Rutherford says #Canucks brass will discuss if Cootes getting 9 games is best way forward. @noahstrang_ [X/Twitter]

28 comments

  1. I was a big doubter about the kid when we first drafted him. I am thrilled to see how wrong I was about him.

  3. Honest question: why would 9 games hurt his development? So what if he loses 18-25 days not back in the CHL.

  6. He has earned a taste. Let him taste it to see what the pace is like and so he can come back ready next year.

  8. He’s earned it. And I won’t be surprised if he plays well enough in those 9 games to warrant staying longer

  9. Growth isn’t always linear and you don’t know what you have until your ramp up the difficulty. I don’t think there’s no harm to his development to give him the 9 games but if we want a fast start we want to ice the most experienced lineup we can. That said, Cootes at 20 with another 10lbs and some AHL experience could slot right in at 3C.

  10. I think my concern is just the overall Canucks centre depth, because they’re not really in a position to shelter Cootes and it’s a lot of road games early on against tough teams. Theres a real chance he could get exposed.

    EP40 needs to re-establish himself as a dominant 1C. Chytil is not very solid defensively. Raty is a rookie trying to make the team that needs to be sheltered. Blueger is solid defensively but is a bottom-6 centre.

    I just don’t know if they really can put Cootes in a position to succeed given the questions around their centre depth. If it was EP40-Miller-Suter(W)-Blueger-Raty-Cootes I would feel a lot more comfortable getting him 9 games.

  11. I think just being around pros for (up to) 9 games and the NHL practices the weight room training the pro diets etc… will help him a lot if / when he is sent back just the intensity day in and out, game day and practice focus.
    Being around Hughes and Petey etc will have influence no doubt. Kane broke in at 18 and I’m sure he has many stories to say stay away from this kid and steer him to be a pro, even in Junior.
    Cootes is a leader no doubt about it, and appears to be soaking up everything and playing with intensity.

    He didn’t get so worked up about face offs vs McDavid he actually had a strong face off % and was +1 and third highest Canucks forward with minutes.

    He’s much more mature, and so different than our highest drafted franchise player Petr Nedved at 18 vs his idol Gretzky.

  12. 9 games is an absolute no brainer. Minimum. I’m not even scared of burning a year off his ELC, just means you get to sign him for longer sooner.

    Another thing to consider is if they think for those 9 games Cootes can help get them 2-4 points more with him than without him. It would buy them time to make a trade if one pops up. Or Cootes continues to ascend and we just keep him up. He’s gotten to the point where even if he has a bad game you call it an anomaly and mostly forget about it.

  13. If we’re not a contender without him, then we aren’t with him. Just be patient and let him develop.

  14. If he can help this team win games then fuck it, keep him.

    He has already showed signs of belonging, and the level of player he has to beat is pretty low let’s be honest.

    Give him the 9 games and if he’s not ready then it is what it is, he doesn’t strike me as the type of guy to let that sewer him.

  15. I definitely think he should go play junior for 1 more year. He’s looked great and probably could hold his own in the nhl, but its only beneficial to let him cook and dominate for 1 more year. You could easily mess up his progress putting him in right away. Let him dominate then you go into next off season with him already in the picture. Zero reason to rush this, I dont care what the centre ice depth looks like.

  18. If you are going to keep a player of this age for 9 games then you do it thins way (in my humble opinion):

    – make the team and tell he gets 9 games. not 8, not 4, commit to the 9. Tell them they will be released for the World Juniors then commit them back to there Jr team. Do this up front. Lay the expectations out for both sides.

    – play sheltered minutes for 4 home games in October/November. It could be 3 mins a game, 6 mins, 10 mins but sheltered. Pick and choose the spots. At this point it is about practice and learning to be a pro.

    – On a road trip commit to playing them 2 games as a regular on a line with regular ice time. Mistakes will be made, but they will be in front of road crowds. Let the mistakes happen and don’t bench them for a mistake. Encourage them.

    – Have them start a home game (on a Saturday night) on the opening line. Give them PP time. Let them kill a penalty. Invite their family, make it a big deal. Have them play a regular shift. Put Mom and Dad on the jumbotron.

    – Play the next 2 games where every they have earned. It could be 3 mins a game, 6 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins or 20.

    – Sent them off to the World Junior tournament (mid December camp) and let them go back to being a big fish in a little pond at an international tournament.

    – Pressure their Junior league team to make sure the player is on a good team that is going to make the playoffs. If the player needs be traded to make that happen then help facilitate it.

  20. He’s been better than a ton of players that are supposed to be better than he is. It’s a no brainer to put him in for the 9 games, my actual worry is what happens if he’s playing better than a significant number of the players on the team when those 9 games are up.

  22. Give him the 9 games to evaluate what he can do in the regular season, think he held up well with McDrai hammering us. Personally I’d send him back down to get his endurance up and work on adding more muscle to prepare for the longer 84 game season.

  23. I posted a poll before pre season and people were laughing it off, he’s really made the most of his opportunity so far.

  24. Assuming Cootes finishes the preseason strong, he looks set to get the “Jett Luchanko 2024–25 treatment.”

    Both are similar in build and profile as young centers. Last season, Luchanko was eased in with sheltered middle-six minutes over four games, close to 60% offensive-zone starts, and 10 minutes of power-play time.

    For Cootes, I’d like Foote to take a similar approach. Give him spot starts against Calgary, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Nashville. While he’s up with the big club, surround him with the full support system—nutritionists, coaches, trainers. Then send him back to dominate the WHL with Seattle in November or when Hoglander is back, followed by the World Juniors in December. Once the WHL season wraps up, let him finish the year in Abbotsford, where Malhotra can work closely with him on faceoffs while he picks up a few AHL games.

    The wrinkle is the on-ice pressure to start the season strong. This team can’t afford to stumble out of the gate, so minutes will be leaned heavily on proven veterans. Every point in October matters as much as points in April, which makes it unlikely Foote risks overexposing Cootes. Instead, his NHL looks will likely be controlled and situational, keeping the focus on banking wins while still giving him a taste of the league

  25. Is he good enough?
    Yes

    But unless he’s clearly ready, physically and mentally, it isn’t worth the risk either for his sake or the team’s. I don’t want him injured or burnt out.

    Usually it’s first overall picks that thrive being elevated early, so unless he’s a comparable calibre, developing longer will help him reach a higher potential in the long run.

  26. Can somebody explain to me why it’s 9 games? Is it a rule? Sounds like an odd number

  27. With hoglander injured….I’d sooo love to see a lekki / cootes line up….whether with Kane or even third line pairing.

    *It would tickle my fancy inside, for a start of the season* ….put the fear in, for our future;)

  28. He’s too good for the WHL. Will he really benefit from playing another season there anyway? Wish he could just go to the AHL

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