Braeden Cootes showed plenty of potential early in his NHL career, but now, the Canucks have officially sent him back to the WHL after his trial. The Vancouver Canucks have been off to an up-and-down start to the 2025/26 campaign, and even in the very tough Pacific Division, they've got hopes of a Stanley Cup Playoffs run this season. With a great blend of youth and experience, the team are just 1-2-0 through three games, but now that their lineup is settling in and building, they believe they can bounce back from a rough 2024/25 season. <h3>Canucks demote young center</h3> One of the stories of the teams first three games was 2025 first-round pick Braeden Cootes, who shocked the NHL world by making the team out of training camp, being given an opportunity in all three games. However, the 18-year old failed to score in these three games, and while he had hopes of <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/vancouver-canucks/adam-foote-gives-an-update-on-braeden-cootes-nhl-future-beyond-the-9-game-trial-after-impressive-start' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>staying in the NHL</a> this season, the team have now officially made a decision on his future. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/adamkblat/status/1978192426591244458'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> Despite showing potential, the team announced on Tuesday that he has officially been re-assigned to the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds, a move that many felt was the right one after the 18-year old got some valuable NHL experience. This season comes after Cootes tallied 26 goals and 63 points in 60 games with Seattle a year ago, and while he didn't produce in his first three career games, that experience will help as he goes back to the WHL for this season. Ultimately, the team couldn't have been happier with how Cootes competed this off-season after being drafted, and while the future is bright, that future will have to wait as his development continues down in the WHL.