Prospect Info: 2023 14th Overall - Brayden Yager

Jobeycool

Registered User
Jun 20, 2019
3,115
818
Had a lot going on today to post anything or watch the draft.. We would never be getting the top 10 fall in to our spot.
 

Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
30,509
26,037
Never dug much into him as I didn't see things about him that made me excited compared to the others

Now I am, I feel like I'm reading about different players with different profiles. Fantastic skater! Fantastic straight line speed but bad edges! Average skater! Good playmaker, bad playmaker, always engaged, sometimes a float, limited upside, big upside...

About the only thing agreed on is he's defensively responsible and he can really shoot.

I'm gonna keep digging but right now I'm a little ho-hum.

Also whoever is our WHL scout clearly knows how to make a pitch
 

Pancakes

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Mar 4, 2011
27,355
19,902
The Topdown Hockey guy doesn't love it but a lot of other places had him ranked right around where we took him.

Not like any of us have watched enough of these kids play to honestly say whether we love or hate it.

We'll see how it looks with another year of development *shrug*.
 

BlindWillyMcHurt

ti kallisti
May 31, 2004
35,993
30,913
Ryan Wilson may be one of the most miserable human beings on the planet.

Anyway, not gonna pretend to know anything about the guy, but I like that it’s not some safe “this guy projects to be a solid two way forward” type of pick.

Yeah more than anything I'm glad they took a shot at high end talent. I know they haven't had a pick this high in a while or really many first rounder at all but drafting for size and a safe projection is lame.

I don't know nearly enough to form a real opinion either but on the surface I like it. Even if some of the reports and highlight videos don't exactly enthuse me much.
 

Jobeycool

Registered User
Jun 20, 2019
3,115
818
Everyone passed on that real good skating defensemen.. who will prob be good in 3 - 5 years at the NHL level.
 
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Dominance

99-66-4-9-87/97
Sep 30, 2017
7,898
12,522
The Land of Hockey
Oh my god these charts for prospects are straight up Pejorative Slured.
They would have said he was a sure-thing star a year ago.

Dropping this in here:
Yager has plus plus skating and does not play small. Got those intangibles Sully will love if he’s still around.

After frying the WHL last year, the only criticism was uncertainty about his playmaking and how well he used his teammates. This year, he showed he had those attributes in spades, but his goal scoring took a step back.

You don’t just lose his elite snapper. Yager is a guy to get excited about.
Yager could be 1, 2, or 3 years away. It all depends on whether he puts together the goalscoring from last year with the playmaking of this year. But either way, he has the wheels, intensity, and defensive responsibility. He’s going to make the league and be a good player for us (assuming he doesn’t become a chip in a win-now move). It’s just a matter of when and how big of a role.
 

PensandCaps

Beddy Tlueger
May 22, 2015
27,842
18,282
Never dug much into him as I didn't see things about him that made me excited compared to the others

Now I am, I feel like I'm reading about different players with different profiles. Fantastic skater! Fantastic straight line speed but bad edges! Average skater! Good playmaker, bad playmaker, always engaged, sometimes a float, limited upside, big upside...

About the only thing agreed on is he's defensively responsible and he can really shoot.

I'm gonna keep digging but right now I'm a little ho-hum.

Also whoever is our WHL scout clearly knows how to make a pitch
Watching a few of his highlights from last season, he can read defenses pretty well and make nice passes. Improving on that, at that age is a good sign.
 
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Big Friggin Dummy

Registered User
Feb 22, 2019
25,822
24,952
I'd have probably taken a shot with Perreault. Expected Wood or ASP, tbh. Was holding my breath as Buffalo was picking that maybe Benson would make it, but no dice. Oh well, we'll see what happens.

He’s not the only one…


ok
 

OnMyOwn

Worlds Apart
Sep 7, 2005
19,156
4,798
I like this;

“The puck absolutely explodes off his stick, no matter how compromised his body positioning appears to be during release. He rips it off either leg in just about way: two-touch, one-timer, and catch-and-release. His inside leg wrister is his signature shot, tipping his weight over his outside edge while somehow keeping his chest up and exploding through the shot. He takes every single puck directly into his shooting pocket, prepared for the next play.”
 
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Peat

Registered User
Jun 14, 2016
30,509
26,037
Wheeler's superlatives article had Yager as one of the best two-way forwards, with HMs for shooting, smarts, floor and ceiling.

Pronman's "Who's a centre" article has Yager as a maybe, with the pros being he's got the PKing/Compete/Skating, but doesn't have the standout abilities you'd expect for a 5'11" C.

Pronman has Yager as a top 5 shot but 28th on his pure ceiling rankings
 
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