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

[Joe Hallenback]

Okay? I was talking about Sutter there. Sutter never hit 60 points in juniors because his teams were horrid and he made the NHL in his draft+2 year.

I think it's stupid to call Yager a "top prospect" and the Penguins got fleeced but you do you. McGroarty and Yager are about equal prospects with similar upsides, hence why they were traded straight up for each other.

I think fleecing the penguins probably has more to do with the fact that we got something comparable in return for a malcontent who wanted out.

 

[Just Linda]

Yager is better defensively for sure but Savoie was the much more dynamic prospect while Yager looked like a more north south direct shooter type.

I don't know what's happened to Savoie but my gut is that Yager won't turn out as well as expected.

Who knows though.

Nothing really happened to Savoie, nature just put him in a position (height and size) that is incredibly difficult to overcome to make it to the next level and he just didn't have the right kind of gifts to overcome it. If Savoie was 6 inches taller, 40lbs heavier, and had the strength to go alongside it while managing to maintain his skill, he'd have a great chance at being a great player. He would be winning his board battles, he'd be winning the middle of the ice, he's be able to be a crease crasher. He can't do those things and it makes him quite ineffective outside of the PP.

Yager doesn't play that same game and doesn't have the same limiter that Savoie has. Yager has a patience to his game that Savoie doesn't (and can') have. Savoie's game is built on making the other team turn the puck over and through his incredible defensive transition game (forecheck, neutral zone coverage, etc). Savoie's game is built on forcing plays to happen, Yager's game is built in finding the play (openings, timing, etc). Savioe works well with play drivers and players who can grind for him, Yager works best with players that can match his skill and help him open up the ice. Yager, at times, reminds me a bit like Suzuki looking for plays to open up but when he sees it, I see a bit of a Kaliyev in how he responds to those openings (so similiar awareness to Suzuki but less safe decision making).

I think Yager is going to have a fine career as a top 6 NHL winger and I'd be more than happy with him on my future teams.

 

[Gurglesons]

I think fleecing the penguins probably has more to do with the fact that we got something comparable in return for a malcontent who wanted out.

You think the Penguins got fleeced for getting what many viewed as a better prospect?

 

[Romang67]

Okay? I was talking about Sutter there. Sutter never hit 60 points in juniors because his teams were horrid and he made the NHL in his draft+2 year.

I think it's stupid to call Yager a "top prospect" and the Penguins got fleeced but you do you. McGroarty and Yager are about equal prospects with similar upsides, hence why they were traded straight up for each other.

Sutter was outscored by Martin Hanzal by 28 points despite playing 11 more games in his draft season. He never hit 60 points because he was bad offensively.

 

[theVladiator]

I am puzzled by Brandon Sutter comparisons. Brandon Sutter IMO was primarily a defensive player, with fantastic defensive IQ and anticipation which helped him to disrupt opposition plays and recover the puck. But, he wasn't very capable generating offense once he got the puck. His shot was pretty bad, and vision and passing about average. His skating was also below average. Is Yager really a lead footed, offensively very limited, but defensively intelligent player?

 

[Empoleon8771]

I am puzzled by Brandon Sutter comparisons. Brandon Sutter IMO was primarily a defensive player, with fantastic defensive IQ and anticipation which helped him to disrupt opposition plays and recover the puck. But, he wasn't very capable generating offense once he got the puck. His shot was pretty bad, and vision and passing about average. His skating was also below average. Is Yager really a lead footed, offensively very limited, but defensively intelligent player?

This just isn't an accurate description of Sutter. Like this isn't even remotely close.

Sutter was a straight line, tunnel vision player that basically only had a shot, speed and defense.

Sutter was outscored by Martin Hanzal by 28 points despite playing 11 more games in his draft season. He never hit 60 points because he was bad offensively.

Yes, 17 year olds tend to be outscored by 19 year olds in juniors. Not exactly a surprising concept. A lot of top junior scorers produce their big seasons in their draft+1 and draft+2 years, which Sutter didn't do because his team was heinous in his draft+1 year and he was in the NHL in his draft+2 year.

The overall point was that Yager's playstyle is more aligned with Sutter's playstyle. Sutter never hit 2C caliber while I think Yager has 2C upside, I just think Yager will be in a similar mold as Sutter and that will cap his upside.

 

[Romang67]

This just isn't an accurate description of Sutter. Like this isn't even remotely close.

Sutter was a straight line, tunnel vision player that basically only had a shot, speed and defense.



Yes, 17 year olds tend to be outscored by 19 year olds in juniors. Not exactly a surprising concept. A lot of top junior scorers produce their big seasons in their draft+1 and draft+2 years, which Sutter didn't do because his team was heinous in his draft+1 year and he was in the NHL in his draft+2 year.

The overall point was that Yager's playstyle is more aligned with Sutter's playstyle. Sutter never hit 2C caliber while I think Yager has 2C upside, I just think Yager will be in a similar mold as Sutter and that will cap his upside.

There were points to be had. Sutter didn't have them, not because it was impossible to score points for the Rebels, but because he was bad offensively. He was then bad offensively in the AHL, before breaking out into a mediocre offensive player in the NHL. He had an intermittent stint in the WJC, where he was bad offensively. He was also bad offensively in the WJC-18, twice. Before entering juniors, he was also, you guessed it, bad offensively in the AMHL.

The idea that Sutter's team in juniors was the reason he produced so poorly in comparison to Yager doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Plenty of good offensive players produce despite playing for bad teams. Brandon Sutter didn't because he wasn't a good offensive player. He was drafted in the first round off his last name alone.

Fun fact: in Brandon Sutter's lone decent season in juniors, he scored 58% of his points (33 points) on the PP.