the 15th overall selection in the NHL draft Friday.

Cootes produced 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 games with the Thunderbirds this season.

The five-foot-11, 183-pound forward from Sherwood Park, Alta., is also Seattle’s captain.

Vancouver finished 10th in the Western Conference last season, six points behind the playoff cutline.

The Canucks have already been active this off-season, acquiring forward Evander Kane from the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Scoring winger Brock Boeser will become an unrestricted free agent if unsigned before the market opens Tuesday.

Rounds two through seven of the draft take place on Saturday. The Canucks have five remaining draft picks, one for each round except the fourth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.