Raiders acquire Cootes, ship out Bibeau in 12 piece blockbuster trade with Thunderbirds

In exchange, the Thunderbirds will receive 2007 born forward Ethan Bibeau, prospects Knox Burton, Diego Gutierrez, and Tripp Fischer, along a first and second round picks in 2026, a third round pick in 2027, and a first round pick in 2028.

Starting with Cootes, Raiders General Manager Curtis Hunt touted the 18-year-old forward as the best player available heading into the trade deadline on Thursday.

“I think he was the best player available in this kind of bedlam time. Obviously it was fun to watch him play for Canada over the last couple of days, scored a beauty in the bronze medal game, which was great to see. It’s really exciting to have him join the group, I think it strengthens our middle as maybe one of the best in the league, and you bring in a leader and a player with great experience. And, to get it done even early is nice, try to get the kids acclimated as quick as possible.”

Cootes played three games with the Canucks at the start of the year before returning to the Thunderbirds for his second season as the team’s captain. Originally from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Cootes stands at 6’0 tall, 183 lbs, and he made his return to the WHL in mid October.

So far this year, Cootes has 10G-13A-23P in the 17 games since his return to the WHL. With an average of 1.35 points per game, he sits tied for 14th in the league, and he’s only gone without a point in four of his 17 games.

“I think he’s an elite skater, I think that’s the first thing you’ll see. He’s got a tremendous glide and it takes very few strides to get to full speed, his details are unbelievable. There’s a reason why he started this season in the National Hockey League. It’s about details there, it’s about liability there long before scoring goals, and his details are fantastic.”

Cootes is also returning from the World Juniors after earning a bronze medal with Team Canada where he scored two goals during seven games of the tournament.

As for what the Raiders are sending away, Ethan Bibeau missed the first 20 games of the season due to an offseason injury. Since then, Bibeau, who is in his 18-year-old season despite turning 19 on New Years Day, has played 15 games and posted 1G-4A-5P.

“It’s tough to see Biebs go. He’s a quality kid, he battled so hard to get himself healthy. But now that he’s healthy, when the dust settles and he gets into the lineup, he’s going to have that opportunity to move up in the lineup. When you look at our depth in the middle, even before this deal and our depth on the left side, it’s tough to move up. He’s been on that fourth line for us and he’s done a great job killing penalties and done a great job last minute protecting leads and locking things down, but now for him he gets another opportunity. That’s the guy they had pinpointed in our group and so we wish him the best of luck.”

This was Bibeau’s second full season with the Raiders after a year in the MJHL with the OCN Blizzard.

As for the prospects given up, 2009 born forward Knox Burton was drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 WHL Draft by the Raiders. He has 10G-16A-26P in 18 games this year with the Pilot Mound Academy in the CSSHL U18 league.

American 2009-born defenceman Diego Gutierrez has played with the US National Development Program’s U17 team this year where he’s posted 2G-15A-17P in 32 games, as well as 20 games in the USHL with the US National Development Program Juniors where he has 1G-6A-7P in 20 games. He has already committed to the University of Notre Dame in NCAA Division I for the 2027-28 season. Gutierrez was drafted in the second round of the WHL US Prospect Draft in 2024.

Finally Tripp Fischer, a forward born in 2010 and drafted in the third round of this year’s draft, has spent this season in the AEHL (Alberta AAA) U18 league with his hometown Lloydminster Lancers. This year he has 4G-12A-16P in 18 games.

When it comes to the prospects given up, Hunt knows that the players given up could turn into quality players, but sending them away is a necessary step in making this year’s Raiders a championship contender.

“They’re all really good young hockey players and I think they all have great futures.” Hunt said he spoke to all the prospects traded today, and one even had a good sense of humour about it. “They were appreciative of the opportunity, and one of them even said, ‘could you believe it, I got traded for an NHL player?’. We wish them good luck and, but we’ve got to stay and play in the moment. And at the moment, this is, I think, a great deal for the Prince Albert Raiders.”

Along with Bibeau, another member of the Raiders fourth line Oli Chenier was dealt earlier this week to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Hunt believes the two trades will give both former Raiders a chance to serve bigger roles elsewhere.

“I think with Oli, I think when it was laid out to him kind of the way it looked for us moving forward, he had chosen that it would be better for him to maybe look at a new opportunity. So we were able to facilitate that quite quickly, and we certainly wish him the best and the best of luck as he moves forward in his career as well.”

The Raiders have not made much for trades throughout the rest of the regular season, acquiring Maddix McCagherty for a draft pick earlier this year and Brandon Gorzynski in exchange for Ty Meunier. With the addition of Cootes, Hunt believes this team has a championship pedigree.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I believe it gives us a real good opportunity to have a lengthy playoff run.”

The WHL Trade Deadline is at 7:00 p.m. Saskatchewan time on Thursday, January 8.

by Nick Nielsen

Raiders acquire Cootes, ship out Bibeau in 12 piece blockbuster trade with Thunderbirds

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