On Thursday, Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas announced that Brayden Yager signed a three-year entry-level deal with the organization. Yager was the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. This selection was the highest selection for the Penguins in many years because they were always in the postseason and competing for Stanley Cup titles. This time around, it was a different situation for the Penguins. Yager has played with Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League for the past four seasons.
Yager is 19 years old and he improved in every single season with the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL. In his first season, he only scored 18 points. Brayden Yager’s second season took a massive jump when he scored 59 points. During his third season, he scored 78 points. Last season in 57 games played, Yager scored 35 goals and recorded 60 assists, along with a plus/minus rating of 19. During 20 playoff games in the WHL, he was not a stranger to making huge plays as he scored 11 goals and recorded 16 assists, in 20 games played.
Brayden Yager is a player on the Pittsburgh Penguins who could provide the team a boost in 2024-2025, but it will be interesting to see whether or not he will make the roster out of camp. If he does not make the roster for Pittsburgh in camp, they could very well play him with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL. The Penguins are one of the oldest teams in the NHL. They haven’t had a prospect like this since Jake Guentzel.
Other Moves They Made This Offseason
There were some other moves that the Pittsburgh Penguins have made this NHL offseason other than signing Brayden Yager to an entry-level deal. Anthony Beauvillier was also signed as a free agent. He is 27 years old and Beauviller is under 30 years old which is a good sign for the Penguins. Pittsburgh needed some youth on this roster. Kevin Hayes was also acquired in a trade from the St. Louis Blues. Hayes is 32 years old and he has played for the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers also in the past.
Some fans think that the Penguins will not be able to contend this season for a playoff spot let alone another Stanley Cup in the Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang era. This team won’t be a playoff team as long as Tristan Jarry is the goalie. He has been one of the main reasons why they were out last season and they also had a horrendous power play. Alex Nedeljkovic signed a new contract with Pittsburgh in the offseason. Nedeljkovic was the primary goalie down the stretch. He played better than Jarry did last season.
What fans would love to see this year is for Brayden Yager to make the opening night roster and play on the same line with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell. However, Bryan Rust would probably be on the first line with Crosby before Yager would be. There have been jokes with the Penguins fanbase on social media that head coach Mike Sullivan does not play young players at all and he likes older players better. Jeff Carter retired in the offseason. Pittsburgh also signed centerman Blake Lizotte to the roster, who is 26 years old. He played with the Los Angeles Kings last season.
Brayden Yager is going to be the more polarizing name in Penguins training camp this year outside of the main suspects. They will want to see how he performs from the first day of camp and beyond. If Yager does make the NHL roster next year, he has to be on the ice and not sitting in the press box. He also can’t be playing for a short amount of time on the ice. He also has to be playing valuable minutes.
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