The Penguins inked young gun Brayden Yager to a three-year, entry-level contract yesterday. The deal carries a cap hit of $950K at the NHL level.
Selected with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 Entry Draft, Yager piled up an impressive 35 goals and 90 points during 57 regular-season games last season for Moose Jaw of the Western League. The right-handed-shooting sniper tacked on 11 goals and 27 points in 20 WHL playoff games to help the Warriors capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Watching clips of the kid, one trait literally leaps off the video. Yager can flat-out rip the biscuit. He possesses a hair-trigger release and picks his spots with deadly accuracy. The thing is, you don’t really notice him all that much till the puck’s on his stick blade and then…WHAM. A snap of the wrists and it’s in the net.
To my eye, he has the makings of a classic, now-you-see-him-now-you-don’t, lurking-in-the-weeds sniper. Perhaps the most dangerous kind.
Much has been made of his overall game as well, patterned after none other than Sidney Crosby.
Speaking of, might we see the Yager-Meister (sorry, couldn’t resist) skate next to our captain this season?
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