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The Winnipeg Jets have recalled top prospect Brayden Yager following the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ elimination from the Western Hockey League (WHL) Conference Finals.
The Hurricanes defeated the Brandon Wheat Kings and Calgary Hitmen before being swept by Gavin McKenna and the Medicine Hat Tigers. It concluded Yager’s WHL career and will mark the beginning of his professional hockey career.
Yager won the 2024 WHL Championship with his first WHL team, the Moose Jaw Warriors, before being traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2024-25 after 21 games. It wasn’t Yager’s first big trade of the season either, as he was dealt in a one-for-one swap from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Rutger McGroarty.
Before the big trade to the Hurricanes, Yager posted 30 points (11G, 19A) in his final 21 games with Moose Jaw. After the trade, he posted 52 points (14G, 38A) in 33 games for Lethbridge. He added 14 points (8G, 6A) in 16 WHL playoff games before the Hurricanes were eliminated.
His WHL career highs came in the 2023-24 season when he posted 95 points (35G, 60A) in 57 games. He added 27 points (11G, 16A) in 20 playoff games that WHL Championship-winning season.
Yager has yet to make his NHL debut and likely won’t until 2025-26 at some point in the season.
Since his recall on Friday, May 2nd, Yager has been skating with the Winnipeg Jets taxi squad back in Winnipeg while the team played game six in St. Louis.
The series between the Jets and Blues returns to Canada Life Centre for the big winner-take-all game seven. Puck drop is set for 6:00 pm CST.
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Penguins get promising glimpse of future in impressive season-opening win
It has been more than 20 years since the Pittsburgh Penguins have had to go through an actual rebuild, but after three straight non-playoff seasons, the time has arrived for them to do it again. Even though they still have a handful of future Hall of Famers (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson) on the roster, and even though have been one of the NHL's most successful teams since the start of the 2005-06 season, it is pretty clear this season is all about a youth movement with an eye toward the future. The Penguins got a promising look at that future in Tuesday's 3-0 season-opening win against their former head coach, Mike Sullivan, and the New York Rangers. For the Penguins, first-year head coach Dan Muse earned his first win as an NHL head coach after serving as an assistant for the Rangers a year ago. While the coaches made the headlines pregame, the game itself was all about the players. Specifically the Penguins' young players. Penguins youth makes promising debut The Penguins spent the better part of the past two decades going all-in on potential Stanley Cup runs, and it is impossible to argue with the results. During the Crosby-Malkin-Letang era, the team appeared in four Stanley Cup Finals and won the Stanley Cup three times, and it had a nearly unmatched run of success over that time. The trade-off with all of those all-in seasons is that it depletes a farm system by trading draft picks and prospects. It reached the point two years ago where the Penguins had one of the worst farm systems in the league and almost no young talent on their roster. A lot has changed over the past year-and-a-half in that regard, and the Penguins now have a rapidly improving farm system (with still a lot more draft picks in the coming years) that has gone from the bottom of the NHL into the middle of the pack. There is an actual young core of talent making its way into the NHL, and Tuesday's lineup featured five players age 24 or younger. That list included: 18-year-old rookie forward Ben Kindel (the No. 11 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft) 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke 22-year-old forward Ville Koivunen 24-year-old goalie Arturs Silovs 24-year-old forward Philip Tomasino That list will grow when 21-year-old forward Rutger McGroarty (one of their best young players) returns from injury at some point in the near future. Pretty much all of those young players stood out on Tuesday. None of them looked out of place. Silovs, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Vancouver Canucks, was rock-solid by making 25 saves in his shutout performance, while Koivunen had some strong chances and just missed his first career NHL goal when he rang a shot off the post in the second period. The two most impressive performances from that list, however, were the two teenagers: Kindel and Brunicke. It remains to be seen whether or not they will play the entire season in Pittsburgh or get sent back to their junior league teams. However, not only did neither one of the look out of place on Tuesday, but they were among the Penguins' best players. They were also trusted in clutch situations in the third period to help protect what was, at the time, a 1-0 lead. That is unheard-of responsibility for players that age, and they handled it with poise and confidence. They are the players who have the type of upside that could make them the focal point of the next great Penguins team in the future. They are still a long way from reaching that point, but Tuesday was an outstanding debut for both of them and the team as a whole. They did not just beat the Rangers; they significantly outplayed them and completely locked the game down in the third period in a way recent Penguins teams have not. It has to make Penguins management and their coaching staff extremely excited.
Jacksonville Jaguars Announce Unfortunate Decision After Win Against Chiefs
The Jacksonville Jaguars ended their 16-year losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night after a thrilling 31-28 victory at EverBank Stadium. Trevor Lawrence turned in another strong performance to help lead the Jaguars to victory with 18-of-25 completed passes for 221 yards and one touchdown. It wasn’t all good news for the Jaguars, though, who improved to 4-1 after taking down Patrick Mahomes and the mighty Chiefs. They lost starting tight end Brenton Strange in the first half after the former Penn State Nittany Lions star suffered a hip injury. Strange was unable to return to the game, and tests have determined a significant quad issue for the 24-year-old. The Jaguars took to social media on Tuesday to announce that Strange has been placed on injured reserve (IR), which means he will be forced to miss at least four games due to his hip problem. “The Jacksonville Jaguars have made the following roster moves: Placed TE Brenton Strange on injured reserve Signed WR Tim Jones to the practice squad Released WR Erik Ezukanma from the practice squad,” JaguarsPR posted on X. In five games played this season, Strange has already registered a team-high 20 catches for 204 yards. He hasn’t scored a touchdown yet, but is currently on pace to set career-high receiving marks. This injury is a tough blow amid his strong start, and the hope is that Strange will be able to pick up where he left off once he’s healthy enough to return. The silver lining for the Jaguars here is that Strange has reportedly avoided a season-ending injury, and the team expects him to be back in around a month. For now, Jacksonville will need to turn to the likes of Johnny Mundt and Hunter Long to fill the void at tight end. The Jaguars also announced on Tuesday that they’ve brought in WR Tim Jones to the practice squad, while Erik Ezukanma has been released. It remains to be seen if Jones will be able to do enough to earn a spot on the active roster. Jacksonville’s next game is on Sunday as they take on the 3-2 Seattle Seahawks in a home game at EverBank Stadium for Week 6.
Bengals' Zac Taylor explains shocking Joe Flacco move for Packers game
Roughly 24 hours after outsiders learned that the Cincinnati Bengals were acquiring veteran quarterback Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed that Flacco will start over Jake Browning when 2-3 Cincinnati plays at the Green Bay Packers (2-1-1) this coming Sunday. While speaking with media members, Taylor explained that somewhat surprising decision. Why Zac Taylor believes he can get Joe Flacco "up to speed quickly" "He's already spent a lot of time meeting with us, getting up to speed, so I feel really good about where he's at," Taylor said about Flacco, per Dave Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "You just know him. ...Very comfortable with his style, concepts he's good at, things that we do. All of the terminology, there's a carryover, more so than I would have anticipated. So I feel like we can get him up to speed quickly." Flacco lost three of four September starts with the Browns before the Super Bowl XLVII Most Valuable Player was benched in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel. According to Pro Football Reference stats, Flacco began Wednesday ranked last in the NFL among qualified players with a 60.3 passer rating for the ongoing season. Additionally, he's 28th out of 32 signal-callers with a 36.7 adjusted QBR. That said, Flacco is a 40-year-old who has seen every defensive concept an opposing coordinator could and will throw his way. Back on Sept. 21, he helped the Browns earn a 13-10 win over the Packers in downtown Cleveland. Zac Taylor likes that Joe Flacco faced this Packers defense in September "It's different than a young quarterback coming in, trying to learn the system and understand what a defense is trying to do to try to challenge you," Taylor added about his decision to start Flacco versus the Packers. "Not only that, but he's played Green Bay this year, so he's already gone through a week of prep. ...Now the communication and the weekly rhythm is maybe different and unique, but he's already prepared for this opponent. So he gets a chance to refresh himself on that, while at the same time just learning our system and our terminology...and how we operate." Shortly after Taylor made his comments, ESPN BET had the Bengals listed as massive 14.5-point underdogs against Green Bay. Perhaps that line and the fact that he was discarded by Cleveland will give Flacco some extra motivation heading into the showdown that will take place at Lambeau Field.
3 Cowboys starters absent from Wednesday practice, including KaVontae Turpin
The Dallas Cowboys are ramping up preparations for the Week 6 showdown on the road with the Carolina Panthers as the second quarter of the NFL season kicks off. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, injuries are still plaguing the team, with three starters being held out of action. While the team did receive some positive news along the offensive line, two defensive starters -- linebacker Jack Sanborn and safety Donovan Wilson -- missed practice along with All-Pro playmaker KaVontae Turpin. Dallas will continue to monitor their injuries as the week goes on with the hope of getting the players back onto the field. If there is any good news for Cowboys, it's that younger players have had the opportunity to get valuable playing time and experience. Rookie linebacker Shemar James has burst onto the scene for Dallas, while second-year wide receiver Ryan Flournoy is coming off a breakout game last weekend. We will learn more about Turpin, Wilson, and Sanborn's status in the coming days, but it's more important to make sure the players are 100 percent before returning, which is made easier by the recent breakout performances. Kickoff between the Cowboys and Panthers on Sunday, October 12, is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX. —
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