Brayden Yager is one of 17 first-round picks who will begin the tryout and audition process to wear the Team Canada jersey in the 2025 World Junior Championships held in Ottawa.
Yager, 19, was a member of the 2024 Team Canada team that was upset by Czechia in the quarterfinals. Team USA won the tournament by beating Sweden, and Czechia won the bronze medal at the tournament held in Finland.
Yager had five points, scoring three goals in five games. However, the competition will be fierce this summer with the addition of talented players such as 2024, sixth overall pick Tij Iginla (Utah), third overall pick Beckett Sennecke, and fourth overall pick Cayden Lindstrom (Columbus).
Overall, Canada invited 163 players to the showcase, which begins the process of filling its U-17, U-18, and World Juniors rosters.
According to the Team Canada press release, the camp roster features 38 players whom NHL teams selected in the NHL Draft, including Yager. Seventeen are first-round picks. In addition to the aforementioned players, Colby Barlow (Winnipeg), Cole Beaudoin (Utah), Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia), Berkly Catton (Seattle), Easton Cowan (Toronto), Sam Dickinson (San Jose), Jett Luchanko (Philadelphia), Tanner Molendyk (Nashville), Bradly Nadeau (Carolina), Zayne Parekh (Calgary), Calum Ritchie (Colorado), Matthew Wood (Nashville), and Carter Yakemchuk (OTT).
Neither of the Penguins’ 2024 top picks, Harrison Brunicke (44th overall) and Tanner Howe (46th overall) received an invite. Yager’s 2024 stint with Team Canada was his first wearing the national jersey. The Penguins selected him 14th overall in 2023, and he led his Moose Jaw Warrior to their first-ever WHL championship and berth in the Memorial Cup.
