As it stands, 10 players are set to join the Vancouver Canucks organization after the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. 

Last year, Vancouver added six players to their ranks via the entry draft, one of which even ended up making his NHL debut only a few months after. 

Here’s the first-half of the Canucks’ 2025 NHL Draft class and how they performed one year after they were selected. 

Cootes was Vancouver’s first pick in the 2025 NHL Draft at 15th-overall. The center had just come off a career-high performance as captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL, putting up 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 games played as well as a stint as Canada’s captain at the U-18 World Junior Championship, where he put up six goals and six assists in seven games. 

Vancouver’s 2025–26 training camp and pre-season saw Cootes put up such a strong impression — putting up four points in four games — that he ended up starting the year on the Canucks’ roster and making his NHL debut on October 9 against the Calgary Flames. After three games, however, the forward was re-assigned to the Thunderbirds, where he went on to score 10 goals and 13 assists in 17 games. 

Cootes’ time in Seattle came to an end when he was moved to the Prince Albert Raiders in a 12-piece trade. With Prince Albert, Cootes registered a total of 14 goals and 26 assists in 28 games, helping his team along to the WHL post-season. Despite a strong effort, during which Cootes came second on his team in points with 23 in 20 games, Prince Albert ultimately fell to the Everett Silvertips in the WHL Final and did not qualify for the Memorial Cup. 

The forward was also named the WHL’s most sportsmanlike player through the 2025–26 season. 

The fourth goaltender off the board in 2025, Medvedev was selected in the second round, 47th-overall, by the Canucks in last year’s draft. As a 17-year-old, Medvedev spent his first season in the OHL as part of the London Knights’ tandem alongside Austin Elliott. Through 34 games in 2024–25, he put together an impressive record of 22–8–2 while also registering a 2.79 GAA and .912 SV%. 

Medvedev’s sophomore OHL season didn’t quite go the same way as the previous year. In 36 regular-season games, the goaltender put together a 3.26 GAA and .891 SV%, with his record coming out to 16–15–3. That said, given that he still has yet to turn 19 (and won’t until September), one down season isn’t much to fret about when it comes to Medvedev. 

While his numbers did slip this year compared to the last, initially, Medvedev started the season out strongly. He was named the OHL’s goaltender of the week at the end of October after making a grand total of 65 saves on 67 shots through two games during this span. 

During the OHL playoffs, Medvedev ended up starting in the final two of London’s five games against the Soo Greyhounds. In a sudden-death Game 4, the Canucks prospect stopped all but one of the 26 shots he faced to help keep the Knights’ playoff hopes alive, though London ultimately fell in Game 5 by a score of 4–0. Medvedev finished the post-season with a 2.50 GAA and .902 SV%. 

With their third-round selection in 2025, the Canucks picked forward Kieren Dervin — the second of four centers that they ended up taking during this draft. Dervin split his 2024–25 season with St. Andrew’s College and the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. In 50 games in the U-18 AAA division with St. Andrews, Dervin put together 33 goals and 46 assists. He scored a goal and two assists in 10 games with Kingston. 

Since being drafted, Dervin has spent his first full season in the OHL while also announcing a change in his commitment for the 2026–27 season. Joining Kingston in a full-time role, Dervin scored 17 goals and 25 assists in a total of 53 regular-season games — good for third on his team in points. He was also named a finalist for the OHL’s most sportsmanlike player award, though Utah Mammoth prospect Cole Beaudoin ultimately won. 

While they did end up finishing sixth in the OHL’s Eastern Conference with a record of 33–30–3–2, Dervin and Kingston were ultimately swept by the Ottawa 67s in the first round of the OHL playoffs. In the Frontenacs’ four post-season games, Dervin registered two assists. 

Initially, Dervin was expected to join Penn State University for the 2026–27, making the jump from the OHL to the NCAA as many Canucks prospects have also recently done. While he will still be playing in the NCAA next year, Dervin has since changed his commitment to the University of Michigan instead. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

Canucks Need To Be More Selective With Their No-Movement Clauses

Viggo Björck On Potentially Joining Brother Wilson With The Canucks: ‘It Would Be Super Cool’

Report: Former Canucks Head Coach Foote Set To Join The Utah Mammoth

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.