Braeden Cootes and Sawyer Mynio have been linked for four years now, and that connection has carried them from the Seattle Thunderbirds to the Abbotsford Canucks.
The two were co-captains for Seattle during the WHL’s 2024-25 season, but their bond goes back to 2022-23, when Cootes first joined the Thunderbirds as a 15-year-old. Mynio remembers the instant buzz around the young forward right away.
“Everyone wanted Cootesy on the team. I think everyone just wanted his energy and everything, his playmaking," Mynio said. “He's always been a good player and a hard worker."
That first season gave Cootes a chance to see what high-level hockey looked like up close. He spent the preseason with Seattle, then stayed with the team for its Memorial Cup playoff run, soaking in everything that came with it.
“It was really good for me at that age to practice with a team like that for two, three months and get to play against guys like [Dylan] Guenther, [Brad] Lambert, [Kevin] Korchinski when I was 15, not many guys get the opportunity to do that,” Cootes said. “Also just to go on the run with the guys and be on the bus, watch all the games, and see what it takes to win a championship like that."
Mynio, meanwhile, spent his summer in Kelowna after his first year as a professional with Abbotsford. He said the offseason work felt different this time around, especially skating with NHL defencemen Shea Theodore, Kaedan Korczak, and Luke Schenn.
“Guys like that are pushing you every day. Seeing how they do stuff in the gym, you just take things from them,” Mynio said.
“Then on the ice it’s just another level, seeing what they do in the offseason. It was really good.
You get a little wakeup call after your first year [as a] pro."
This season, Mynio is zeroing in on the defensive side of his game, with an emphasis on tight gaps and cutting down on mistakes. Cootes has the same basic theme in mind, wanting to clean up his defensive-zone play while continuing to develop offensively and add more creativity with the puck.
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For Vancouver, the real watch item is no longer just Petterssons production at the top of the lineup, but what the coaching staff decides to do behind him. The Canucks have options to consider in goal after Kevin Lankinen was tagged for six goals on 18 shots, and how they handle that spot could matter just as much as whether Pettersson keeps rolling against New Jersey. [Read more 🡒]