Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Yager hopes he’s done enough this season for Team Canada brass to give him a long and serious look when he arrives at World Junior selection camp next week.
The good news is Yager has been on Hockey Canada’s radar his entire career and even has a wildly successful showing for the national team under his belt.
Thing is, the World Juniors are often referred to as a 19-year-old tournament, where older players often get the call ahead of youngsters, even ones with impressive pedigrees.
Yager hopes none of that will matter when the time comes, though, and that he’ll have a chance to go for gold when the event begins Dec. 26 in Gothenburg, Sweden
“The goal is to make the team and not really worry about how old I am or anything like that,” Yager said Thursday afternoon. “I’ll work my hardest and leave the best impression possible, and if I make the team the goal will be a gold medal. So I’m super excited for the opportunity and I’m looking forward to it.”
Yager has done his part with the Warriors this season, having put up 17 goals and 40 points in 28 games to sit 10th overall among WHL scoring leaders. The former CHL Rookie of the Year has also continued his commitment to the 200-foot game that has made him such an attractive prospect, to the point the Pittsburgh Penguins selected him with the 14th overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft this past summer.
Continuing that style of play will naturally be a key factor in landing a Team Canada spot, and Yager is more than willing to put in all the effort he can to make that happen.
“I’m not going there just to dip my toes in the water because I’m 18, I’m going to try and be the best player on the ice and make the team and be a good player on the team,” Yager said matter-of-factly. “If I do that, hopefully I’ll be there in the end.”
One thing that’s for certain is Yager knows how to get the job done on the national stage. Playing with Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky U18 Championship, Yager was one of the tournament’s scoring leaders with five goals and nine points in five games and scored Canada’s final goal in their 4-1 win over Sweden in the gold medal game.
More of that would certainly be sweet.
“Not a lot of guys get a chance to represent their country in this tournament, I had a chance to represent my country before and it’s a great feeling, so it’ll be awesome to get that opportunity again,” Yager said. “It was pretty cool to win a gold medal at the Hlinka and the goal will be to do the same this time. It’s something you dream of as a kid, especially this tournament, the World Juniors is the big one.”
The camp will include a pair of games against the USports All Stars -- including former Warrior goaltender and Brock University standout Connor Ungar -- on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 11 a.m.
Canada’s National Junior Team will travel to Malmo, Sweden on Dec. 14 for a pre-tournament camp ahead of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. As part of its preparations, Canada will open its pre-tournament schedule against a U25 team from Denmark on Dec. 19 before facing Switzerland on Dec. 22 and the United States on Dec. 23.
The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day when Canada takes on Finland at 7:30 a.m. Moose Jaw time.
