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JPat’s Monday Mailbag: What’s the best path for Braeden Cootes’ development in Canucks rebuild?

Jeff Paterson's weekly Vancouver Canucks mailbag.

Jul 13, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 12, 2026, 15:42 EDT

Welcome to another summer edition of the Monday Mailbag. Keep the questions coming throughout the offseason, and we’ll do our best to answer some of them on a weekly basis through the remainder of July and into August, too. The remaining weeks of the offseason will provide us all ample opportunity to assess what the Vancouver Canucks have done since they last played a game and before they hit the ice for training camp. Let’s jump right in and tackle some of the things on your minds this week.

Johnny Singer

@tuneofhockey

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Replying to @patersonjeff

Do you honestly believe a rookie NHL GM, a rookie NHL head coach, and the twins becoming POHO is a recipe for success?

10:11 PM · Jul 4, 2026

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Sure. Why not? Because by the time this team is ready to compete for things that really matter, the group overseeing the hockey club will either have years of gained experience under their collective belts, or they likely won’t be the people in charge any longer. It has been made abundantly clear by the Sedins and Ryan Johnson that this will be a slow, methodical process. With that in mind, wins and losses won’t really matter for a couple of seasons yet. Oh sure, the team needs to show growth and be competitive. But the coaching staff won’t be graded on the team’s position in the standings for the next couple of seasons. It’s all about player development. In that sense, the people in charge have to grow along with the players on the ice. That’s why going young (and inexperienced) with a coaching staff isn’t an issue for me at this stage. If they show they can do the job, then they’ll remain in those positions and continue to develop as coaches. If not, the organization will make the necessary adjustments at some point. It’s also quite conceivable that a year or two from now, the club will bring on more experienced individuals in various capacities. Is this current model of first-timers in their respective jobs at the NHL level ideal? I can’t get there. I would have liked to see Manny Malhotra surrounded by a little more practical experience on the Canucks bench. But this is a clean slate. This staff gets to author its own story. And that has some merit, too.

Maureen

@mbbrennan

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Replying to @patersonjeff

Do you expect Braeden Cootes to make the team? Is this the next logical step in his development? #Canucks

11:50 PM · Jul 4, 2026

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I think it’s in the best interests of everyone involved that Braeden Cootes spend the bulk of next season developing and growing his game in the American Hockey League. He is the poster child for the kind of player that will benefit from the new NHL/CHL agreement allowing 19-year-olds to play in the AHL. Cootes was the best player on the ice during the team’s recent development camp scrimmages – as he should be as a 19-year-old first-round selection attending his second summer camp with NHL games under his belt. He had an incredible camp and preseason a year ago and made the opening night roster on merit. But his three-game audition at the NHL level showed he wasn’t quite ready for prime time. I’d like to see him start the season in Abbotsford, log big minutes in all situations, learn the pro game and be a call-up option at some point in the second half of the NHL season if all is progressing smoothly. The Canucks have to think big picture with all of their top prospects at this stage. They don’t need these guys stepping into a tough situation at the NHL level. Braeden Cootes isn’t going to be a difference-maker for the 2026-27 Vancouver Canucks. Nor should he be pencilled in as one. Let the kid grow, mature, get stronger and round out his game so that when he returns to the NHL, he’s fully prepared for life at the highest level of hockey.

Trevor Chong

@trevorchong

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Replying to @patersonjeff

How would you arrange the D pairings for next season?

11:30 PM · Jul 4, 2026

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Since Ryan Johnson has said he’s not interested in a full teardown of the roster, I think what you see is what you’re going to get in terms of significant overhauls for the time being. Now, that’s not to say the club won’t pull off another trade or two before the start of the season. The Elias Pettersson-needing-a-fresh-start-elsewhere discussion won’t go away in this market, and Jake DeBrusk likely still doesn’t love the idea of spending the prime years of his career in a rebuild, so those files will remain active. But since the Canucks last played a hockey game, the team has moved on from its president, general manager, and its entire coaching staff, traded veterans Marcus Pettersson and Nils Höglander, and walked away from Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger, Derek Forbort, and P-O Joseph. And, of course, during last season, bid farewell to Quinn Hughes, Kiefer Sherwood, Tyler Myers and Conor Garland. By any measure, that’s significant turnover. Moreover, management has been clear in both its words and actions about creating a much better locker room environment than has been in place over the past several seasons. So is what’s been done enough? That’s hard to answer at this stage. Based on their current roster, the Canucks are still likely to struggle in many areas. And expectations for next season should remain relatively low. But the organization hopes it has put a foundation in place that will now allow the slow, steady construction of the team’s next competitive version.

Alex Strohschein

@AlexStroshine

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Replying to @patersonjeff

Niklas Aaram-Olsen is Norwegian but overall, why is Norway not an ice hockey powerhouse like Sweden and Finland?

9:54 PM · Jul 4, 2026

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I am no expert in Norwegian athletics, but I think it’s safe to say hockey just hasn’t held the same place in the hearts and minds of that country as it has in the other countries you reference. Let’s put Sweden aside. Based on population, it is the same size as Norway and Finland combined (both have around five million people). But the Norway-versus-Finland comparison is apt and interesting. For decades, Finland has been producing not just NHL players but, in many cases, NHL stars, starting with Jari Kurri and continuing with Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, and the like. Norway has Mats Zuccarello. That’s pretty much it for now. There have been other Norwegians to play in the NHL, but Espen Knutsen is the other, besides Zuccarello, to have produced more than 100 NHL points. So there really haven’t been many examples for young Norwegians to follow. But as we saw with Norway stunning Canada in the bronze medal game at this year’s World Championships, change may be on the way. And as we just witnessed in the World Cup with Erling Haaland, Norway punches way above its weight on the world soccer scene. It can also claim tennis star Casper Ruud and golfer Viktor Hovland. As a country, it has a terrific sporting culture, clearly supports its promising athletes and has produced many champions in a variety of Nordic sports. Maybe, just maybe, its time is arriving as a hockey country, too. The Canucks certainly hope Niklas Aaram-Olsen is a big part of their future and they’d be delighted if he became a star for his national program, too. But all that said, it’s important to note that Aaram-Olsen was the only Norwegian selected in last month’s NHL Draft. So he will have to hope he’s on the leading edge of a hockey movement in Norway that will only grow with time.

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