One takeaway from each of the three Vancouver Canucks prospects' 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship performances.
The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship saw three Vancouver Canucks prospects play amongst some of the best players in their age bracket. Two of these three prospects’ teams placed on the podium, with one even winning gold. With another year of World Juniors play now wrapped up, here are three things to take away from Vancouver’s prospects’ performances in 2026.
Basile Sansonnens Is Turning Into A Sneaky Late-Round Steal For The Canucks
The 2026 World Juniors were Sansonnens’ second played in throughout his entire career, as the 19-year-old defenceman also represented Switzerland in last year’s tournament. With a year of experience in the QMJHL as well as 31 games played amongst adults with Lausanne HC, Sansonnens came into this year’s tournament with an added level of maturity and more depth to his play. He saw a stark increase in ice time this year compared to the last, as this time, he averaged 17:33 minutes played per game.
Sansonnens was a strong player for Switzerland both offensively and defensively throughout their five tournament games. Stats-wise, he scored a goal and added one assist while also registering four shots on goal. As well, he has seemed to grow into his stature a little more compared to the last tournament, as he’s utilizing it better when defending by taking opponents to the edges.
Braeden Cootes May Still Need Some Time To Develop
When Braeden Cootes made the Canucks’ roster out of training camp this season, many were excited about the centre’s potential heading into 2025–26. The forward impressed during the pre-season and has put up a great offensive effort in the WHL, scoring 10 goals and 13 assists in 17 games played. However, his time at the World Junior Championship has been a slight disappointment.
Cootes made a good impression early on during Team Canada’s training camp, but began the tournament in a fourth-line role with limited minutes and didn’t end up moving past that point. He averaged 8:48 minutes played per game and oftentimes wasn’t able to crack double-digits. During the semi-finals, he looked as if he was being outplayed by a Czech team that was able to capitalize on his turnover to score an equalizing goal. The tournament also featured a scary situation in which Cootes appeared to have injured his shoulder, though the forward continued to play after the incident.
Despite the limited ice time and occasional outperformance, Cootes’ performance hasn’t been entirely negative. He scored two goals in seven games played including one game-winner, put seven shots on net, and averaged 43 seconds per shift played. Moreover, this is Cootes’ first time at the U20 World Juniors — now armed with more experience, as well as what will likely be another WHL season under his belt come the 2026 off-season, the forward will likely rejoin Team Canada next year in their efforts to win their first gold medal since 2023. As seen with Sansonnens, getting that initial experience can do wonders for a player’s overall growth.
Fans Will Want To See More From Wilson Björck
Wilson Björck saw very limited minutes for Sweden throughout the 2026 Winter Olympics. The forward was healthy-scratched in nearly every preliminary game for his team, with December 29th’s 8–1 win against Germany being the only game in which he skated — though he only played a total of 4:35 minutes. Throughout Sweden’s seven tournament games, Björck only ended up playing fully in one game — their 4–3 shootout win against Finland.
Björck, Vancouver’s fifth-round selection in 2025, still has a fair bit of room to grow. During the World Junior Summer Showcase, he ended up playing much more compared to what he got during the U20 World Juniors, as he only ended up averaging 5:50 minutes played per game. When he did end up playing, Björck was relegated to only fourth-line minutes. It’s hard to completely judge Björck’s performance given that he played less than 20 minutes total throughout the entire tournament — though it’s likely that he’ll be able to put together a much stronger effort next year after a full season in the NCAA.
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