The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward prospect Brayden Yager to a three-year entry-level contract Thursday.

According to Puckpedia, the contract will carry a salary cap hit of $950,000.

A first-round round pick (No. 14 overall) in 2023, the 19-year-old Yager spent the 2023-24 season at the junior level with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League. In 57 games, the right-hander posted 95 points (35 goals, 60 assists).

During the WHL playoffs, Yager helped the Warriors win that league’s championship — the Ed Chynoweth Cup — by scoring 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 20 contests.

A native of Saskatoon, Sask., Yager (6-foot, 170 pounds) is still eligible to play in the WHL for one more season. Should the Penguins return him to Moose Jaw, his contract would “slide” — or begin — with the 2025-26 season.

Speaking during the team’s prospect development camp in Cranberry earlier this month, Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza was hesitant to suggest Yager would be a candidate for the season-opening NHL roster coming out of training camp in September but expressed optimism over the possibility.

“I would never want to limit a young player’s ability to make the team,” Spezza said. “He controls that in terms of how he shows up and how he plays. We saw great growth in just his ability to play tough matchups. When a team goes on a run and wins like they did, I think that’s a great stress test for a young player. He played big matchups against a lot of really good players in the (WHL) and just his overall drive and wanting to make a big difference in those big games.”

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Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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