MOOSE JAW -- Former Moose Jaw Warriors standout Brayden Yager is officially about to begin his professional hockey career.
And at the highest of levels, at that.
The Winnipeg Jets announced Friday morning that Yager, 20, has been called up by the National Hockey League team as they continue their first round playoff series with the St. Louis Blues.
The current Lethbridge Hurricanes forward likely won’t see much by way of ice time, but the move will give the highly-touted pro prospect experience being around the big club, especially in an intense playoff situation.
To that end, the Saskatoon product might even be able to offer a bit of advice given what his previous WHL team went through in the 2024 postseason.
Yager was a key component of the Warriors’ playoff run as they claimed the WHL Championship and represented the league at the Memorial Cup. Coming off a season where he put up 35 goals and 95 points, Yager added a further 11 goals and 27 points in 20 playoff games and then capped his stellar campaign with three goals and six points in four games at the Memorial Cup.
That all led to the Pittsburgh Penguins signing their 14th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft that July.
A month later, Yager became a member of the Winnipeg Jets when he was traded by the Penguins for fellow high-scoring prospect Rutger McGroarty.
Yager started the 2024-25 season in Moose Jaw and was named the 36th captain in team history shortly after returning from Jets camp. He played 21 games for the Warriors and had 11 goals and 30 points before being traded to the Hurricanes in a blockbuster deal in December.
Yager went on to score 14 goals and 52 points in 33 games in Lethbridge and had eight goals and 14 points in 16 playoff games.
Lethbridge was eliminated from the WHL postseason on Wednesday night when the Medicine Hat Tigers finished off a four-game sweep in the WHL Eastern Conference Final.
Yager also has the distinction of playing for Team Canada in back-to-back World Junior Hockey Championships, and served as the captain in 2024.
Winnipeg currently holds a three-games-to-two lead over the St. Louis Blues in their first round series, with Game 6 set for Friday night in St. Louis.
