Lethbridge acquire Jets prospect Yager in massive WHL deal
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes acquired Winnipeg Jets prospect Brayden Yager and starting goaltender Jackson Unger from the Moose Jaw Warriors in a massive Western Hockey League trade.
Yager, 19, was drafted 14th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023 and dealt to Winnipeg last off-season in exchange for forward Rutger McGroarty.
The 6-foot centre had played his entire WHL career in Moose Jaw, recording 115 goals and 280 points in parts of five seasons and helped the Warriors win the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in franchise history.
He went on to record three goals and six points in four Memorial Cup games and was named to the tournament's all-star team.
Yager has 11 goals and 30 points in 21 games prior to the trade and was invited to Team Canada's World Junior selection camp beginning on Dec. 10.
Unger, 19, also played his entire WHL career with the Warriors, putting up a career 62-49-6 record with an .892 save percentage and 3.60 goals-against average.
This year, the 6-foot-1 netminder has a 4-11-4 record prior to the trade with a .887 save percentage and 4.36 GAA.
Unger had a 35-15-2 regular season record last season with a .908 save percentage and 3.08 GAA. He went 16-1 in the playoffs with a 2.90 GAA and .910 save percentage to backstop Moose Jaw to the city's first appearance in the Memorial Cup since 1947.
Yager and Unger join a Lethbridge squad that sits seventh in the WHL Eastern Conference with a 12-10-2 record.
Moose Jaw will receive goaltender Brady Smith, forward Landen Ward, defenceman Colt Carter, and six draft picks in return for the two players.
Smith is playing his first full season in the WHL and has an 8-4-2 record with a 3.31 GAA and .886 save percentage this season.
Ward is in the midst of his second full season of major junior and has a goal and two points in 22 games this season.
Carter is the youngest of the trio at 15-year-old and was drafted by the Hurricanes in the sixth round of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. He has yet to play a game in the WHL.
The Warriors sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-15-4 record this season.