Penguins 2023 Draft: Day 1

I don’t know why I put myself through this; like most people I get myself all excited on draft day. The opportunities always seem limitless and then our Pittsburgh Penguins seem to find a way to squander it. Don’t get me wrong, in another draft year, getting a player like Brayden Yager with the 14^th pick of the draft may appear to be a win, but in this draft year – no. The team left many better players on the board.

Granted, the top 3 players I was hoping Kyle Dubas would draft were gone by the time the Penguins chief got a chance to select a player (Nate Danielson, David Reinbacher, and Dimitriy Simashev). However, Quentin Musty, Matthew Wood, Oliver Moore, and Lukas Dragicevic, would have definitely been better picks, and Samuel Honzek, Colby Barlow, Oliver Bonk, and Calum Ritchie would have probably been better picks (I didn’t get enough time to really watch their game films).

Therefore, unfortunately, for the second year in a row, for the second 1^st round pick in a row, our hometown heroes failed to appreciably improve their prospect pool.

But enough of what could have been, let’s look at what is. What did our Penguins get in Brayden Yager?

Who is Brayden Yager?

Strengths

According to his numbers you would think Yager has an offensive upside, and he does. His 78 points tied him at 22^nd in the WHL in scoring last season; he was right there with the player I really wanted, Nate Danielson. Yager’s offensive is his strength and really it boils down to his shot. The kid has a cannon for a shot; the puck explodes of his stick. More importantly, not only does he have a rocket of a shot, but it is also laser accurate. I stopped counting the number of corners he was picking; the water bottles he was popping and the bar-down shots. Finally, Yager has a lightning quick release.

In short, Yager already owns a big league shot. Moreover, I have coveted a right-handed sniper since Mike Sullivan ran Phil Kessel out of town. The teams Power Play has been erratic at best with no legitimate NHL right-handed shooter to take Kessel’s spot.

Yager is also starting to become a bit of a playmaker. This is still an area that may be under construction for the young Center, however Yager did pick up 50 Assist (A). The Saskatoon native’s playmaking seems to me to be borne out of his realization of the respect his shot commands rather than from an innate ability to see the ice. Yager is learning how to freeze Goalies and Defensemen with just the threat of his shot opening up room for his wingers.

Having extolled the virtues of Yager’s shot, I can understand why someone may now be wondering why I am sounding disappointed in Dubas’s pick; simply put – Yager’s limitations.

Limitations

Size: Yager’s 5’-11” height is not small but when you combine his stature with his lithe 166 lb frame, yes, he is small. Elite prospects lists him a little heavier at 170, but that is still light for the height and I suspect that if they didn’t simply round up to the next 10lb, then Yager must have been wearing his full padding and just finished a large meal before stepping on the scale; he looks thin.

 Skating: Yager is not a strong skater, his first three steps are slow. He has a good stride once he gets into flight, but in the tight confines of one zone or the other, those slow first three steps look bad. Yes, over the course of the full 200’-0” ice, Yager’s separation and/or closing speed can make up for his lack of a good start, but in a zone about third that size, he just doesn’t have the time to catch up.

Sorry Rick B, I know you wrote something yesterday about Yager being small and fast but although he is small, he is not fast. I have doubts as to whether or not Yager was a Sullivan choice. If Dubas had selected Moore, I would have been inclined to think that was Sullivan’s input. Moore is a speed merchant with great edgework and a very slippery ability to change gears and explode past an opponent or slow down on a dime and let the opponent take himself out of the play.

Puck Control: When not pressured Yager can skate with the puck, but when challenged, no Yager is not the player I want carrying the puck. For a Center, Yager’s puck control is an area of concern. I would want a center with far better control. For that reason and the fact that the team is now stuck with him, I would suggest that they try and convert him to Wing to try and put him in a position to succeed. Let someone else carry the puck and set up the play and let Yager just knock the puck in.

If the team wanted a puck control beast, then Matthew Wood would have been the best pick for that. He had the best hands of those players remaining on the board when Dubas opted for Yager.

Defense: Yager is defensively lazy. There were times I witnessed him in desperate situations race back to backcheck, but in general, defensively he was an empty sweater. On this current incarnation of the Penguins, where Sullivan et al live in opposite world and invert the roles of Forwards and Defensemen, Yager will be a liability if someone in the organization doesn’t instill a defensive work ethic.

Compete: Speaking of work ethic, not only didn’t I see any evidence that Yager could win a puck battle, in the games I watched, I didn’t see any inclination to even try. For a player who isn’t fast enough to get to the puck first, on a team that still deludes itself into calling itself a puck possession team – not a good fit.

Conclusion

It could have been worse, Dubas could have selected Gabriel Perreault. Furthermore, Yager has more upside than last year’s first round pick, Owen Pickering, but I am disappointed. If Dubas had traded backward in the draft and grabbed Yager with the 26^th, 27^th, 28^th or higher pick, I may not be disappointed, but leaving Matthew Wood, Oliver Moore, Quentin Musty, and Lukas Dragicevic on the board and taking Yager was a little more than a head scratcher.

Last year, the website mynhldraft,com predicted our Penguins would draft Owen Pickering and they did. This season, although, at the end, mynhldraft was picking the Penguins to take Moore, but had been predicting, off and on, that our favorite flightless fowl would take Yager. It makes me wonder if they use that website to do their scouting.

Given his shot, someday Yager should get some NHL ice time, that is unless he stays in Pittsburgh with Sullivan as the Head Coach. Right now, at this point, Yager reminds me of smaller, weaker, slower skating Nathan Légaré