VANCOUVER — Once every 35 years, whether the team needs help or not, an 18-year-old centre comes along and forces his way on to the Vancouver Canucks.

That’s how rare Braeden Cootes is, the teenager from Edmonton who was drafted 15th in June but headlines the impressive youth movement that is part of the season-opening roster the Canucks named Monday.

The last 18-year-old draft pick to make the National Hockey League team in his first training camp was Petr Nedved, who was chosen second overall in 1990.

No one expected this of Cootes — except perhaps him.

“Obviously, you have that confidence in the back of your head that you can make it,” he told us a couple of weeks ago. “Anytime you go into a camp, you’re not just going there to get experience. That’s not my mindset. I’m a competitiv

See Full Page