Brayden Yager Scouting Reports

Yager was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round (14th) at the 2023 NHL draft.
Over the course of his WHL career he has shown the ability to produce offense a variety of ways. In his rookie season he displayed a 'shoot first' approach in the offensive zone. Last season he flipped the script and started to distribute the puck / become more of a play maker.
This year, he is best described as a hybrid of both styles. Before leaving for Team Canada camp, Yager had produced 17G-24A in 28GP.
His overall game is quicker and faster. He can be a threat off the rush and has the legs to check back all the way to his goal line when he exits the offensive zone late.
Yager goes about his business in a responsible way. He doesn't cut corner to produce offense.

He flipped the script from the previous season. Last year he scored more goals and had less assists. This season he opened up and distributed the puck more effectively - leading to less goals and more assists.
Great hands. Excellent vision. Takes advantage of time and space. Aggressive getting pucks to the net. His skating stride is fine but he needs to add strength and discover another gear in transition to allow his element to have more impact off the rush. Fantastic vision on the PP. Defensively he identifies his responsibility but his attention to detail ranges. Element is offense.

In his first WHL season he produced more goals than assists -In his second season he has flipped the script - Safe to assume he can contribute scoring and playmaking
More strength required as he matures - right now he has a difficult time consistently getting to the middle of the ice and battling in the hard areas
When he gets the edge his first instinct is to direct pucks on net - Bottom line is he produces offense - Potential top 6 - maybe top 3 NHL forward

Goal scorer. Produces offense.
Off the rush if he gets the edge he immediately looks to get pucks on net.
More of a shooter than a distributor
Room for more strength.
In time he will be challenged physically and will need to develop more of a board / interior game to respond. Top 3 point producing NHL forward on projection.