Penguins draft forward Brayden Yager in 1st round

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Brayden Yager likes to think of himself as a complete player at the center position.

And he has an ideal person to craft his game after.

“I model my game after Sidney Crosby,” Yager said. “So it’s crazy to think that I’m wearing the same jersey that he does.”

Yager acquired that jersey Wednesday evening when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the 14th overall selection during the first round of the NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena.

Yager, 18, appeared in 67 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season and scored 78 points (28 goals, 50 assists).

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Brayden Yager's snapshot is nightmare fuel for goalies.@MJWARRIORS | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/hzO5rsHacl

— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 28, 2023

A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Yager is listed as 6-foot and 166 pounds.

“He was in the mix of players that we were really hoping would drop down to 14,” Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas said. “He competed in a really difficult division (within the WHL), all high-quality teams. … He had to go against really difficult competition. He doubled his assist total year to year.

“More importantly, in addition to his production was the way he played defensively. The way he drove possession out of his own zone, played the whole rink, skated through the middle of the rink, was able to make plays, was able to be the defensive conscience of his line while also producing offensively. The scouting staff was very excited about him.

Yager is labeled as an aggressive shooter by several scouting outlets.

“Having a shooter mentality, you’re not going to score if you don’t shoot the puck,” said Yager, who indicated he models his shot after another Nova Scotian, Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon. “I’ve worked on my shot a lot growing up. I try to use it as much as I can.”

Primarily deployed as a center, Yager understands offense alone won’t get him to the NHL.

“I take a lot of pride playing in both ends of the ice,” Yager said. “My coaches in Moose Jaw do a really good job of showing me (video) clips of where I need to be, supporting the puck for my (defensemen). Like I said, I role model my game after Sidney Crosby, and he’s one of the best, complete players ever. As a young guy stepping into the NHL, you might not be able to play top-six (forward) minutes so if you can kind of gain your coaches’ trust playing on the bottom-two lines and work your way up, I think that’s super important.”

Notes: Barring any transactions, the Penguins are scheduled to have five selections in the final six rounds of the draft on Thursday.

Third round: No. 90 (from New Jersey Devils)

Fifth round: No. 142

Sixth round: No. 174

Seventh round: No. 217 (from Toronto Maple Leafs)

Seventh round: No. 223 (from Florida Panthers)