F Brayden Yager - Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL (2023, 14th, PIT; traded to WPG)

[Bubbles]

Hat trick and it's only the 2nd. You Pens fans should have a bunch of free time now to watch him!

 

[Gurglesons]

Continues to produce for Moose Jaw, but I’m still not thinking he is a total home run prospect. Am I wrong?

 

[MichaelFarrell]

Continues to produce for Moose Jaw, but I’m still not thinking he is a total home run prospect. Am I wrong?

He has pretty much all the tools you’d want in an elite player. But, he’s going to need to be more consistent. He needs to utilize his tools more efficiently and make better decisions.

He could be a phenomenal player but he could also be a dud. I’m a big fan of Yager.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Continues to produce for Moose Jaw, but I’m still not thinking he is a total home run prospect. Am I wrong?

Has his game changed that much from last year? He scored a little more but he's on a good team and is a pretty high 1st rounder in the WHL...so you expect him to score.

 

[PAZ]

Continues to produce for Moose Jaw, but I’m still not thinking he is a total home run prospect. Am I wrong?

He's in the Jost/Krebs territory for me - not saying he's going to bust but he's in the same territory.

Good toolkit but nothing really stands out. He's going to need to improve his skating to move up to a blue-chip prospect imo, as I don't think his hockey IQ is high enough to make up for his skating ability.

 

[landy92mack29]

Continues to produce for Moose Jaw, but I’m still not thinking he is a total home run prospect. Am I wrong?

yes.


Also he's a elite skater so that take is something

 

[SomeDude]

Also he's a elite skater so that take is something

He's going to need to improve his skating to move up to a blue-chip prospect imo, as I don't think his hockey IQ is high enough to make up for his skating ability.

HF scouting reports in a nut shell.

One of you will be correct. Unless his skating is just average, then you’re both wrong.

 

[Bubbles]

He's in the Jost/Krebs territory for me - not saying he's going to bust but he's in the same territory.

Good toolkit but nothing really stands out. He's going to need to improve his skating to move up to a blue-chip prospect imo, as I don't think his hockey IQ is high enough to make up for his skating ability.

Did you pick those two players out of thin air? They're not even similar players, other than "busting" and Krebs is way too young to declare that he is a bust.

Yager's one of the best skaters in the WHL so the rest of your post really doesn't matter anymore.

HF scouting reports in a nut shell.

One of you will be correct. Unless his skating is just average, then you’re both wrong.

Landy's one of the most dedicated WHL watchers here and the other guy I've never seen in this forum. To each his own.

 

[Turin]

He's in the Jost/Krebs territory for me - not saying he's going to bust but he's in the same territory.

Good toolkit but nothing really stands out. He's going to need to improve his skating to move up to a blue-chip prospect imo, as I don't think his hockey IQ is high enough to make up for his skating ability.

Uh… his shot doesn’t stand out? How is his skating bad? This is the first time anybody’s ever said that. Are you talking about the right player

 

[Gurglesons]

yes.


Also he's a elite skater so that take is something

Upside strikes me as a Jared McCann type. What do you think?

 

[majormajor]

The toolkit is high end, plenty stands out. Though I think the overall upside isn't very high.

Upside strikes me as a Jared McCann type. What do you think?

I can see that.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

Good skater I wouldn’t call him an elite skater tho just yet

 

[The Old Master]

Good skater I wouldn’t call him an elite skater tho just yet

nothing 20# of mussel won't fix.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Yeah I feel like McCann has been the common comparison thrown towards Yager that I've seen. I think Yager may have a better chance at sticking at C than McCann, but I'm unsure that Yager has the 40 goal upside that McCann has shown.

I'd guess he would fall in "good top-6 winger or good 2C" upside territory. Maybe not a pure top line guy but a 30-30 top-6 guy seems reasonable.

 

[landy92mack29]

Yager was compared to Mackinnon because of his shot and skating. Don't see the same upside but a poor mans maybe. Similar upside as Barzal more likely

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

121 points in 79 games in the WHL this year.

Even with being a 14th overall pick. He took a big step forward this past year.

 

[Ryder71]

Three points, but not his best game. Are we gonna sign the kid or what?

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Interested to see if he gets the 9 game tryout in the league before a decision has to be made. Feel like he has been underrated a bit because his DY in junior didn't live up to expectations. Probably sent back to the Dub, but who knows.

 

[Peat]

Yeah I feel like McCann has been the common comparison thrown towards Yager that I've seen. I think Yager may have a better chance at sticking at C than McCann, but I'm unsure that Yager has the 40 goal upside that McCann has shown.

I'd guess he would fall in "good top-6 winger or good 2C" upside territory. Maybe not a pure top line guy but a 30-30 top-6 guy seems reasonable.

I think Yager absolutely has that upside - particularly if you use the McCann yardstick of hit it once and never look close again - but while pointing out most guys don't hit their upside and that those sort of goal totals are heavily situational anyway.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Yeah I feel like McCann has been the common comparison thrown towards Yager that I've seen. I think Yager may have a better chance at sticking at C than McCann, but I'm unsure that Yager has the 40 goal upside that McCann has shown.

I'd guess he would fall in "good top-6 winger or good 2C" upside territory. Maybe not a pure top line guy but a 30-30 top-6 guy seems reasonable.

Yager could touch 40 if he rounds out parts of his game. Some forget that McCann was rushed into the league as a 19 year old by Vancouver and floated around aimlessly for a couple years in Florida, not showing his potential until later in his Pittsburgh days.

 

[wetcoast]

I don't know the exact rules but is he AHL eligible next year on the numbers of seasons in junior?

Agewise I get that he can go back to the WHL, I'm just not sure what the point is as he is ready for the next level to grow.

 

[Jacob]

I don't know the exact rules but is he AHL eligible next year on the numbers of seasons in junior?

Agewise I get that he can go back to the WHL, I'm just not sure what the point is as he is ready for the next level to grow.

He could possibly be considered as AHL-eligible depending on how that shortened COVID season is counted but Spezza seemed to indicate they weren’t going to press the issue or apply for an exemption. Of course that may also depend on how he performs in camp and preseason, and he’s still not signed yet.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I don't know the exact rules but is he AHL eligible next year on the numbers of seasons in junior?

Agewise I get that he can go back to the WHL, I'm just not sure what the point is as he is ready for the next level to grow.

No, Penguins reporters have been asking about this at development camp but the answer has been no from asking the Penguins about it.

The issue is that Yager wouldn't have played a full season in 2020 regardless because he wasn't granted exceptional status in that year, so even though he played 24 of 24 games, he wouldn't have been eligible to play a full season as a 15 year old.

Yager's situation was more akin to one of those prospects who gets a cup of coffee at the end of a WHL season.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

No, Penguins reporters have been asking about this at development camp but the answer has been no from asking the Penguins about it.

The issue is that Yager wouldn't have played a full season in 2020 regardless because he wasn't granted exceptional status in that year, so even though he played 24 of 24 games, he wouldn't have been eligible to play a full season as a 15 year old.

Yager's situation was more akin to one of those prospects who gets a cup of coffee at the end of a WHL season.

Hopefully he gets the 9 games in before heading back to MJ then!!

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Good skater I wouldn’t call him an elite skater tho just yet

Yeah he accelerates well and has a pretty high end top speed in a straight line.

Edgework and agility is merely solid though

I think Yager absolutely has that upside - particularly if you use the McCann yardstick of hit it once and never look close again - but while pointing out most guys don't hit their upside and that those sort of goal totals are heavily situational anyway.

He’s one of the hardest reads for me. I really struggle to rate Yager’s pro potential. I could see so many different outcomes.