Canucks: Braeden Cootes thinks 'sky's the limit' with his new Prince Albert teammates

Top Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes has found a fast fit with the Prince Albert Raiders, it seems.

Cootes was named first star of Prince Albert’s 5-3 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings at the Art Hauser Centre Saturday night, after picking up a goal and an assist. He also had four shots and was 9-for-16 in the face-off circle.

Cootes, 18, made his Prince Albert debut in a 6-1 win at home Friday over the Swift Current Broncos. He had five shots and was 5-of-6 in the circle that night.

The Raiders traded four players and four WHL Draft selections — including first rounders in 2026 and 2028 — to the Seattle Thunderbirds last Tuesday to land Cootes, who was the Canucks’ first-round pick (No. 15 overall) in last summer’s NHL Draft. Seattle also received two draft picks and a conditional selection in the swap.

The WHL trade deadline was Thursday and Prince Albert (28-6-4-0) is the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Seattle (15-19-2-2) is No. 11 in the 12-team West.

“The sky’s the limit,” Cootes told reporters about Prince Albert’s potential after the game Saturday. “We can do anything we put our minds to. I think we can go all the way.

“Guys are dialled in, man. They know what they want. They want to win badly. It’s pretty cool to be here.”

Cootes was part of the Canucks’ opening night lineup after a strong training camp and stuck with the team for three games before being reassigned to junior. He’s also missed WHL games this season as part of the Team Canada entry at the world juniors. The right-shot centre  has 11 goals and 25 points in 19 WHL games so far this season. He had 26 goals and 63 points in 60 regular-season games with the Thunderbirds a season ago.

Cootes was playing on a line with Max Heise and Maddix McCagherty with Prince Albert Saturday. Heise, 19, a San Jose Sharks 2025 fifth rounder, has 19 goals and 35 points with Prince Albert this season. McCagherty, 19, came to the Raiders in a Dec. 3 trade with the Wenatchee Wild and has 11 goals and 33 points combined.

Prince Albert’s leading scorer is Aiden Oiring, 20, and he has 45 points, including 17 goals. He’s centring a line with Brandon Gorzynski and Brayden Dube. Gorzynski, 18, is a 2025 Dallas Stars fourth rounder who has 17 goals and 42 points while Dube, 20, has 18 goals and 38 points.

Prince Albert is third in the league in goals (171), has given up the second fewest goals (100) and is third in power-play percentage (31.5).

The Raiders get back at it on Tuesday, when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings. They don’t make a trip to B.C. the remainder of the regular season, so the earliest they could play in this province this season is the WHL final or the Memorial Cup, the four-team national tournament that’s in Kelowna in May.

sewen@postmedia.com

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