Yager remains confident in top-five talent after balanced draft season

Brayden Yager fell from No. 5 to No. 11 on NHL Central Scouting's final list of North American skaters eligible for the 2023 draft. 

"I don't really focus on that a whole lot," the Moose Jaw Warriors centre said. "I mean, it's their opinion, I guess. There's a lot of great players in this draft class. At the end of the day, the opinions that matter the most are the guys who are going up and picking the players, and I've had pretty good conversations with teams."

Yager was the Canadian Hockey League's rookie of the year in 2021-22 when he scored 34 goals and added 25 assists in 63 games. This season, the Saskatoon, Sask., native focused on being more of a playmaker. He piled up 50 assists in 67 games, but his goal total dropped to 28, which Yager feels impacted his ranking. 

"With less goals than last year I think that's probably why [I dropped], but at the same time I'm super happy with how the season went," the 18-year-old said.

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button has Yager at No. 18 on his final list of top prospects. 

"I've been told anywhere from seven to 14," Yager said of his likely landing spot in the draft. "I'm super excited and not going to put too much weight on my back. I'm just going to Nashville to enjoy the whole process with my family." 

Yager set a goal of being a top-five pick before the season. He may need to wait a little longer than initially expected to hear his name called in Nashville next week, but the 5-foot-11, 170-pound pivot is unfazed. 

"I can definitely be a top-five player in this draft class," he vowed. "Once the draft is all said and done, I believe in the NHL that I can be one of the best players to come out of this draft class. I'm confident that I'm going to do everything I can to make the NHL and be one of the best players. I'm confident with where I think I can get to."

During a conversation with TSN, Yager revealed the advice Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman offered him at the NHL Scouting Combine and explained why adding assists was so important this year. The following is an edited transcript of the interview. 

TSN: How do you feel about your draft season?

Yager: "Good. I improved in some areas that I really wanted to work on such as my playmaking ability. I really continued to develop my 200-foot game and being able to play in both ends of the ice. I really improved in the playmaking aspect but, at the same time, maybe moving forward [I have to] shoot the puck a little bit more." 

TSN: Why did you focus on playmaking this season?

Yager: "I was kind of known as just a skate down the wing and shoot the puck in the net [guy], so just kind of just rounding out my game a little bit and being more deceptive. It was about finding different ways to produce offence. I was really happy with how that went this year."   

TSN: Was that self-analysis or did you talk to people who advised you on that? 

Yager: "A little bit of both. Definitely a lot from myself. You got to be able to do lots of different things at high levels going to the next level. Improving that part of my game I thought would really benefit me. Moving forward, I'll try to find a balance now that I'm confident with my playmaking ability. I can find a balance of having a shoot-first mentality but also, when the play needs to be made, I can use that side of my offensive game as well."

TSN: What did you do well on the playmaking side this season?  

Yager: "Learned to create more space for myself. Playing with some pretty good players like Jagger Firkus, Denton Mateychuk and Ryder Korczak obviously helps. I mean, those are guys who can put the puck in the net. I was trying to be more creative and use my vision a bit more and focus on passing more."

TSN: You did 22 interviews at the combine. What was the toughest question? 

Yager: "There wasn't a whole lot of tough questions. 'What type of animal are you?' is the one that threw me off the most."

TSN: What did you say? 

Yager: "I said a wolf just because wolves are smart animals. They work in a pack and that's like myself working in a team with my teammates. That was my thought process with that question."  

TSN: What was it like interviewing with the Red Wings and Yzerman?

Yager: "Super cool. You walk into a room and you have Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper standing right in front of you. They are long-time, successful NHL players and guys you look up to. It's super cool, because you got to ask them questions at the end and learn as much as you can from guys like that." 

TSN: What did you ask Yzerman? 

Yager: "I've always had a tough time gaining weight, so a little bit of advice he gave me was not to force the weight. He said, 'You'll mature and get stronger and get man strength.' Any time you can get advice from those type of guys, it's pretty cool."

TSN: You went to dinner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, what was that like? 

Yager: "I went out with the Arizona Coyotes as well, but with Pittsburgh it was just myself and the three guys from the Pittsburgh staff. It was cool to have the one-on-one talking, because you learn as much as you can, but it's a casual conversation. It's not as much an interview. You're just talking about your season and not so much getting put on the spot to answer big questions. It was a nice dinner." 

TSN: What was the Arizona dinner like? Did you have to compete to stand out? 

Yager: "It was nine players, so it's cool to be out with guys you're familiar with and chatting ... You don't want to be the guy who's talking the whole time. You want to find a balance and we kind of did fun little questions. There would be a question and then we would go around the table and each answer it individually. Everybody did the same amount of talking."  

TSN: Who is your NHL role model? 

Yager: "I like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. With Crosby, it's his 200-foot game. I also like Patrice Bergeron and Jonathan Toews with their habits on the ice. Every team needs a player that can be relied upon in any situation in the game. With MacKinnon, it's how explosive he is with his skating. How he shoots the puck in stride is something I really try to work on and try to emulate."  

TSN: What have you learned the most from working with shooting coach Tim Turk in the summer? 

Yager: "A big thing with Turky is really locking out your hand and getting as much force as you can into the stick. We work a lot on different variations of shots. Obviously, you watch Connor Bedard, Auston Matthews and how those guys shoot the puck and the way they change the angle. Turky is a big fan of the stride-release shot when you pull it in and change the angle. With how good goalies are these days, if you can have a quick release and also change the angle it makes it pretty tough on them, so that's something we work on a lot. I love working with him."

TSN: How do you feel about your shot? 

Yager: "It's probably my biggest strength. That's probably my most translatable skill to the NHL. There's other strengths, but my shot is probably my biggest one." 

TSN: What are you focused on this summer?

Yager: "Putting on a little weight and getting a little stronger. You go to NHL camps and they're all men and older and bigger and stronger than you. If I can gain some weight and also get bigger and stronger that will translate to winning more battles and races against those bigger guys." 

TSN: You were named the WHL's most sportsmanlike player this season. What does that say about your game?  

Yager: "It's an honour. You're recognized for your play, but also [respecting] the integrity of the game and playing honest and between the whistles. I'm not the guy to go and cross check somebody's teeth out or take off anybody's head, but I'm just playing with integrity and the right way and at a high level." 

TSN: What do your parents do? 

Yager: "They actually just retired halfway through this year. They were both in federal corrections. My dad was a prison guard, and my mom was a deputy warden." 

TSN: What was it like growing up? Were they disciplinarians? 

Yager: "They were always pretty strict with making sure we're doing our chores before we go and have fun and limiting the video games and making sure we're always doing something to get better every day. There's some pretty cool stories they have to share. I'm super fortunate that I have the family that I do." 

TSN: What's the No. 1 story you heard from your parents about the work they do? 

Yager: "Oh, I don't know if I can say it. There's some pretty crazy ones. I'd have to think of one available for the media." 

TSN: What has growing up in that atmosphere done for you? 

Yager: "With my dad working night shifts, 12 and 16 hour shifts, you see the hard work he's putting in and then still getting up early in the morning to take me to my practice or game. Same with my mom. You want to show them the hard work that they put in and sacrifice ... you want to  show them it's going to pay off one day. I believe I'm on the right track right now and I know they're super proud of me."