Any time a National Hockey League first-round draft pick heads into their first training camp, they can expect a bit of a circus.
Tons of interviews, plenty of cameras and the eyes of pretty much everyone even remotely interested in the team watching how you perform.
For Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Yager, it was all a matter of taking in stride the best he could.
The 18-year-old was selected in the first round, 14th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins this past summer and returned from their training camp this week, scoring a pair of goals in his first game back against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The whole experience was something to behold, to say the least, and one that was most definitely eye-opening.
“I was fortunate to be on the same camp team as (Sidney Crosby) and (Kris Letang) and those guys, and I was trying to follow them around as much as I could without being annoying and trying to learn as much as I can,” Yager said.
“One thing I noticed is how much they take care of themselves off the ice. They’re always spending time at the rink getting treatment, eating properly, cooling down and stretching. That’s one thing I really took away from camp, as well as their details and habits in practice.
They expect the best from themselves every day.”
On-ice communication -- like calling out to your linemate after beating your man off the wall and scoring a gold-medal winning goal -- was another immediate take-away.
“They make it easy on each other, and especially going for pucks in the corner they’re pretty much telling you what to do with it,” Yager explained. “That’s something I want to try and bring here, get the guys talking out there because it makes it an easy game if you’re talking.”
Yager saw action in Pittsburgh’s spilt squad win over Columbus to open the pre-season and had an immediate impact, scoring the shootout winner in their 3-2 victory. Yager pointed to his comfort and confidence level as a major factor in how he played that game and found early success at the NHL level.
“I was playing with two veterans, Matt Nieto was one of them and he’s been in the league a long time,” Yager said of suiting up alongside the 11-year NHL veteran. “I was sitting in the room beside him and stuff and he was awesome, just talking like I’m another player on the team and that was so welcoming and gave me a lot of confidence.
“Then when you get an opportunity to have an impact you want to make the most of it and thankfully I was able to that time.”
Of course, being an 18-year-old in his first camp made it almost inevitable that he would return to the Warriors, and that time came on Wednesday. The team was naturally happy with what he had to show them, and had a straightforward message for Yager in his exit interview.
“The big thing was play with good habits,” he said. “Sometimes players come back and just want to cheat for points and obviously that’s not my game. So I just want to come back here, keep good habits and maintain my strength and grow a bit since I noticed guys at that level were a lot bigger and stronger. If I keep the good habits, the points will come.”
And when the points come, that ideally will mean plenty of wins for the Warriors.
“We have the team to do it,” Yager said matter-of-factly. “We have some top-notch players and a pretty deep group as well, so I think as a leadership group we’re going to try and make it positive and a fun place to come every day because that’s what’s going to make everyone want to win together.
“We’re an exciting group and we’re going to be a fun team to watch this year.”
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday night when they travel to Regina for their second meeting of the season with the Pats. Next home action is Tuesday, Oct. 10 when the Calgary Hitmen make their first visit to the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
