Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes.

Photo credit: The Hockey News

Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes is officially on the move in the Western Hockey League as he’s set to join one of the top clubs in the Eastern Conference.

While the National Hockey League’s trade deadline might not be for a couple months, around the CHL’s three leagues – OHL, QMJHL and WHL, theirs are all set for this week and so far, we’ve already seen one Vancouver Canucks prospect dealt – Gabriel Chiarot, who went to the Kitchener Rangers for eight draft picks.

There’s still plenty of work to be done for some of these junior clubs and we may end up seeing more Vancouver Canucks prospects on the move in the coming days and for Braeden Cootes, who was selected in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, his name has been mentioned in trade rumors in the Western Hockey League lately.

Vancouver Canucks top prospect Braeden Cootes on the move in the WHL

In a post on social media this morning, Rick Dhaliwal shared that teams around the Western Hockey League have been phoning up the Seattle Thunderbirds to try and get their hands on Braeden Cootes, with the Prince Albert Raiders and Edmonton Oil Kings being two clubs that have shown interest.

“Lots of teams calling Seattle for Canucks #1 draft pick Braeden Cootes, he could bring the Thunderbirds back 8 pieces.

Keep an eye on Prince Albert and Edmonton.” Dhaliwal said.

A short while later, Dhaliwal revealed that the Prince Albert Raiders, who sit second in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 27-5-4 record through 36 games, have won the Braeden Cootes sweepstakes.

“Sounds like Braeden Cootes will be traded to Prince Albert.

WHL” Dhaliwal said.

Cootes, a native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, has appeared in 17 games this season for the Seattle Thunderbirds where he’s put up 23 points (ten goals, 13 assists), two penalty minutes and was a plus-three.

While the return in the Braeden Cootes trade is not known at the time of writing this, the Canucks’ top prospect now has the opportunity to make a deep run in the WHL Playoffs with Prince Albert and perhaps even an appearance in the 2026 Memorial Cup.

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