BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Brayden Yager had the biggest smile on his face during the game, and it hadn't gone anywhere yet when he was speaking after the game.
It was Game 2 of the Penguins' Prospects Challenge here in Buffalo, N.Y., and Yager scored his first goal in a Penguins uniform. It was less than a minute into the second period, and the Penguins' 2023 first-round pick ripped a shot from the point that put the Penguins ahead 2-1 in what became an 8-3 win over the Senators.
"There was a faceoff, (Atley Calvert) won it," Yager recalled of that moment. "He tried to throw it to (Evan Vierling) back-door, but it came around and I just tried to back up our D because he was pinching. Vierling got it to me, and I just put it on net. (Calvert) was a good screen there, the goalie couldn't really see anything. It found its way through."
Even though it broke a 1-1 tie in a tight game, Yager had a subdued celebration. It felt good to get his first in a Penguins uniform, but he's saving the excitement for the goals that really count.
"It felt really good," Yager said. "You want to celly harder when you put the puck in the net, but it's just the rookie tournament and nobody else is cellying. But it definitely felt really good, and was kind of in a way that I don't usually score."
It's that decision Yager made to cover for the pinching D that might have impressed the Penguins' coaches and management more than the shot and goal itself. Yager is a two-way center, and he prides himself in being responsible defensively. He looks up to what he calls "complete" players like Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron and Jonathan Toews. So for Yager to have the awareness defensively to see the hole up by the blue line and get there to cover for a teammate, is great to see.
"He's a smart player," coach J.D. Forrest said of Yager. "And for someone his age, he’s playing both sides of the ice with a level of maturity that you don't often see with guys coming through from junior. I think he takes a lot of pride in that up-and-down game and making sure he's being responsible on the defensive side of things. He has the ability to make plays, he made a couple of slick little passes. The goal he scored tonight, he's reloading for a D that's pinching. It's a responsible thing to do, but it pays off on the offensive side for him. That's something that for a young player to have already, it's impressive."
MICHELLE CRECHIOLO / PENGUINS
Brayden Yager in the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Penguins have 27 players (16 forwards, eight defensemen, three goaltenders) in this tournament, so not every player gets to play in all three games. Yager, so far, has played in both of the Penguins' games so far. He centered the top line between Sam Houde and Corey Andonovski in the opening 4-2 loss against the Bruins on Friday evening. He didn't stand out much either way in that game, for good or bad reasons. He had a couple of chances that didn't go in, and looked like he fit right in at times. There were other times, like when he was taking faceoffs against more experienced Bruins players, where he looked like the 18-year-old junior player he is, still a work in progress.
Yager stood out more in Saturday's win for the better. He was bumped down to second-line center, and was flanked by AHL-contracted forward Vierling and undrafted free agent invite Calvert, the latter being Yager's linemate in the WHL for the Moose Jaw Warriors. His lethal shot stood out, and he was able to get himself in position to use it more than we saw in Game 1. Like Game 1, Yager also saw some time on the top power play unit as well.
The team as a whole was obviously playing much better than they did the night before, and Yager said that he thought guys -- himself included -- just felt more confident with the puck on Saturday compared to Friday.
The early second-period goal surely did wonders for Yager confidence-wise. He -- and the Penguins -- are hoping it's the first of many.
Yager's still a ways off from pushing for a spot on the AHL roster, let alone the NHL roster. The NHL' transfer agreement with the Canadian major junior leagues restricts junior-eligible players from playing in the AHL until they're 20 years old, a move designed at keeping those junior leagues competitive and still a draw for fans. Players can make the jump from junior to the NHL before they're 20 years old, but if they aren't ready to do that -- and few are, aside from the first few picks in the entire draft -- then their only option is to go back to junior. With Yager being just drafted and still 18, he's certainly heading back out west to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan after hanging around in Penguins training camp for a bit.
This series of games gives an early look at how Yager stacks up against the number of players here who are older, stronger, and have varying levels of professional experience. Yager knows he still needs to get stronger before he turns pro, as he only has 170 pounds on his 6-foot frame. But for now, he feels like he's holding his own in this environment.
"It's easy to play with good players," he said. "But it's a faster pace than junior. Last game was a little bit of an adjustment, but today I felt a lot more comfortable, a lot better."
Yager will look to be a sponge over these next few days, learn as much as he can from the leaders here before he heads back to junior. Aside from needing to get stronger, he'll learn what he needs to really work on within his game and be able to take that information back home with him to use during the junior season.
First, though, is the start of training camp on Sept. 21. Yager will join the main NHL camp for some period of time and might even get the opportunity to skate in a preseason game before he inevitably gets cut and sent on his way to prepare for the start of the WHL season. For a guy who seemed a little starstruck at development camp to even be next to Crosby's locker, Yager is going to relish the opportunity to share the ice with some of those players he looks up to.
"I think that skating with the best players in the world will be pretty cool," Yager said with another big smile. "My focus is on here in Buffalo, but I'm just trying to be the best that I can every day and do as much as I can, learn from these guys and hopefully bring that to Pittsburgh."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• The first power play unit was Yager, Calvert, Ty Higgins, Max Namestnikov, Sam Poulin
• The second power play unit was Vierling, Matthew Soto, Isaac Belliveau, Corey Andonovski, Avery Hayes
• The first penalty-killing unit was Jordan Frasca, Dillon Hamaliuk, Justin Lee, Thimo Nickl
• The second penalty-killing unit was Jagger Joshua, Pano Fimis, Andre Anania, Belliveau
• Poulin and Andonovski also mixed in with the PK units.
• With the exception of the biggest names, this was a very free agent invite-heavy lineup. Still, the group fared surprisingly well against a strong Senators group. The score was tied after the first period, 1-1, with AHL forward Vierling recording the lone goal. They outshot the Senators 12-5 in those 20 minutes.
• Hamaliuk made it a 3-1 game in the second period with a one-timer off the rush set up by Calvert. Hamaliuk is entering his first year with the Penguins after being acquired in the Erik Karlsson trade
• The Penguins made it 4-1 minutes later. There was a big scramble in Ottawa's crease with several guys taking whacks at rebounds, it wasn't easy to see who put it in. The goal was announced as Nickl's but Poulin was right there too and Poulin led the fist-bump line. Seemed like the officials just messed up the credit on that one.
• AHL-contracted forward Hayes made it 5-2 in the third period. Joshua had been mixing it up with a couple of Senators players, creating space for Hayes to pluck the puck off the wall and drive it to the net.
• Hamaliuk's second goal of the game made it 6-3. He's left a good first impression since being acquired in the Erik Karlsson trade.
"I was really happy to see him score some goals today," Forrest said. "He hasn't played a lot of hockey, he's been out with surgery, various injuries in the last couple seasons. Last season he only played six games. That's just another guy who hasn't played a lot of hockey. Yesterday was probably tough for him, I'm imagining. He made some adjustments on the penalty kill, just talking to him and having those conversations. (Assistant coach Sheldon Brookbank) did a good job with the PK guys to get them to understand what we're trying to do a little bit. He's another guy who plays physical, and he seems to have a bit of a touch around the net. A deflection goal and those types of things. He's an interesting player for us."
I'll have a full story on Hamaliuk at some point later.
• Andonovski had the seventh goal..
• Frasca finished things off to make it 8-3 with 8.8 seconds left.
• We actually got to see a fight in this. AHL-contracted defenseman Justin Lee dropped the gloves with Ottawa's Connor Clattenburg midway through the second period. Both got five for fighting, but Lee left the game briefly after he appeared to be bleeding.
• The most entertaining player to watch in this game was absolutely Jagger Joshua. He got under the skin of the Senators players early with some big hits and was often exchanging words with opponents during stoppages. There aren't extensive stats kept for these games, so there's no way of knowing, but he definitely had at least five hits in the first period alone. He quickly became public enemy No. 1. That's exactly the kind of game he plays, and he did it well today. I had a full feature on him earlier in the week.
Joshua joked after the game that he made some new friends and they'd be hanging out at the hotel later.
Joshua wasn't thrilled with his overall game. He's not just a physical, goon-like player, he actually has some skill to his game and can contribute in other ways. He was hoping to show more of that in this setting.
"To be honest, I don't think I played too well," he said. "I know everybody liked the hits and stuff, but I think I have a little more to it than that. But it's the first game of the summer, so it's going to be hard to handle the puck, and you're playing with guys you've never played with before. It's a challenge at first, but I got the feet loose and built up a sweat."
Forrest was a little more kind in his assessment of Joshua's play in this one.
"I thought it was great," Forrest said. "That's what he does, he plays physical, he plays with an edge. He's not shy out there and he brings a type of juice to the bench, a different type of swagger. You love to see it. It gets the guys into the game, and you don't have a choice. He's bringing you into the game no matter what. I thought aside from that, he plays a straightforward physical game. It's not just about those things. He made some good choices on the penalty kill, when he wasn't in the box. (laughs) He did a nice job on the PK for us. Those were good things to see."
I'd definitely expect Joshua to be a fan favorite in Wilkes-Barre this season. He's a good player, has that edge and physicality that fans love, and he's pretty involved in the community too. He won Michigan State's Amo Bessone Award, which "acknowledges academic and athletic success as well as community involvement."
• Taylor Gauthier started (and finished) the game in net. He wasn't tested too frequently early on, the Penguins were much, much tighter defensively in this one. But when he was tested, he did well. The Senators' first-period goal came 90 seconds into the game off a bang-bang play in front that Gauthier couldn't do much on, and he didn't get rattled by the early goal at all. He was their best penalty-killer on the first kill, and he had a couple of big glove stops in the game. He finished with 14 saves on 17 shots and praise from his coach.
"He was good," Forrest said. "It was a different kind of game for him, not seeing much early then getting some action around the net, a lot of bodies. One thing I really liked about him is that I thought he played the puck well tonight. It's something that last year he was pretty good at knowing when to come out and make the right play, but he didn't always make those plays with full confidence. Today it looked like he was making those plays with full confidence, it was good to see."
• Penguins special assignment scout Kevin Stevens was here with the brass today.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Live file
• Game sheet
• Boxscore
• Schedule
THE INJURIES
• Forward Raivis Ansons is dealing with an upper-body injury sustained in the last month of the AHL season. He is skating on his own in a non-contact capacity.
• Defenseman Nolan Collins is sidelined after offseason wrist surgery after an injury sustained late in the OHL regular season.
• Defenseman Owen Pickering is dealing with a lower-body injury (believed to be an ankle injury) sustained during offseason training. He has yet to resume skating but the Penguins are hopeful he will be able to participate in training camp.
THE LINEUP
Forrest’s lines and pairings:
Max Namestnikov - Sam Poulin - Corey Andonovski
Evan Vierling - Brayden Yager - Atley Calvert
Jagger Joshua - Pano Fimis - Avery Hayes
Dillon Hamaliuk - Jordan Frasca - Matthew Soto
Isaac Belliveau - Thimo Nickl
Justin Lee - Ty Higgins
Andre Anania - Cole Moberg
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins have a day off tomorrow. The Prospects Challenge wraps up with a game against the Sabres' prospects at 5 p.m. on Monday. Training camp opens Sept. 21.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
