The Vancouver Canucks are likely to face the absence of their recent first-round pick at the start of training camp.
Forward Braeden Cootes, selected 15th overall by the Canucks in the 2025 NHL Draft, was forced to leave Saturday`s prospects game against the Seattle Kraken in Everett and will not return to the ice.
The center did not appear on the ice in the third period alongside his teammates.
After the game, prospects coach Manny Malhotra explained that Cootes was removed from play for `precautionary reasons,` and that the club would `re-evaluate his condition to see how he feels tomorrow.`
Cootes signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canucks on July 3. The Sherwood Park, Alta., native played three seasons for the WHL`s Seattle Thunderbirds, serving as captain in his last season.
In the 2024-25 season, Cootes demonstrated impressive results, accumulating 63 points (26 goals and 37 assists) in 60 regular season games, and also adding eight points in six playoff games.
