A 15-year-old Braeden Cootes watched, with the rest of the country, the last time Team Canada won gold at the world juniors.
He remembered fondly the way Joshua Roy slipped a cross-seam pass to Dylan Guenther, who then buried it for the tournament-winning goal in overtime against Czechia in front of a sold-out crowd in Halifax back in 2023.
“I thought that was so cool,” Cootes recalled in an interview to sportsnet. “Just seeing the crowd,and in Canada. … That’s just Canadian hockey in a nutshell right there.
“It was pretty special to watch.”
Made even more special for the young, then-rookie of the Seattle Thunderbirds was watching his teammates skate with one of the most dominant Canadian teams assembled in years.
“that was my first time actually knowing guys in the tournament,” the 2025 15th-overall pick explained.”That was a special group.”
Now 18 years old, the Sherwood park, Alta., native has a chance to create his own memories as one of 27 invitees to Canada’s 2026 world junior training camp, which begins Saturday in Niagara Falls, Ont.
This is Cootes’ first training-camp invite and, if he remains on the roster come Dec. 23, it will be his first time suiting up for the holiday classic.
“I’m obviously excited, it’s a huge honor,” Cootes said.”Any time you get the chance to wear the maple leaf, especially for the world juniors for the first time… You watch it every Christmas. it’s a pretty special tournament.”
he and 26 other young standouts are preparing for the 2026 go-around with one goal in mind: reclaim their spot as champions.
The gold – or any medal, really – has been elusive for Canada in the past two years. Despite having loads of first-rounders on their roster,the red-and-white bowed out in the quarterfinals in both 2024 and 2025.
For Cootes, the early losses were made much more painful by what followed: watching their longtime rivals take a victory lap. Twice.
“The last two years watching has been tough as being Canadian, you obviously want Canada to win, and it’s been annoying seeing the U.S. win twice now,” the now-captain of the Thunderbirds laughed. “So that’s extra motivation.”
It’s hard not to be motivated – and optimistic – when looking at the roster Canada has assembled. Alongside the cast of first- and second-rounders,there are some notable draft-eligible players on the list and,for the fourth year in a row,it’s looking like Canada will dress the presumptive first-overall pick.
Or, both of them. Dep
jonathan Cootes Eyes World Juniors Spot After promising NHL Debut
Jonathan Cootes is aiming to translate valuable NHL experience into success at the upcoming World Junior Championship. The young centreman recently attended training camp with the Vancouver Canucks and impressively earned a spot on their opening night roster, becoming the first 18-year-old to do so since 1990.
while Cootes ultimately played in three NHL games and four pre-season contests for Vancouver, the experience proved invaluable. He spoke about the benefits of observing and playing alongside established NHL players, noting how he intends to carry that confidence into the World Juniors tournament.
“They’ve got a lot of good players on that team that have done a lot of things around the league. Just getting to watch them,talk to them,play on a line with them and (seeing) all the things they do…,” Cootes said. “Using that as confidence, too. Knowing I played with those guys and I was able to hang with them. Bringing that confidence into the camp and hopefully to the tournament.”
Despite his NHL exposure, Cootes recognizes that a spot on Team Canada’s final 24-man roster is not guaranteed.The team is currently undergoing cuts ahead of their final exhibition game on December 23rd, meaning tough decisions will be made amongst a talented pool of players.
Cootes is emphasizing his willingness to contribute in any role. “If (they) want me to score goals or be a cheerleader or be on the penalty kill, power play… I’ll do anything to win,” he stated. “Whatever they want me to do,I’ll do to the best of my ability.”
Canada will likely face a meaningful challenge from the United States, who are hosting the tournament and are looking to defend their title won in Ottawa last January. Cootes expressed a strong desire for revenge and acknowledged the importance of the Canada-U.S. matchup.
“Oh 100 per cent.I mean, if you can’t get up for the world juniors for a game against the U.S., in the U.S., then I don’t think you should really be playing hockey,” Cootes laughed. “That’s what you dream of.They did that to us last year in Ottawa, so we get the privilege to have the chance to do that this year. It’s been tough losing… we’re looking forward to changing that this year.”
Canada begins its World juniors campaign on December 26th against Czechia.
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