The Vancouver Canucks surprised many by including first-round selection Braeden Cootes in the opening night roster. Only games into his NHL journey alongside Elias Pettersson and company, the 18-year-old forward spoke on his thoughts so far.
Selecting Cootes with the 15th overall pick in the 2025 NHL entry Draft, it was clear the Canucks had high expectations for the Alberta-native. Still, even those were exceeded when the teenager made his career debut during Vancouver’s season opener.
Almost a week into his professional ride, Cootes voiced an honest statement on his mindset so far and how life’s been since entering the NHL. On that note, he shared an encouraging message for fans to find comfort in what they hear from the youngster.
“It’s been good, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but I’m just trying to take it all in,” Cootes admitted in dialogue with NHL.com. “I’m just trying to play my game and not worry too much about making mistakes and just go out there and play.”
Murphy’s Law
Cootes is probably taking the best approach to his first outings in the NHL. Surrounded by household names like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, it might be easy to get starstruck and slip up.
Instead, Cootes isn’t overthinking things—he’s just doing what he’s done for as long as he can remember: play hockey. In doing so, he avoids shooting himself in the foot. As Murphy’s Law suggests, anything that can go wrong will go wrong if you dwell on it.
Cootes will have time to blossom into a more cerebral player, but for now, the top priority is weathering the storm and acclimating to his new surroundings in Vancity. If he keeps going down this road, Cootes will have his first career point before he knows it.