CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Kyle Dubas was in Czechia for the World Championship as Canada's associate general manager when Brayden Yager's Moose Jaw Warriors were playing for the Memorial Cup, but he stayed tuned into Yager's run from afar ... and really liked what he saw.
"It was a great experience that we want all of our guys to be exposed to," Dubas told me in Buffalo, N.Y. in June. "He had to go kind of toe-to-toe every step of the way throughout their playoff run against high-end, elite prospects on the other team -- Swift Current with (Lightning prospect Connor) Geekie, and then Saskatoon with (Maple Leafs prospect Fraser) Minton, Portland with (Red Wings prospect Nate) Danielson and guys like that."
Yager had 11 goals and 16 assists in 20 games as Moose Jaw went onto win the WHL championship, then had three goals and three assists in four games before Moose Jaw was eliminated from the Memorial Cup.
"The Memorial Cup, the whole way through, he was very impressive," Dubas said. "We still think as he continues to gain strength, get bigger, stronger, faster, more urgent, that he'll just continue to get better and better. But the playoff experience was great. He was really good at the Memorial Cup, and we're obviously excited to see how much he can push in the summer. Development camp will be the kickstart to his summer."
Yager will have a chance to push for a spot on the NHL training camp, but in all likelihood he'll return to junior in Moose Jaw. The NHL-CHL transfer agreement keeps players from Canadian major junior ineligible for the AHL until their 20-year-old season or they have accumulated four seasons of at least 25 games played. Until then, their options are the NHL full-time or back to junior. Yager turns 20 after the cutoff for next season and only has three seasons by that count, so he can't play in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton until his WHL team's season is over.
There were some questions whether the Penguins might look for an exemption for Yager to play in the AHL next season. The Kraken got that with Shane Wright this year, who would have had those four seasons had COVID not cost him a year in the OHL. The reason there were questions with Yager was he did have a fourth WHL season in 2020-21 that was only 24 games, one short of the requirement to count as a full season. The WHL only played 24 games that season in a shortened COVID season. But the Penguins wouldn't have the same case Seattle did with Wright: Yager shouldn't have been eligible to play in that 2020-21 season at all, because he was only 15 at the time it should have started. With the season starting late and it being short, players who were Yager's age were allowed to play in the WHL a year earlier than they should have. COVID didn't cost him any time, it gained him those 24 games. The Penguins won't get (or even ask for) that exemption.
Again, Yager won't be eligible to play in the AHL until his WHL team is eliminated. But could he be recalled to the NHL midseason from the WHL? Maybe. Kind of. It's complicated.
Once a team sends a player back to junior, they can't be recalled midseason ... unless the team is on their third emergency recall situation. Then they can dip into their junior prospect pool. The rules regarding the contact kicking in are the same as if that player was making the NHL out of camp -- it doesn't start until the player plays more than nine games.
So, Yager's probably going back to Moose Jaw to start. They want him to get bigger, stronger, faster, "more urgent" as Dubas said. But if he's lighting up the WHL midseason and the Penguins have a run of injuries at forward? Don't rule it out.
MORE ON THE PENGUINS
• There haven't been any talks at all yet -- even the smallest of preliminary discussions -- between Marcus Pettersson and the Penguins on a contract extension. Pettersson is entering the last year of his contract and became eligible to sign an extension on July 1. I was told this summer by Pettersson's camp that he "of course" wants to stay in Pittsburgh beyond next season. The sense is the pending Sidney Crosby extension talks are what's holding up all those other talks like the one with Pettersson. Crosby's obviously the priority.
• Nothing seems to have changed with Amanda Kessel's role since she was drafted by PWHL Montreal this offseason. She's still around in Cranberry on a daily basis. When I spoke with Kyle Dubas in Buffalo he wasn't quite sure what would change with her role if she did get drafted. She wasn't picked until the last round and is obviously coming off of a stretch of not playing real games for some time, so she's not a lock to make that roster.
• There still seems to be this lingering perception from some fans that director of amateur scouting Nick Pryor is still around because of nepotism. Yeah, he was hired when his dad Chris was assistant GM ... his dad was also fired in April 2023. Dubas has had ample time to let him go and bring in his own people but he hasn't, because Dubas actually likes and respects his work. He's not going anywhere even after Dubas brought in his former Maple Leafs director of amateur scouting Wes Clark this week. Clark is an addition who will work with amateur and professional scouting and is not replacing anyone.
• The Clark hire is part of Fenway and Dubas' overall increased commitment to both development and scouting. Those staffs keep growing.
• An example of that: The Penguins' Russian scout Alexander Khavanov -- who was hired in July 2021 and around for the Sergei Murashov and Mikhail Ilyin picks -- left the organization last summer to take a scouting position with the Russian National Team. Dubas had increased responsibilities of the scouts when he took over, and Khavanov didn't like it and stepped down. He was quickly replaced by Leonid Vaysfeld, a former longtime KHL general manager with multiple clubs who also worked as an NHL amateur scout from 1990-03 with the Maple Leafs and Rangers. Vaysfeld had been working as a KHL analyst for Russian TV when he was hired by the Penguins. The Penguins then also hired a second Russian scout in Evgeni Bogdanovich, who worked as a scout with the Thrashers/Jets from 1999-2023, including directing the Jets' European scouting for the last 11 years. One guy leaves, they bring in two more with impressive resumes.
• There's no real rule of thumb for how many assistant coaches an AHL team has. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had two the past two years, between Kevin Porter and Sheldon Brookbank. But for two years before that, they only had one in Porter. With Porter's contract not getting renewed, they're back down to one assistant coach in Brookbank. Their plan is still to add one more assistant coach behind Wilkes-Barre's bench. Brookbank manages the defense and penalty-kill, so the hire would presumably be someone to handle the forwards and power play.
• I'd be surprised if that hire is an internal promotion from Wheeling -- meaning, moving Nailers head coach Derek Army up to the AHL assistant job. Not because he's not deserving or wouldn't be a fit -- he absolutely would be. I just don't think he's ready to leave Wheeling. He genuinely, really loves it there and definitely feels that there's a bit of unfinished business. He went to the Kelly Cup Final with the Nailers as a player in 2016, but lost. He's committed to bringing a championship to Wheeling. Maybe if a head coaching position in the AHL opens up down the line he'd be willing to leave for that, but not an assistant job just yet.
• Dubas has often talked about the commitment to minor-league depth and making the system more competitive, mostly in the context of the AHL, the guys next in line for recalls to the NHL. But the organization feels strongly about making Wheeling more competitive, too. Army told me he feels that commitment from management under the Dubas regime, and calls it a "blessing" to hear from them as he does. "I think this league is such a crucial league to help develop some of these players who maybe aren't quite ready right away in the American League," Army added. "And for (Dubas) to care about it as much as he does -- and I know his son's a fan -- and Jason Spezza, it's nice to hear from those guys."
• When I spoke with Dubas in Buffalo he confirmed that the Penguins will indeed be participating in the Buffalo Prospects Challenge in September as they have the past few years. Two years ago they only went up to Buffalo for a single game in the tournament, and last year they played the full three. They'll be going up for the full three games again this year.
• Ending with a fun memory from the past couple years: P.O Joseph and Kris Letang would generally speak to each other in French in the locker room when it was just the two of them having a conversation. But when they would bicker like brothers over fun stuff -- Joseph not wanting to dress as Barbie for Halloween so Letang could be Ken, Letang not wanting to let Joseph borrow his car, etc. -- they'd switch to English so everyone else in the vicinity could get caught up on the drama.
• Fine, one more fun story: There was a road practice last season where the Penguins had Chipotle catering afterward. Drew O'Connor, not wanting to wait until he was showered and ready to grab his food, just took his jersey off and made himself a bowl and started eating it there in his stall. His next-stall-neighbor Crosby said, "oh, we're doing half-gear lunch?" and followed suit. Crosby then personally went up to a few teammates and invited them to "join the boys for half-gear lunch," and soon enough he, O'Connor and a number of others were sitting in a circle on the locker room floor having a little picnic.
