Moose Jaw Warriors have drafted Saskatoon Contacts centre Brayden Yager third overall in the Western Hockey League bantam draft Wednesday.    

Yager, from Dundurn, scored 18 goals and 24 assists in 44 games with the Contacts as a rare 14-year-old playing AAA midget this year. He had three assists in four games with the Contacts at the Macs Midget tournament as well.

“What drove us to pick Brayden is his speed, hockey IQ, skill level, and compete.  Brayden is a perfect example of a 200-foot player who can really shoot the puck and can make plays with the puck,” said Warriors Assistant General Manager Jason Ripplinger in a media release.  “Brayden received exceptional status last year to play Midget AAA, and, as a 14-year-old he almost scored 20 goals and was just shy of averaging a point per game.  We expect him to come into the lineup and contribute.”

The season before last, he scoed 44 goals and 59 assists in 31 games in bantam AA with Martensville. 

We’ll have more on the draft as this goes on.