2023 NHL DRAFT CLASS - BRAYDEN YAGER

With the 2023 NHL Draft coming up next month, we're profiling some of the players that may be of interest to the Flames when they make their selection at 16th overall. In this edition, we take a closer look at forward Brayden Yager of the Moose Jaw Warriors

Height: 5'11" Weight:166 lbs
Position: Centre
Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask.
Final Ranking: 11th (North American Skaters)

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Smart.

Savvy.

Skilled.

Brayden Yager has gone to school on what makes an elite NHL shooter - and whether he knows it or not, it's clear the hard work, study time and cutting-edge acumen has put him at the top of his class.

Around here, you don't have to look far to see what we're talking about.

Tyler Toffoli set a new career high with 34 goals this past year, owing much of that success not to his killer release and top-end velocity, but the 'deception' he attacks with.

It is, in the simplest terms, the Key to the Highway for modern-day goal-scorers.

"My parents put up a net and some tiles on the garage and I always worked on my shot," said Yager, the 11th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. "As I got older and started working with different skills coaches, I started to see the potential. Nowadays, I'm pretty fortunate to work with Tim Turk. He's an NHL shooting coach and I work with him in the summers. We've found some different ways that I can shoot - some that I prefer more than others - but it's all centred around the same concept: Finding different ways to add deception to my release."

Yager - who scored 28 goals in the regular season, before adding another six in 10 playoff games with the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors - looks at players such as Toffoli, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor Bedard as the template.

Here in Calgary, Toffoli thrives by changing the angle of his blade, shooting from either his front or back foot, or by slinging the biscuit across his body, while having his toes point in the opposition direction - usually indicating a pass or some other small-area play.

Matthews and Bedard, meanwhile, typically intrude in-stride and love to use defenders to manipulate the shooting angle and add a layer of traffic.

They're all effective in their own way, so Yager is taking notes on everyone and applying what he feels are the NHLers' best attributes into his own game.

"For me, the biggest thing that we work on is shooting off different legs," he said. "For example, as a righty, really leaning into my right foot when I load up. You're practically jumping into that position. And then you look at Matthews and Bedard with the toe-drag that they use, and then shooting off your left foot while changing the angle.

"I think that's such a big part of the shooters nowadays is changing the angle and leaving the goalie behind a little bit and having him react to your shot. I think that's a huge part of a goal-scorer's ability. You watch guys like Matthews and those guys, they just fool goalies by shooting through guys. It's pretty crazy to watch. Just different variation of shots, shooting off different legs, and I think it's good to work on. Just adding a little deception to your shot really improves your chances to score."

As good as a "weapon" as that elite shot has become, Yager entered the 2022-23 season with a specific set of goals.

In the prior campaign, he scored 34 times and added 29 helpers for 59 points in 63 games. He didn't want to be typecast as a one-dimensional player, so he set out last fall with the intention to add 'playmaker' to his bio.

The result?

He doubled his previous year's output with an even 50 assists.

"I didn't really have a number that I wanted to hit, but I wanted to use my vision more and get a little more recognition for being that dual threat," he said. "We've talked about some pretty good players and my favourite is MacKinnon - the way he skates and how explosive he is, how can you not appreciate that?

"But I also like to watch Patrice Bergeron and Jonathan Toews. The details they have and the 200-foot game that they bring every night is a super important part of the game, and it's something I really pride myself on as well."

Yager - a Saskatoon native - has played in Saskatchewan his whole life, from suiting up with the hometown AAA Contacts, to his WHL life down south in Moose Jaw.

But the 5-foot-11, 166-lb. centre spent his formative years up north in Prince Albert.

And it was there, when he was seven or eight years old, when he truly established a vision for what kind of player he could be when he was older.

"I was pretty fortunate that we had season tickets (for the WHL's PA Raiders) and that was the time when Leon Draisaitl and Josh Morrissey were going through," he said. "Those two and a guy named Sawyer Lang came out to our practice one time. We did a little all-star competition and they were pushing pucks around and jumping in on some of the skills. Just having fun, which in itself was amazing.

"I went up to Leon after practice - I was super nervous - and asked him for his stick. He signed it for me and gave it to me. It's something I'll never forget and seeing the player he is today is pretty crazy.

"I think that moment inspired me to play in the WHL, having a guy like him that you could look up to at a young age and seeing their path.

"You want to follow in their footsteps."