Making Every Moment Together Count

After taking part in his first Penguins development camp, Pittsburgh's 2023 first-round draft pick Brayden Yager headed back home to western Canada with the goal of getting bigger and stronger - where he'll certainly have the support of his family.

His father Cam, mother Maureen, and older brother Connor - who are all such friendly and gracious people - have already played a huge role in Brayden's development over the years, with one of their biggest sacrifices coming in the form of a move.

The family left their hometown of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for Saskatoon, about 83 miles north, when Brayden was 11 years old and had progressed to the point where he needed more resources than their small town could provide.

"It was definitely a tough move, especially for the parents because they were working in federal corrections, so it was tough for them to get transferred right away," Connor said the night Pittsburgh drafted Brayden 14th overall at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. "So, there was lots of driving back and forth. But we did what we could to give him the best opportunity.

"I think without it, probably wouldn't have gotten here, because it's tough to get the best people that you can in smaller towns. So, made the move for him, and it ended up working out for all of us. It's not just his dream that came true, it's all of ours. We're super stoked, and couldn't ask for a better team, too."

Cam, a corrections officer, and Maureen, Assistant Warden - Interventions, both retired this year. They laughingly confirmed that they did not meet through work - at least, not their most recent jobs. They actually first met while working at Waskasoo Park in Red Deer, and started dating about a year later when they were both employed at a bar in Saskatoon while attending the University of Saskatchewan.

That was in 1996, and they welcomed Connor in 2003, with Brayden arriving in 2005. The boys started playing hockey around the same time, and it wasn't necessarily because Cam - a former goalie who spent a year playing for the Detroit Falcons in the Colonial Hockey League - wanted them to follow in his footsteps. It was more out of practicality. "With eight or nine months of winter, we definitely just wanted them to learn how to skate," said Cam, who played Tier 2 junior hockey in his hometown, along with college hockey for the Huskies.

But once Brayden was introduced to the annual holiday tradition of watching the World Junior Championship in 2009, with Team Canada winning gold, he was hooked on the sport - especially because the next year's tournament was held in their province. "So, the hype was just reinforced for 11 months going into the Saskatoon hosting," Cam recalled. "It was mini sticks everywhere in the house from that World Junior on."

At a certain point, Brayden started wearing a helmet and shoulder pads during because games between him and Connor got so heated. Cam, Maureen and other adults in the family would occasionally join in for family tournaments, and they were just as competitive as the children.

"We would try to stack our team up as best we could to beat the kids," Maureen said with a laugh. "They'd get a little bit of a lead, and then you'd just back up to the net and lay on your side. The net's small enough, it's not going in anywhere," Cam added.

Cam waited to strap on the pads and take the real net in their garage until Brayden was fairly adept at shooting the puck, and joked that he felt fairly confident his young son wouldn't hit him in the head. He'd put on his steel or composite toe work boots along with his old equipment, and Brayden worked on honing the release that has become one of his biggest strengths as a player. Whenever Cam had had enough, Brayden would recruit Maureen, but not to play in the net.

"He'd say, Mom, tell me where you want me to shoot: top right corner, top left. Then he'd go gather the pucks up and do it all over again," she said. "Sometimes, he'd have me video recording it too, just to see what he needed to work on and things like that."

That sort of determination has always been innate with Brayden, really revealing itself when he was around 7 years old. That's when Brayden told Cam that he wanted to make Team Saskatoon for the famed Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament, with his parents marveling at their child's level of focus after setting his goal.

Of course, they did what they could to help, with Brayden remembering how Cam would take him to the field at his primary school early in the morning and try to simulate shifts. He would alternate between sprinting and jogging around cones that Cam would set up, "then we'd go back to the house and eat and go back to school," Brayden told Penguins brass during his NHL Combine Interview. "I ended up making the team and being the captain and one of the better players on the team."

And while Brayden credits his parents with helping solidify his work ethic from a young age, they never pushed him to practice or work out or skate. That relentless drive was all him. "Once he made up his mind, it was like we had to force him to come in and eat. We would be like, you gotta come in, buddy," Cam said with a laugh. "You can go back out. Stick's not going anywhere. But when your child commits - like I'm not having any more Halloween treats, and this is a 7-year-old kid, right? - it was pretty cool to sit back and watch."

Eventually, a couple of skills coaches - Jordan Trach and Dean Seymour - came to Prince Albert from Saskatoon once a week to work with Brayden, but it got to a point where that just wasn't going to be enough. "(Leaving) was definitely more of a need than a want," Cam said. "The boys grew up around some wonderful people and in a great community, so we left a lot behind in Prince Albert. But there was more opportunity for skills instructing in Saskatoon."

With that, the Yager family made the decision to move in with Cam's parents in Saskatoon. Cam was able to transfer right away from the prison they both worked in, Saskatchewan Penitentiary, about a kilometer north of Prince Albert. But for Maureen, who was in upper management at that point, the process was much slower as there were only a few positions suitable for her level of qualification. And of course, they were all filled.

"So, you're either waiting for someone to retire or to move on to a different position," she said. "It was really difficult as far as getting a transfer, so we made the decision for me to stay back, and for them to move forward and get the boys enrolled in school so they could start their school year."

It was tough for Maureen to be away from her husband and sons for so much of the time, living in the house they raised the boys in while simultaneously trying to sell it, which took almost four years. She would go back and forth a little bit during the week if there was a hockey game or something going on at school, "but for the most part, Cam had a lot more slack to pick up," she said. "Just a lot more things to do, and make sure that they were doing (what they needed to). I would be on the other end of the phone, like, did you eat your vegetables?!"

One of the biggest keys to getting through that time was not focusing on the time they spent apart, but making every moment together count. It's pretty evident that the Yagers are more glass-half-full type of people, and while they all acknowledged there were tough moments, they definitely aren't dwelling on them. Cam pointed out how at least the drive took place on a four-lane highway, and Brayden said how nice it was he got to spend time with his grandparents.

After they left Prince Albert, Brayden began working with a number of coaches, some of whom he's still with to this day - including Shane Endicott, who was drafted by the Penguins in the second round back in 2000, and remained with the organization through the 2005-06 season, appearing in 45 total NHL games. "Endo's great," Brayden said. "I skate with him every week in the summer, and he sent me a text right away as soon as I got drafted here, and said how great of an organization it is."

Brayden followed Connor through the Saskatoon AA and AAA Leagues before eventually getting taken third overall by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2020 Western Hockey League Draft, and has spent the last three seasons there. Video: Yager drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The night Brayden got drafted was certainly a realization of the sacrifices his immediate family made, along with an acknowledgment of everyone else who helped them along the way. "When they say that it takes a village to raise a child, it's so true. From the moment they're little when they have teachers, to the different coaching staffs that help them … it's never just the family," Maureen said. "You just really kind of realize how appreciative and grateful you are for those people who have done all the things that they have."

Their suite at Bridgestone Arena was packed with people who have made a huge impact, with numerous family members - including both sets of grandparents - making the trek from western Canada. They also hosted Brayden's billet parents in Moose Jaw, Troy and Krysta Williams, who have been such a huge part of their lives - "they are one in a million," Cam said - and Cam's best friends from Prince Albert.

"They made a rink one year in their backyard, and we have pictures of Brayden and their child out there at like, three o'clock in the morning since Mom and Dad were ringing in the New Year," Cam said. "They're out there just so happy to be skating at 3 o' clock. It was like, the best New Year's ever."

It's clear that Brayden has been surrounded by wonderful people as he's grown into a wonderful young man. The Penguins were excited about his character from the moment he got onto their radar coming into this draft, with director of amateur scouting Nick Pryor calling Brayden a very driven, very respectful kid. "Then when you kind of pair that with his on-ice game, he was someone that we were really, really attracted to," he said.

Connor describes his younger brother as outgoing and self-assured, but never arrogant. "He could walk into development camp and have the confidence to say hello and introduce himself, but not to the point where it becomes arrogant. He's always been confident in himself, but he's never put someone down. Like, he's such a nice kid. It's so hard to put into words. He's an angel."

Penguins director of player development Tom Kostopoulos came up to the suite to meet everyone in Nashville, joking that Brayden may have had the whole town of Saskatoon there. "Just a great kid, great family," Kostopoulos said. He was impressed with what they saw from Brayden during his time in Pittsburgh, especially considering he was only able to bring his skates.

"So, he had someone else's sticks, all new gear, and it didn't look like it on the ice. He's a special kid, and to watch him out there, I think he moves well, he skates well," Kostopoulos said. "He's still got a lot of weight he can gain, but he's got the hockey IQ. It's nice to see him finish a couple of times there. I think he was just taking it all in. It was nice for him to be in the environment here, and it was great to have him."