The future is (almost) now Jets top prospect Yager turning heads in WHL By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 5:41 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 3, 2025

VIRDEN — Brayden Yager was given some homework this season by the Winnipeg Jets.

Following each Western Hockey League game he played, the organization’s top forward prospect was asked to send a short report to player development officials about how it went.

“I’ll write a couple things I did well, a couple things I can do a bit better. It’s a nice little way to be able to have some self-reflection and to be able to look back on,” Yager told the Free Press this week in a wide-ranging one-on-one interview.

With the caveat that there’s always room for improvement, it’s hard to imagine anything but straight A’s when it comes to his hockey report card.

Take Wednesday night in Virden, for example, where his Lethbridge Hurricanes were taking on the Brandon Wheat Kings in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series. Yager appeared to be in a class of his own, opening eyes and turning heads pretty much every time he was on the ice.

He showed off his elite smarts and speed early in the second period when he intercepted a pass attempt in his own zone and scored a nifty shorthanded breakaway goal. Although the 1,200 seat rink was largely filled with Brandon fans — their own building wasn’t available due to their annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair — you could hear the cheers from many folks sporting Jets attire.

“He’s going to be a very good Winnipeg Jet,” said his current head coach Bill Peters. “They have a very good young prospect who loves the game. I think the world of him.”

First things first

The future could arrive very soon. Yager, 20, is expected to join the organization once this playoff run is over — something he admits is very much on his mind.

“Sometimes you have to reel yourself in a bit. But it’s exciting to be part of the organization and sometimes you can’t help but think how badly you want to get there and prove yourself,” said Yager.

First things first. His Hurricanes, who finished fourth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, are up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series against the No. 5-ranked Wheat Kings, who staved off elimination with Wednesday’s 6-4 victory. Lethbridge can move on to the next round with a win on home ice Friday. Brandon will try to force a Game 6 back in Virden on Sunday.

“It’s the best time of the year,” Yager said of the playoffs. “You get to the end of the year and you’re chomping at the bit. Now we’re here and having a blast. The whole goal here is to help this team win a championship. I think we’ve got the team to do it.”

Yager currently leads his team with five points (3G, 2A) in the playoffs after doing the same in the regular-season with 82 points (25G, 57A) through 54 games. The first 21 of those were played with the Moose Jaw Warriors, who he helped lead to the Memorial Cup last year but are now entering a re-building phase and traded him to Lethbridge for draft picks.

“He’s made a big difference for us and in a very professional manner,” said Peters, whose resumé includes coaching the Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames in the NHL.

“He has lots to offer for a team. We use him in all situations. Big-time right-hand value as a faceoff guy. He’s got the hockey sense, plays on the penalty kill, the power play. And he’s committed to doing that.”

Yager, the 14th-overall pick in the 2023 draft, was obtained by the Jets last summer from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for disgruntled prospect Rutger McGroarty, the 14th-overall pick in the 2022 draft. It’s been a whirlwind ever since, including an impressive training camp with Winnipeg and being named captain of the Canadian World Junior team.

Yager has kept in close contact with the Jets all year, not only through his personal reports but plenty of visits from Jimmy Roy and Mike Keane, who work in player development. He’s also become close with the current Winnipeg leadership group of captain Adam Lowry and alternates Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey — routinely picking their brains for advice

“They’ve been unreal. They have all been great giving me pointers and helping me out,” said Yager. “I’ve been trying to watch as many games as I can when we’re not playing.”

Second-line centre

At the risk of doing Yager’s most recent paperwork for him, he had numerous other chances to score in Wednesday’s game, using his quickness to put himself in a prime position on multiple occasions. At least two hard shots just missed the top corner. He also went 12-for-25 in the faceoff circle, which he says is an area he’s quickly improving on.

The Jets have been in constant search for a solid second-line centre behind Scheifele, with the versatile Vlad Namestnikov currently holding down that spot. Peters has no doubts Yager — who clocks in at 6’0 and weighs 170 pounds — will soon occupy it.

“For sure,” he replied. “Maybe early in his pro career, if you want to get him into the league quicker, it’s easier to bring him in as a winger. A little less responsibility, defensively. But long-term — and I think short-term, myself — he’s going to be a centre. And he’s doing to be the play-making centre who makes his wingers better, who has the ability to drive a line.”

Yager was born in Prince Albert and spent most of his life in Saskatoon. He initially wanted to be a goalie as a little kid, even trying it out for one of his first skates. His grandfather and his father, Cam, who played for the Detroit Falcons in the Colonial Hockey League, were both masked men.

“(My dad) said ‘there’s no chance you’re going to be a goalie,’” Yager said with a laugh. “I guess he didn’t want the stress that comes with it.”

That would appear to have been a sound decision, given the way things have turned out.

Yager tore up minor hockey in Saskatchewan and was granted exceptional status as a 14-year-old to play in an older league. He was selected third overall in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and scored 34 goals in his first season in Moose Jaw, winning both the WHL and Canadian Hockey League Rookie of the Year awards.

Yager is also a two-time winner of the WHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player award and won the CHL’s Sportsman of the Year honours last season.

Now, one final chance to add “Memorial Cup champion” to his accomplishments before the biggest one yet — professional hockey player. At that point, those progress reports to the Jets will start happening in person.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg

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Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.