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Braden Coots remembers a very different Keaton Verhoeff.
The suburban Edmonton couple crossed paths at skating rinks growing up. Coots was a striker. Verkhovev played as a goalkeeper.
Their careers took off, and now both are living the dream of playing for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships. Coots remains a striker. However, Verhoev radically changed course.
Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., hung up his pads, blocker and glove at age 12, transforming from puck stopper to puck-moving defenseman.
Cootes was a little irritated by the transition at first.
“I remember the first time I saw him as a player,” said the Vancouver Canucks first-round draft pick in 2025. “He would have been 12 or 13 years old…he was rough, big, could skate. He just loved being there.”
So what made the huge 17-year-old turn from the crease to the blue line? Playing on the road always intrigued Verhoeff, and after being cut from a competitive team, he began doing it as a member of a hockey club for fun. The decision to switch completely will soon follow.
“I just wanted to be able to have more of an impact on the game,” said Verhoeff, who is expected to be selected in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
“Looking back, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but I thought that as a defenseman, you can be there every shift, impact the game, be able to get the puck and try to create some opportunities on offense and then also defend.”
“When you're a goalkeeper, I felt like the game really had to come to you. I could just attack the game as a defender.”
Attack him.
The six-foot-four, 212-pound blueliner played two seasons with the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League before transferring to the NCAA for the University of North Dakota in the 2025-26 season after eligibility rules changed.
“North Dakota seemed like the right place for me,” said Verhoeff, who had always planned to graduate from high school early before his draft year.
“When I talked to people involved in hockey, the main thing that really worried me was that if I'm 17 years old, I'll be playing against 23-, 24-year-olds, and when I'm 18 or 19 years old, maybe I can play against 29-, 30-year-olds at a professional level.
“They just have a little more maturity for me to develop my game.”
Hockey Canada chief scout Byron Bonora, who oversees the under-17, under-18 and under-20 teams, said a talented player with an accurate shot will turn heads.
“You look at his size and his ability to handle the puck as a big, strong defenseman,” he said. “A lot of guys his size can’t do it, but he plays the right way. He can skate, he can handle the puck, he can play.”
“All the tools to become a top NHL hockey player.”
As the seventh-youngest defenseman ever to make Canada's junior national team, Verhoev watched the country's first two matches before playing in Monday's 9-1 win over Denmark. He completed an assist, received just under 15 minutes of playing time, and didn't look out of place in his zone or joining the attack.
“Amazing,” Verhoev said. “To finally perform in front of my family and Canadian fans was very special.”
Star forward Gavin McKenna, who dated Verhoeff as a junior and is also expected to be selected at the top of the draft, had never heard of switching from goalkeeper to defense.
“News to me,” he said with a grin. “Pretty crazy.”
Meanwhile fellow Blues player Ben Danford was stunned to discover Verhoeff's age when they met at a training camp ahead of the men's under-20 tournament.
“I can't believe he's two years younger,” the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect said. “It's huge. He plays really well. He has a high IQ. He skates very well for his size. Great guy off the ice.”
Verhoeff said it wasn't that he didn't enjoy stopping pucks late in his tenure with the team. He just felt he had more to give as a defender.
“If we were playing a 3-on-3 game, I would be jumping up trying to make a play or pass as the goalie,” he explained. “At that point I thought maybe I should take a look at this.”
This decision turned out to be successful.
