Canucks Sign Braeden Cootes To Entry-Level Contract
The Vancouver Canucks have signed centerman Braeden Cootes to a three-year, $2.93MM entry-level contract. Cootes was recently selected 15th-overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. He will have the ability to earn $500K in bonuses in each year of the contract, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News. In comparing to Vancouver’s last two first-round picks, Dhaliwal points out that Cootes’ bonus is above winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki ($475K) but lesser than Tom Willander ($800K) on a per-season basis.
Cootes becomes the fourth player from his draft class to sign, after standing tall at Vancouver’s development camp. He’s a true middle-lane center, who showed a strong ability to work with his linemates to push pucks down the ice and generate scoring chances. While serving as the team’s captain, Cootes led the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in scoring with 63 points in 60 games. He was a great couple with top Thunderbirds defenseman – and Buffalo Sabres ninth-overall draft pick – Radim Mrtka, who scored 35 points in 43 games.
Cootes rounded out a strong draft year with a stellar performance at the World U18 Championship. He led Team Canada with 12 points, split evenly, in just seven games played – while also wearing the ‘C’ for his country. That scoring was more than fifth-overall pick Brady Martin, who finished second on the team with 11 points.
That precedent of strong scoring will now push Cootes onto his first pro contract. He will forgo NCAA eligibility with this deal, meaning the Vancouver roster or a return to the WHL will be his only options for next season. Given Cootes’ room to add more dynamic playmaking, and explosivity, into his game – a return to juniors seems more likely.
Bruins Hire Ryan Bourque As AHL Assistant Coach
The Boston Bruins have announced they’ve hired Ryan Bourque to fill an assistant coach role with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, per NHL.com’s Mark Divver. Bourque is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, who appeared in 21 seasons and 1,518 games with the Bruins between 1979 and 2000, among many accolades.
The junior Bourque will earn the first AHL coaching role of his career in an organization very familiar with his name. He previously played through nine seasons and 585 games in the AHL, during which he notably served as both an assistant captain and captain for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Bourque also racked up a Gold Medal at the World U18 Championship and World Juniors Championship with Team USA during his junior playing days, spent at the U.S. National Team Development Program.
Bourque retired from his playing career following the 2019-20 season, at the age of 29. He was hired as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays two years later, and supported the team’s run to a second-round playoff exit in the 2022-23 season. Bourque moved on from South Carolina after serving parts of two seasons with the club, and turned his attention towards an assistant role with the USNTDP for the 2023-24 season. He worked with multiple top Americans in his return to the Program, including James Hagens, Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson, and Trevor Connelly. Bourque supported Team USA to a Silver Medal finish at the 2024 World U18 Championship.
Bourque moved on from a year-long stint on the USNTDP bench by moving into a head coach role with Massachusetts’ Cushing Academy this past season. He led that squad to a state championship in Massachusetts’ high school tournament, with help from top scorer Max Dineen. On the heels of a title win, Bourque will now turn his attention back to the pro ranks. He has vast experience in the AHL from the player side and enters the league as a young coach – only 34 years old.
Strategic Drafting Will Keep Capitals Competitive
The Washington Capitals seemed well on their way towards reclusion a few seasons ago. They managed to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2018 – but by 2022, only eight members of the Cup-winning roster were still in Washington. The club fell entirely out of the postseason by 2023, marking their first summer absence since 2015. That miss sparked an upheaval of the Capitals’ coaching staff. The new group – headmanned by rookie NHL head coach Spencer Carbery – has returned the Capitals to the playoffs on the back of a clear ability to develop certain styles.
The Capitals have leaned into Carbery’s vision for the lineup in all aspects of their roster building – but most notably, in their draft selections. A team once honed in on finding the balance between high-offense forwards and all-defense defenders has steadied over the last two draft classes. In doing so, Washington has not only found their way back to the postseason – but also managed to surge to the top ranks of NHL prospect pools.
Their class is undoubtedly led by first-round picks Ryan Leonard, Terik Parascak, and Lynden Lakovic. All three play a chippy, physical style of hockey – with strong shots and a clear ability to find space off of the boards and in the corners. Their physical upside speaks to some layer of certainty in the bump-and-grind Capitals lineup, even if it requires the extra years of development, akin to Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre, the latter of who appeared to come along with a hot year in the AHL.
But the Capitals reach the tops of prospect value with their picks outside of the first-round. Their group may be most truly headlined by defender Cole Hutson, who posted an absurd 48 points in 39 games of his freshman season at Boston University. He was the Terriers’ top defender as they raced to a National Championship loss, and is the younger brother of Montreal’s Lane Hutson, who recorded a record-setting 62 assists in his rookie NHL season this year.
Hutson is followed by towering forward Ilya Protas, the younger brother of current Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas. Ilya was drafted out of the USHL, but moved to the OHL for this season. That proved an incredibly lucrative bet, as the 6-foot-5 forward blazed his way to 50 goals and 124 points in just 61 games with the Windsor Spitfires. He improved across the board – adding smoother skating and more confident stickhandling – and seems well set on paving his way into the pros.
But through the top names, it’s winger Eriks Mateiko – a burly Latvian recently dominating the QMJHL – and Swiss-defender Leon Muggli who offer the truest glimpse into what Washington has prioritized. The team has consistently found ways to land not only tall, heavy draft picks — but players who play with a physical edge and truly know how to utilize their size to their advantage. That’s the exact trait that’s elevated players like Protas and McMichael to early-career success. Even the recent resurgence of Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois can be attributed to Washington’s unique ability to take a calm and assertive approach to offense, rather the run-and-gun style many teams attempt to skill their way into.
Washington impressively flaunted their ability to land that style of player in the 2025 draft. Lakovic is a hefty winger who could improve his ability to break-through the defense – making him a perfect match in Washington – and fellow top-pick Milton Gastrin is a lumbering and slow centerman capable of making quick plays. But it’s, again, their late picks that define Washington’s potential. They swept up re-entry forward Jackson Crowder in the fifth round, folding in a layer of responsible and physical play in a 6-foot-3 frame. Better than that, Washington managed to land hefty Swedish defenseman Aron Dahlqvist in the sixth round — nearly three rounds later than many pundits predicted. Dahlqvist is a ball of grit and aggression, with powerful strides and fundamental hitting. He digs into opponents – and that physical prowess earned him 16 games in Sweden’s SHL this season, even despite the fact that Dahlqvist didn’t score in any of those appearances.
Both scouts and fans have raised questions with, seemingly, every Capitals prospect. But the team is clearly confident in the style they’re searching for. The focus is squarely on landing physically mature, and capable, players at every group — players that well fit into the development style that Carbery has already utilized on some of the 2024-25 squad’s top players. That should glean multiple NHL roster players, especially given the acknowledgement Washington’s pool has earned from the public sphere. The Capitals are back in the postseason and, with most of the roster locked up for the short-term, seem well positioned to return to their yearly summer hockey. With the boost of smart, situational drafting backing the NHL lineup – Washington, and head coach Carbery, could be well on their way to landing even more successful draft picks, and maintaining their status for many years to come.
Golden Knights Sign Lukas Cormier
The Vegas Golden Knights have signed defenseman Lukas Cormier to one-year contract. Financial terms of the deal haven’t yet been disclosed. Cormier’s last contract was a three-year, $2.38MM entry-level contract signed in December of 2020. That deal qualified for a two-year slide, allowing Cormier to remain under contract through the 2024-25 season.
Cormier joined the Vegas organization in the third-round of the 2020 NHL Draft, coming off a strong season with the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. He signed his first pro contract two months after the draft, but continued on with Charlottetown for the next two seasons. In total, Cormier racked up 207 points across 208 junior games, including 81 points in 62 games of the 2021-22 season. That same year, Cormier joined Team Canada for the 2022 World Junior Championship, where he scored five points in seven games.
Cormier joined the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights in the following season. He recorded 35 points, 44 penalty minutes, and a minus-12 through 62 games in his rookie year. That performance was enough to show that Cormier’s puck-moving ability could translate to the pro flight. He continued to perform with 20 points in 58 games of the 2023-24 season. He also received the first two games of his NHL career that year, and recorded one assist. Cormier seemed on track to continue carving away a path to the show, until news of an undisclosed off-season injury delayed the start of his 2024-25 season to March. He managed nine points in 19 games upon returning.
The Golden Knights will bet that Cormier hasn’t lost a step due to injury with a one-year extension. That will be his runway to earning a chance at NHL minutes, and another contract when he reenters restricted-free agency next summer.
Penguins Sign Benjamin Kindel To Entry-Level Contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed 2025 first-round selection Benjamin Kindel to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Just a few weeks after drafting Kindel at 11th-overall, Pittsburgh will restate their confidence in the Coquitlam-native by making him just the third player from this draft to sign his first NHL contract. Kindel has been a true star in the WHL since joining the Calgary Hitmen in 2023. He scored 15 goals and 60 points in 68 games of his age-17 season, then exploded to a fantastic 35 goals and 99 points in 65 games this year.
Kindel managed that scoring outbreak on the back of very flashy and controlled stickhandling. He was among the best in his age group at creating chances off of the boards – using either a snappy wrist-shot or quick deke to beat defenders at the tops of the circles. He wielded play well all year long, though got the benefit of playing alongside the all-out-feist style of Oliver Tulk. That helped Kindel avoid physical situations along the boards that he may be forced into more at the next level. But even in the face of stronger opponents, Kindel should manage to develop his flashy skillset and 5-foot-10 frame into a high end talent.
That was clearly the impression he left with the Penguins brass after the team’s development camp ended on Monday. Kindel will notably forgo his NCAA eligibility by signing this contract, restricting his options for next season to either the Penguins roster or a return to Calgary. If he does return, he’ll be looking to shatter the century-mark in scoring, after being narrowly beaten out for the Hitmen’s lead in scoring by Tulk’s 100 points.
Madison Bowey Signs One-Year Contract With Augsburger Panther
Former NHL defenseman Madison Bowey has opted to return to his international hockey career after a year in the AHL. He has signed a one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther of Germany’s DEL, per Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey.
Bowey scored a quaint 15 points in 60 games with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters last season. He had a confused lineup role early on, but gained better footing after Denton Mateychuk was recalled to the NHL for the long-term. But Bowey still struggled to make much headway on the scoresheet. He was often featured in the penalty column, with 70 penalty minutes once again stapling his presence as a feisty, low-event defender.
Bowey spent the entirety of the 2023-24 season in Russia’s KHL in what was the first international move of his pro career. He split the year between three clubs, ultimately ending the year with 14 points and 31 penalty minutes in 51 games. The KHL stint brought an end to Bowey’s battle for an NHL role that spanned between 2015 and 2023. He played through parts of eight AHL seasons, and six NHL seasons, over that span — but couldn’t find his way into consistent minutes up a team’s depth chart.
His first stint in North America ended with 108 points in 264 AHL games, and 40 points in 158 NHL games. He’s a stocky, puck-moving defender who should find better footing in a league where skill shines. Augsburg finished the 2024-25 season ranked second-to-last in the DEL. They’ll look for a big energy boost from the NHL veteran Bowey.
Afternoon Notes: Byram, Gulyayev, Bump
The Buffalo Sabres are presently at risk of losing restricted-free agent defenseman Bowen Byram to the heaps of interest from around the league. He has been mentioned as a candidate for an offer sheet or trade, with a heap of Western Conference teams swirling around both options. The Sabres have already expressed their intent to match any offer sheet that comes across their desk, though Sean McIndoe of The Athletic points out an important contingency to that idea in his latest newsletter. Matching an offer sheet would only set Buffalo up to repeat this song-and-dance again next season, when Byram would be just one year removed from unrestricted-free agency. They’d be better off making a decision about him sooner rather than later, unless their intent is to push Byram back onto Rasmus Dahlin‘s side.
That could end up a lucrative approach for the Sabres. Byram posted 38 points and nearly 23 minutes in average ice time – both career-highs – while playing in Buffalo’s top-four last season. His overall performances left many wanting more, but the then-23-year-old Byram seemed to add a layer of smooth confidence to his overall game. A full year, and 100 games, of familiarity in the Sabres lineup could be enough to set up a breakout campaign next year – though all updates seem to point towards a split being inevitable. Buffalo will need to be careful with their handling of Byram. Their decisions over the next few weeks will be among the biggest headlines through the remaining summer.
Other notes from around the league:
- Colorado Avalanche Director of Player Development Brian Willsie shared that the club is hoping that defense prospect Mikhail Gulyayev will come over from Russia at the end of the 2025-26 seaosn, per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. Gulyayev played through his second full year in the KHL this season – notching seven goals and 15 points in 67 games played. He added an additional three points in 13 postseason games. The total year falls closely in line with the 15 points that Gulyayev scored in 76 total games last year. He’s among the team’s top prospects, and is their most recent first-round selection still on the roster. Getting that kind of talent overseas and in a Colorado jersey will be important priority as the Avalanche look to stay fresh through the next few years.
- The Philadelphia Flyers intend to give top prospect Alex Bump every chance to make the team’s roster out of training camp, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Bump was the motor to Western Michigan University’s engine last season, and managed 23 goals and 47 points in 42 games as the Broncos pushed for to their first national championship in school history. Bump was just as impressive last season, when he scored 36 points in 38 games as a freshman. He finished the year with nine total games in the AHL, where he scored five points. He’s a high-energy and physical winger who seems bound for success at the next level.
Avalanche Sign Alex Barré-Boulet
The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Alex Barré-Boulet to a one-year, two-way contract per a team release.
Barré-Boulet led the AHL’s Laval Rocket in scoring this season with 22 goals and 63 points in 64 games. He became just the second Laval skater to reach the 40-assist mark in club history, joining defenseman Matt Taormina, who notched 48 assists in the 2017-18 season. Barré-Boulet was one of 12 AHL skaters to reach that mark this year. He also appeared in two NHL games this season.
It was yet another strong season in Barré-Boulet’s long history of minor-league success. He’s a perennial AHL scorer, and even reached a career-high 60 assists and 84 points with Syracuse in the 2022-23 campaign. Through his career, Barré-Boulet has notched 50-or-more points in five of his seven AHL seasons – and totaled 365 points in 358 career games.
Despite that fantastic minor-league scoring, Barré-Boulet hasn’t yet found his stride at the NHL level. He’s appeared in 70 games across five seasons, but only has 12 goals and 18 points to show for it. His 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame is slight for the major league ranks, which has made it difficult to beat NHL opponents with only his sharp skill. He could be an interesting addition to a Colorado Avalanche depth chart with space in the bottom-six and a precedent for making the most of top-end minor-leaguers. At worst, he’ll head for a high-scoring, top-line role with a Colorado Eagles lineup that finished second in the AHL’s Pacific Division last season.
Luke Kunin Garnering Interest From Around The League
A new contract could be closing in soon for centerman Luke Kunin, who has garnered interest from multiple teams since hitting the open market on July 1st, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Kunin kicked off last season with the San Jose Sharks, and was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2025 second-round pick at the Trade Deadline.
Kunin has carved out a role as a utility third-liner over the course of his eight-year pro career that carried into his year with both San Jose and Columbus this season. He started the year with 11 goals, 18 points, and a minus-24 through 63 games as the Sharks’ third-line center. The Blue Jackets opted to move him to fourth-right wing, and he’d finish the year with no scoring and a minus-four through 12 games in Columbus.
Through a bleak stat line, Kunin did manage the second-most hits of his career (187) this season. He ranked second on the Sharks in hits (162) prior to his move, and then posted the second-highest hits-per-60 minutes of ice time (10.19) in Columbus behind only Mathieu Olivier (15.48). He also recorded a career-high 77 blocked shots this season. That physical presence has become the defining piece of Kunin’s pro style, and would surely be what teams are looking to buy on the open market.
Kunin was once the 15th-overall pick in the draft, hearing his name called in 2016 by the Minnesota Wild after a strong year with the US U18 National Team Development Program. Kunin’s sharp-edged physicality defined his game even as a teenager, though he earned lofty praise after scoring 70 points in 69 games over two years at the University of Wisconsin. He turned pro once his sophomore year came to a close, and managed to score eight points in his first 12 AHL games. He followed that with 19 points in 36 games through the first-half of the 2017-18 season – enough to earn a call-up to the Minnesota Wild mid-season.
Kunin has since appeared in 434 games across eight seasons in the NHL. He’s recorded 73 goals, 142 points, and a minus-97 across his full career – spanning three years with the Minnesota Wild and Sharks, two years with the Nashville Predators, and one year in Columbus. He is a cost-effective bruiser available on the open market, though likely won’t bring more than a third-line role to his next landing spot.
Christian Fischer Announces Retirement
Detroit Red Wings forward Christian Fischer has announced his retirement from the NHL at the age of 28 through an interview with Max Bultman of The Athletic. Fischer entered unrestricted free agency on July 1st, after completing a one-year, $1.125MM contract with Detroit and Columbus this season. He shared with Bultman that, while he’s been happy to have the career he has, he feels now is the right time to move on:
Over the last couple years, I think I just look at my life and what makes me happy, and being around family and kind of my life in Scottsdale… in the end, I’m very thankful for the career I had, but just personally I think I know it’s time for a new chapter in my life
Fischer’s decision to call it quits seems to come surprisingly early into his career. He remained an impactful fourth-line forward through stops in Detroit and Columbus last season. His stat line was hit by just seven points in 46 games – but Fischer scored 19 points just last season, and 27 points in the year before. He’s a burly checking-forward who would have certainly piqued interest from around the NHL, even if only for a one-year, league-minimum contract.
Instead, Fischer will make the choice to close the door on his own. He’s played through 523 games in the NHL and earned an estimated $7.84MM in career earnings over the course of nine seasons. But in speaking with Bultman, Fischer added that the money was never the reason he played the game – nor what would have motivated him to return next season. He instead emphasized the relationships he formed and the dream that he reached by playing in the NHL.
If you told me that when I was 10 years old, ‘you’re going to play 500 games in the NHL,’ I would be the happiest kid you’ve ever seen.”
Fischer’s career kicked off when he was selected 32nd overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2015 NHL Draft. His draft pick came on the heels of a strong season with the USA U18 National Team Development Program. He followed the draft with one year in the OHL, where he stacked up an impressive 40 goals and 90 points in 66 games. That was enough to spur Fischer towards the pros, and after one strong season in the AHL – 47 points in 57 games – he’d receive a promotion to the major leagues that wouldn’t get reversed.
Fischer went on to spend six seasons as a dutiful member of Arizona’s bottom-six, before moving to fill the same role for two years in Detroit. His career year stands as the 2017-18 season, when he notched a career-high 15 goals and 33 points in 79 games played. Many of Fischer’s other seasons saw him score fewer than 20, or even 10, points – though he did rebound with 13 goals and 26 points in 80 games of the 2022-23 season: final year in Arizona.
Fischer will conclude his professional hockey career with a satisfied resume for a former second-round pick. He’ll also have a Gold Medal from each of the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and the World U18 Championship; both earned during his time at the NTDP. The Chicago native will continue his days on with family and friends in Scottsdale, Arizona – where he could get caught up in a wave of a growing hockey market in the coming years.