Yager wrote that he felt good about his interview with the Capitals and other teams at the NHL Combine.
The Washington Capitals are doing their homework ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft, which will see them draft in the top 10 for the first time since 2007. The team's No. 8 will bring in a strong name that could add a lot to the franchise, and the NHL Combine provided them with an opportunity to take a closer look at who's out there.
Among those prospects was Brayden Yager, who earned an interview with Washington and other clubs with weeks to go until the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville.
"I felt pretty good about [St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Washington]," Yager wrote in his NHL Draft Diary on NHL.com. "I really liked St. Louis. I think I went out for dinner with Pittsburgh, and I really liked them, and I think Washington as well. I felt pretty good about those three," Yager wrote.
Yager is a center for the Western Hockey League's Moose Jaw Warriors, and NHL Central Scouting has him ranked 11th among North American Skaters. He impressed this past season with 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points in 67 games, and he had just 14 penalty minutes.
Looking at his all-around game, Yager brings a lot to the table. He has a deadly accurate shot, but is mainly a playmaker who can find his teammates, take good care of the puck and use his high hockey IQ to his advantage. He's not the strongest skater, but he keeps his feet moving and possesses speed.
The 5-11, 166-pound center lacks size and needs to add to his frame, but he does play a physical game, is actively involved on the backcheck and doesn't shy away from battling hard in the defensive zone. He's also disciplined and plays a consistent two-way game.
And, when it comes to Washington, the team is known to love drafting players out of the WHL.
At the NHL Combine, he placed sixth in mean power output (13.4) in the Wingate Cycle Ergometer Test, where the athlete pedals at a low resistance for two minutes and then pedals as fast as they can in given intervals. The test helps with determining a player's maximum effort in short durations of time, so Yager testing high is a major plus.
Yager also placed in the top 25 when it came to pull-ups (12), peak power output (18.1) and VO2Max (59 percent).
Interviews and the combine can play a significant role in a draft and help players jump up the rankings or even cause them to slip.
This was arguably the case with Juraj Slafkovsky and Shane Wright back in 2022, as Slafkovsky went No. 1 while Wright, who was the consensus top pick going into the draft, fell to fourth.