The Vancouver Canucks will officially have three players representing their respective countries at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, as center Braeden Cootes was named to Canada’s training camp roster today. Joining Cootes are Canucks prospects Wilson Björck (Sweden) and Basile Sansonnens (Switzerland), who were also named to their countries’ preliminary rosters. 

Cootes, the 15th overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, is in his third season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL and second as the team’s captain. In his draft year, he put up an impressive 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 games played, but looks on pace to smash that total as he currently has nine goals and 13 assists in 16 games. 

At the start of the 2025–26 season, Cootes was one of five members of this year’s draft class named to their respective NHL teams’ opening night rosters. These names include Matthew Schaefer (New York Islanders), Michael Misa (San Jose Sharks), Brady Martin (Nashville Predators), and Ben Kindel (Pittsburgh Penguins). He is also one of eight 2025 first-round draft picks to be named to Canada’s World Junior Championship roster. 

Cootes’ stellar performance during the 2025 pre-season resulted in the Canucks sending depth players like Nils Åman and Max Sasson down to the AHL to start the season. He played in three games before Vancouver re-assigned him to the WHL for the year. 

The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship will take place from December 26, 2025, to January 5, 2026, with training camp scheduled from December 13 to 22 in Niagara, Ontario. Throughout camp, Canada will play in three exhibition games: December 17 and 20 against Sweden, and December 23 against Denmark. 

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