Braeden Cootes on being sent back to Seattle, experience with the Canucks and more

Braeden Cootes on being sent back to Seattle, experience with the Canucks and more

Donnie and Dolly, the team is supported by abblections.ca. Closing your business, we can help. Thursday and all today’s guests, including Braden Coots, standing by. Brought to you by the Vancouver Giants, celebrating anniversary 25. The Gman back at the LEC this weekend. Tomorrow they take on Wachi 7:00 p.m. Sunday, Madison Hat in town. puck drop 4 pm. The first 1500 fans to either game will get a 25th anniversary hat. Visit vancouvergiants.com for ticket info and to check out their theme night schedule for this season. Our next guest knows all about the Giants in the Western Hockey League. It’s Braden Coot, Seattle Thunderbird Center, drafted 15th overall by the Conucks in June. You know the story, folks. Solid camp, solid preseason, three regular season games with Vancouver. He’s now back with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Braden, thanks so much for doing this, sir. How are you? I’m good. How are you? Thanks for having me. Very well. Uh, getting drafted, going to an NHL camp. I just said it. Solid preseason. Uh, you play three NHL games. Can Can you put into words what the last three or four months have been like for you, Braden? Yeah, they’ve been pretty crazy. um for sure a lot different than um any other summers I’ve had or anything like that, but you know, getting drafted um going to development camp and then going to World Junior camp and then going to uh Seattle then Vancouver training camp and then um preseason and getting some regular season games. So, uh pretty busy, but um that’s usually a good thing. So, uh it’s been pretty cool. How did you react to the news of getting sent back down to the T-Irds? It was fine. Um, I knew like, you know, it was fun being up and playing with the guys and getting to play in the regular season. I mean, that’s been my dream since I was a little kid. Um, you know, so, um, but I was more than okay with it. Um, I knew it was probably best for me and, you know, getting to play more. I can have the puck in my stick, you know, a lot more and, you know, scoring more goals and making plays and working on my skills. So, um, yeah, I was, uh, more than okay with it. In line with that, Braden, what have the Conucks told you? What do you have to work on? Uh, no, like I mean, just like just overall everything. There wasn’t really a specific thing. They were very happy with how I played. um they um you know told me to come down here and dominate and play my game and keep working on everything and um you know try to keep keep getting better each day. Hey Braden, uh the Vancouver leadership group, I mean when you were up um your teammates must have helped you a lot, the coaching staff. What do you say about all those guys that helped guide you in, you know, an 18-year-old into the NHL? Yeah, it was great. We have we have obviously a lot of a few older guys there that have been in the league for a long time and been in Vancouver for a long time. So, um you know in training camp too and just getting to know me there’s you know Kefir Sherwood was one that was awesome to me. He was um you know first day training camp he felt like my teammate. Um he was so easy to talk to. Um he was on my line too so that obviously it made it easier to get to know him right away. Um, but you know, there’s so many guys on the team that were that were great to me. You know, uh, Braden, 18 year olds, 18year-old in the NHL. How close do you feel? I mean, like, you did really well. I mean, you were the number one story in Vancouver for a long time. You must be thinking, you know, I’m going to go to Seattle, work on my stuff, but come back next year and be there all season. Yeah, for sure. I mean, I I for sure still have work to do. There’s no question about that. Um, but you know, I think I’m pretty close. Like I think just, you know, tuning up a few more things, getting faster, getting stronger. I mean, just the normal getting older, too, just in general as a human being will help. Um, and coming down here in Seattle and, you know, working each day to get better, playing good, winning games here, trying to drive the bus here with this team and, um, be good, obviously. But, no, yeah, there’s still tons of work to be done. Um, but yeah, I think I can make that jump next year and um, it’s on me to make sure I’m ready for it. I I think a lot of people are rooting for you to play for Canada at the World Juniors. Uh, Braden, is that one of your goals right now too as well? Yeah, that’s for sure. Number one goal right now. Um, you know, was, you know, was I was to stay with Vancouver and then, um, came back here, which was fine. And then um you know even in the summer I had my had my mind on trying to make the team this year for World Juniors. Um obviously not an easy team to make you know with Canada because we’re so good. Um it’s it’s been my goal and I want to do that. I want to help him win because we’ve been struggling recently. So um it’s been tough not fun to watch. So um you know I want to help him out and uh win a gold medal. Okay. Thunderbirds host Prince George on Friday, Wanachi on Saturday. Will you be playing on those games, Braden, from what you know? I will be. Yeah. Okay. And and as far as where you grew up, the Edmonton area, Sherwood Park, Alberta. We see your dad on social media. What can you tell us about growing up there? I mean, it’s hockey country and the influence your father had on you. Um, yes. It’s like you said, it’s hockey country. It’s all there really is there is is hockey and the Oilers. So, um it was great growing up there in Ch Park. Um it’s a very big hockey town. Um that’s, you know, basically the main thing there. Um I loved growing up there. I still love going back in the summers. And yeah, my dad, he was he was uh my number one supporter. Um you know, still is. Same with my mom. uh you know, he still helps me out every day with um you know, if it’s anything to do with, you know, my debit card or anything like that, all those things that you know, maybe obviously don’t get looked at or just things behind the scenes that he helps me with. So, um yeah, he’s been I wouldn’t be here with uh without him and my mom. Okay, Braden, uh finally, uh you’re in Seattle. Any chance you’re going to be able to catch a ball game down there? And do you have any ins with the Thunderbirds? The Mariners? Yeah. Blue Jays guy, right? Yeah. I I um I wanted to go. I I didn’t realize they were playing last night. I would go tonight, but we play tomorrow. So, um I I I wouldn’t go tonight, but uh I watched the game last night. I know my GM was at the game, Bill, yesterday, and he was he’s pretty disappointed today. So, um that the Blue Jays lost or um Yeah. So, uh, or they won. Sorry. I don’t know why he’s disappointed, actually. But, yeah. All people in this area are split. They’re either Blue Jays fans or or Mariners fans. And it’s not automatically Blue Jays fans. Uh, because they’re Canadian. Hey, call Can the Canucks management. They have those guys. They Rutherford. They’ve got some connections. They’ll get you tickets. Get tickets. Get tickets. You probably don’t want to do that. Okay. Okay. Braden, thanks for this. All the best to so many people here that are pulling for you. Thanks so much for doing this, my friend. No problem. Thanks for having me.

Seattle Thunderbirds Forward Braeden Cootes joined the guys and shared his reaction to being sent back to the Thunderbirds and what he learned with his time with the Canucks.