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Canucks prospects’ World Juniors chances according to Steven Ellis: Canucks Conversation
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Photo credit: © Tav Morisson-CanucksArmy
Clarke Corsan
Dec 11, 2025, 14:15 EST
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On Wednesday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal were joined by Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis to break down Team Canada’s World Junior roster picture and check in on the upcoming draft class. The conversation started with Vancouver prospect Braeden Cootes, who was initially viewed as a bubble option for this year’s World Junior Tournament but has pushed himself squarely into the mix.
“I’d be shocked if he didn’t make the team. They’re only going to be cutting one player up front, so his odds are pretty good,” Ellis said. “For Cootes, it’s the fact he can do so many things; be on the penalty kill, forecheck hard – it feels like him on the fourth line will be built for success. Let’s say he plays with Jett Luchenko, Flyers prospect who’s more of a two-way player, then you have Cootes as your guy chasing after everyone, knocking guys down and making things happen that way, so that’s a very valuable 1-2 duo there, I like the way Cootes drives the play.”
Ellis added that while he slotted Cootes on the fourth line in his projection, that had more to do with Canada’s scoring depth than any concerns about his impact. His NHL cameo with Vancouver also gave him a boost in credibility among Hockey Canada evaluators.
“I felt from the get-go he was going to make the team, especially after some NHL experience with the Canucks,” Ellis said. “For him to have the camp he did, make the team, got to learn from the coaching staff and NHL players – Hockey Canada sees that as a real value. He was more of a bubble guy from what I was told, but I don’t believe he’ll be the guy to get cut.”
The Canucks’ overall prospect pool came up next. Vancouver’s recent top picks have given the system a few clear standouts, but Ellis noted the lack of depth behind the headliners.
“It’s mid-pack at best. This team doesn’t have a ton of depth going for them right now,” Ellis said. “You’re looking at guys like Lekkerimaki, Willander, Cootes is in that conversation. I like Medvedev as well, but it’s not deep after that. For a team that hasn’t been pushing much in their Stanley Cup contention window, they haven’t built up a really good prospect pool.”
The show then shifted to the 2025 draft class, where Ellis sees a stronger and more varied group than in previous years. He highlighted several players who could shape the top of the board, starting with a defenceman who has vaulted into early first-round territory.
“The one defenceman I’m looking forward to here is Keaton Verhoeff – he’s 6’4, still very raw playing in the NCAA this year, but he’s only been playing defence for about five years after switching from goaltender,” Ellis said. “He’ll probably be on Canada’s third pairing at this tournament, but only because Harrison Brunicke and Zayne Parekh are coming back – if they hadn’t, Verhoeff would have been a 17-year-old top-pairing defenceman at the World Juniors just like we saw with Matthew Schaefer last year.”
Ellis also pointed to Ivar Stenberg’s dominance in Sweden, noting the historical comparisons that come with that level of production.
“I like Ivar Stenberg who’s absolutely dominating the Swedish league. The gold standard for prospects out of that league were Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and Stenberg is about to do significantly more damage than both of those guys in the full season.”
Beyond those names, Ellis emphasized how wide open the top of the class looks – and how many different types of players could go early.
“It’s one of the better classes we’ve seen in recent years, and there’s so many different avenues you can go,” Ellis said. “You’ve got the big defenceman in Verhoeff, the pure skill of Gavin McKenna, offensive dominance of Ivar Stenberg, the massive 6’5, 230 pounds of Ethan Belchetz who is a total psycho in all the good ways for a hockey team. Then you can throw in Chase Reid, Ryan Lin, Xavier Villeneuve – there’s a lot of competition for that top five. In years past, you’d have to justify why someone should be in the top five, this year will be a deathmatch to be in that group. It’s a good year to draft that high, definitely.”
You can watch the full replay of the show below:
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