The Vancouver Canucks trimmed two more names from their roster picture on Monday, sending Braeden Cootes and Matthew Stienburg to Abbotsford as the deadline to get down to 23 players draws close.
Cootes, 19, is the bigger headline. The rookie forward put together a solid preseason stretch with a goal and two assists in three games, and showed enough skill to turn some heads along the way. But for now, he’s headed to the AHL, where it appears he’ll open the season with the Abbotsford Canucks.
That move fits with the approach GM Ryan Johnson laid out before camp, when he said he wants to avoid shuttling young players back and forth between levels.
“I do not believe in the yo-yo up-and-down American League-NHL of a young player,” Johnson said prior to training camp. “If they’re in the American League, I often see it as there’s one call-up. They kick the door down, there’s one call-up, and they never go back.”
Cootes was the Canucks’ 15th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and, in a surprising twist, made the opening-night lineup a year ago. He lasted only three games before being sent back to junior.
This time, the setup is different. A new NHL rule now allows 19-year-old players to skate in the AHL, which means Vancouver doesn’t have to force Cootes into the NHL or send him back to junior as it would have in the past.
Stienburg is also heading to Abbotsford, which was the expected destination for the 25-year-old centre after he cleared waivers. He joined the Canucks in free agency this summer and has eight games of NHL experience.
Vancouver now has until Monday at 2 p.m. PCT to reduce its roster to a maximum of 23 players.
The club is currently carrying 14 forwards, eight defencemen and four goaltenders after claiming Leevi Meriläinen off waivers from the Ottawa Senators. That total includes Thatcher Demko, who is injured, so barring another injury or a new addition, only two more cuts should be coming.
The current group of forwards includes Arshdeep Bains, Brock Boeser, Filip Chytil, Paul Cotter, Jake DeBrusk, Brendan Gallagher, Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Drew O’Connor, Liam Öhgren, Elias Pettersson, Aatu Räty, Marco Rossi and Max Sasson.
On the blue line, the Canucks are carrying Guillaume Brisebois, Zeev Buium, Filip Hronek, Victor Mancini, Jamie Oleksiak, Elias Pettersson, Luke Schenn and Tom Willander.
In goal, Thatcher Demko, Kevin Lankinen, Leevi Meriläinen and Nikita Tolopilo remain in the mix.
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