Winnipeg Jets forward prospect Brayden Yager will make his NHL debut against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday evening.
The Jets announced the news of Yager drawing into the lineup on their official social media channels on Monday afternoon. The club had recalled both Yager and Nikita Chibrikov from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose on Sunday, citing emergency conditions.
The Golden Knights and Jets are scheduled to face off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Monday at 7:00 p.m. PT (9:00 p.m. CT). Yager and Chibrikov skated on the Jets’ fourth line with veteran winger Nino Niederreiter during the team’s morning skate ahead of the game.
Yager, 21, has 10 goals and 30 points through 68 games with the Moose as a first-year pro this season. He ranks seventh in both goals and points on a Moose team that ranks third-last in the AHL in scoring, with just 175 goals in 69 games.
A first-round pick (No. 14 overall) of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023 NHL Draft, Yager spent just one season in the Penguins organization before being traded to the Jets in exchange for 2022 first-round pick Rutger McGroarty, who had refused to sign in Winnipeg.
Yager spent parts of five seasons in the WHL with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes before turning pro with the Moose for the 2025-26 campaign. The Saskatoon product also represented Canada at both the 2024 and 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships, collecting eight points in 10 games across the two tournaments.
With three games remaining in their 2025-26 season schedule, the Jets technically remain in the hunt for the second and final wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference. They sit five points back of the Los Angeles Kings with a 35-32-12 record and 82 points through 79 games this year.
