Top Canucks draft pick Braeden Cootes misses world junior camp exhibition games with injury
Cootes was one of 20 forwards and 36 players overall at the Canada camp. There were eight forwards invited who did not attend, and that list included Kelowna Rockets winger Tij Iginla and Brandon Wheat Kings centre Roger McQueen, who both missed most of this past season with injuries.
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Of the 44 players invited, 11 are 18 year olds, including Cootes. The rest are 19. Seven players from the group played in this past season's world juniors.
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Cootes was captain of the Canadian team that won the Under-18 world championship in May in Frisco, Texas. He finished that tournament with six goals and 12 points in seven games.
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Cootes was also captain of the Thunderbirds this past season, sharing the 'C' initially with Canucks 2023 third rounder Sawyer Mynio and then taking it full time when the Thunderbirds traded blue liner Mynio to the Calgary Hitmen in early January.
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Mynio played for Team Canada at the world juniors this past season in Ottawa. The team was bounced in the quarterfinals with a 4-3 loss to Czechia.
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Cootes tallied 26 times and had 63 points in 60 regular season games in his second full season in Seattle. He notched 14 goals and put up 35 points in 64 games as a WHL rookie in 2023-24.
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Seattle makes its first visit to B.C. in the WHL's second week of the season, playing a weekend twin bill with the Kamloops Blazers on Sept. 26-27. They aren't at the Langley Events Centre to face the Vancouver Giants until Feb. 6. Their other trip to the LEC is Feb. 27.
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Seattle won the WHL title in 2022-23. They finished ninth in the 11-team Western Conference at 27-38-2-1 in 2023-24 and eighth at 30-33-4-1 last season. They pushed the first-place Everett Silvertips to six games in the first round, including losing twice in overtime.
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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Victoria Mboko became the first Canadian to win the hometown tournament in Montreal and just the third to do it in the Open Era, joining Bianca Andreescu (2019) and Faye Urban (1969). After celebrating her come-from-behind, 2-6 6-4 6-1 win over the Japanese star, Mboko ran to hug her family and coaches in their courtside box as the crowd went wild. But while Mboko was overjoyed, her opponent in the final was notably less than enthused. In fact, many were quick to note that Naomi Osaka, the former world No. 1, didn't congratulate the victorious Victoria in her post-match speech. 'Thanks, I guess,' Osaka began her speech at centre court. 'I don't really want to take up too much time, so I'll just say thank you to everyone. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Thank you to my team, thank you to the ball kids, thank you to the organizers and all the volunteers, and I hope you guys all had a good night.' Naomi Osaka after losing to Victoria Mboko in Montreal final'I don't really wanna take up too much time. I'll just say thank you to everyone. Thank you to my team, the ball kids, organizers, & volunteers. I hope you guys had a good night.' — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 8, 2025 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, also had appeared sour at times during the match as the raucous crowd in Montreal rallied behind the hometown hero. 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