Yager firmly settled in for next chapter of hockey journey Forward looking forward to cut his teeth in the professional ranks this season By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 5:57 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025

Brayden Yager is set to be a sponge.

As the Winnipeg Jets top forward prospect prepares for his second training camp since he was acquired in a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins for Rutger McGroarty in August 2024, Yager knows that he’s going to be cutting his teeth in the professional ranks this season.

At this time last September, Yager had a lot on his plate, as he was getting to know a new organization after dealing with being traded for the first time in his life — before he’d even played a regular-season game for a Penguins team that chose him 14th overall in the 2023 NHL draft.

“Last year, there was a lot going on,” said Yager. “This year, you’re a lot more comfortable and you’re familiar with lots of the young prospects. Going through camp last year, you’re familiar with lots of the older guys, too.

“The group that they have are such good people. The players are so easy to talk to and that makes it so easy for a young guy to come in and just hang around — and you’ll feel like you belong there.”

With Jets prospects hitting the ice on Wednesday afternoon before heading to Montreal to take part in the Prospect Showcase tournament at Bell Centre this weekend that features exhibition games against the host Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, Yager is firmly settled in and ready for the next chapter in his hockey journey.

“It’s awesome,” said Yager. “Obviously, you look forward to this moment as a young kid and, finally, (when) you’re going into the season where you’re starting to play pro is pretty cool and I’m ready for it.”

Yager is one of the top forward prospects in the Jets’ organization and while he’s going to be hard-pressed to crack the NHL lineup next month, that’s not the mentality he’s carrying with him.

As a versatile, two-way forward whose natural position is centre, Yager has the ability to move to the wing if the situation calls for it.

With Jets captain Adam Lowry expected to miss the start of the season as he recovers from hip surgery, there could be an opening down the middle out of camp — depending on what head coach Scott Arniel has in mind in terms of deployment.

“For me, I want to make the NHL. I know the situation of the team,” said Yager. “They’ve got a great team, lots of great players. But I’m 20 years old now and I’m turning pro too, so I’ve got to fight for a job too. So yeah, that’s the goal coming into camp. I want to earn a spot on the team. That’s all there really is to say.”

Yager recalls watching games as a youngster with his father, who suggested keeping a close eye on the captains of the Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks as two players to model his game after

“For me, it was always Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby,” said Yager, noting he met Toews earlier this week. “Just the 200-foot game and the leadership. I’ve been fortunate enough, where I got drafted in Pittsburgh, I got to be around Sid and now I’ve got the chance to be around Jonathan Toews. It’s a pretty cool opportunity and I’ll try to hang around him as much as I can during camp and learn as much as I can, for sure.”

“I want to earn a spot on the team.”

One of the scenes from training camp last fall that stood out was Yager spending a bunch of time with Jets centre Mark Scheifele at the end of an on-ice session, working on the finer details of the craft.

One of the things Yager noticed during the playoff series between the Jets and St. Louis Blues was just how much of the series was played along the boards, citing the importance of winning those battles on the wall.

That’s one of the skills Yager spent a bit more time working on this past summer during his training.

Although he’s put up big offensive numbers at every level he’s played, Yager has always been committed to being strong in the defensive zone, recognizing that earning the trust of the coaching staff is a lot easier when you show that you can play without the puck as well.

“It’s a big part of my game that I take a lot of pride in,” said Yager. “Obviously producing offence but I think it always starts in the D-zone and how you take care of your own zone first and work your way into the fun zone and have some fun.”

Manitoba Moose head coach Mark Morrison will be running the bench this weekend and got a pretty good handle on Yager’s skill set during training camp last season.

“He’s obviously a smart hockey player. He’s got all sorts of skill,” said Morrison. “He’s a good player, there’s no question about it. We’ve seen him on the ice, he controls the puck well and makes great plays. Let’s see how he does at camp.”

Yager is coming off a spectacular season in the Western Hockey League, one which saw him dealt from the Moose Jaw Warriors (where he was team captain) to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who advanced to the conference final before bowing out to the Medicine Hat Tigers (who captured the league championship).

The Saskatoon product combined for 25 goals and 82 points in 54 WHL games last season before adding eight goals and 14 points in 16 playoff games.

He also suited up for Team Canada for the second time at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

To cap off the season, Yager joined the Jets and was skating with the extra players during the Stanley Cup playoff run.

Part of that meant being in the building for the Jets remarkable rally in Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues, where the Jets scored twice with an extra attacker before Lowry helped his team advance with a double overtime winner.

Seeing Cole Perfetti — a fellow first-round pick — send the game to extra time was something Yager won’t soon forget.

“You kind of just soak in the crowd and, I mean, that’s got to be the loudest building I’ve ever heard,” said Yager. “The fans were standing the entire overtime and you just look around, you’re kind of wide-eyed. (Perfetti) is a great young player and a guy that I kind of want to follow in his footsteps a little bit, you could say.

“Just (with) how he’s worked his way up. Obviously he’s a great player in the NHL and looking to do pretty big things this year. He’s definitely a guy that I can look up to and try to be kind of like him.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld