When Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Yager put up a hat trick against the Saskatoon Blades in his first Western Hockey League game in Mosaic Place, it was just a sign of things to come for the 16-year-old standout.
There had been a glimpse of what he was capable of when a season earlier he put up seven goals and 18 points in 24 games in the East Division Hub, but that was nothing compared to what awaited Yager in his first full WHL season.
Now, after seeing the Saskatoon native put up a record-breaking 2021-22 campaign full of success, the rest of Canada knows all about him, too.
Yager was named the Canadian Hockey League Rookie of the Year on Tuesday night during the 2022 CHL Awards as part of the Memorial Cup in Saint John, N.B.
“It’s a huge honour for sure,” Yager told CHL.ca. “You look at the class of the rookies among the WHL, and even the CHL as well, so to be a part of that group, it’s an honour.”
Yager is the first Moose Jaw Warriors player in team history to receive the national award, and it’s a fitting honour given what he did this past season.
Yager broke Theoren Fleury’s single-season record for goals by a 16-year-old and capped his campaign with 24 goals and 59 points, good enough for fourth in team scoring. His 34 goals were the most among 2005-born rookies in the WHL and Yager’s point total landed him fourth among all 2005-born players.
Cam Allen from the OHL’s Guelph Storm and Jakub Brabenec of QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders were the other top rookie finalists.
“To be recognized among all of Canada is huge,” he said. “To do it against such a good class of rookies is it’s huge.”
Yager was quick to give credit to the myriad of people who have helped him both on the ice and behind the scenes throughout his career.
“Obviously my family, my mom, dad and my brother Connor, they sacrifice so much and they continue to do that and it means the world to me,” he said.
“My trainer Blaine White, he’s the best in the business, I train with him every day in the summer. Shane Endicott, we used to skate twice a week, we do once a week now because he’s got kids, but we skate at 5:30 in the morning, so for him to come out means a lot because he wants to make us better.”
Yager is hoping to once again be playing high-level hockey in the near future -- he returns to the ice for the Hlinka Gretzky U18 selection camp July 20-23 in Calgary, with the roster for that event finalized on July 24 and the tournament beginning July 31 in Red Deer.
