Canucks select Braeden Cootes with 15th overall pick at NHL draft

The Vancouver Canucks picked Braeden Cootes of the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds with the 15th overall selection in the NHL draft Friday.

Cootes produced 26 goals and 37 assists in 60 games with the Thunderbirds this season.

The five-foot-11, 183-pound forward from Sherwood Park, Alta., is also Seattle’s captain.

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With its second-round pick on Saturday, the club also selected goaltender Aleksei Medvedev from the London Knights at 47th overall.

In the third round, the Canucks chose Kingston Frontenacs centre Kieren Dervin, who was selected 65th overall.

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They went on to draft centre Wilson Bjorck in the fifth round, right winger Gabriel Charot in the sixth round and Centre Matthew Lansing in the seventh round.

Vancouver finished 10th in the Western Conference last season, six points behind the playoff cutline.

The Canucks have already been active this off-season, acquiring forward Evander Kane from the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Scoring winger Brock Boeser will become an unrestricted free agent if unsigned before the market opens Tuesday.