2023-24 Senators Prospect Watch

[Bjornar Moxnes]

There has to be something mental going on with Yakemchuk.

 

[Icelevel]

There has to be something mental going on with Yakemchuk.

Or physical ?

 

[BondraTime]

Yak won the fan favorite award for the Hitmen at their end of season awards

Hurtig won top D

 

[Hale The Villain]

There has to be something mental going on with Yakemchuk.

One poster on the prospects board who has watched a lot of him and may be a Hitmen fan seems to think he just doesn't care and has been half-assing it for awhile.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

One poster on the prospects board who has watched a lot of him and may be a Hitmen fan seems to think he just doesn't care and has been half-assing it for awhile.

hmmm I suppose its a theory to explain his less than desirable play away. A lot of excuses have been thrown around trying to explain away superior performances from the other D available to us last year. The teams they play on mask their deficiencies while Calgary does nothing to hide Yakemchuks.

Hence the tracking of the D we passed on. Maybe the small preseason sample is the real deal and the warts in the WHL are because he doesn't care.

What happened to the get better everyday thing.

 

[Masked]

One poster on the prospects board who has watched a lot of him and may be a Hitmen fan seems to think he just doesn't care and has been half-assing it for awhile.

Hope it's a Ryan Getzlaf situation instead of a long term issue.

 

[mianjo]

Maybe in the 1st half of the season Yak was playing 25 mins or more per game on not too good a team, Calgary acquired 2 good defencemen in Mynio and Parker, if you look at Calgary's defence, before those 2 were acquired they used 11 defencemen who had a grand total of 119 points, take away Yaks points and you have 70 points. Calgary traded or released 6 of those players, those 6 had a grand total of 5 points. They now have 7 defencemen.
Yak has 49 points in 56 games
Mynio 26 points in 31 games acquired in trade
Parker 28 points in 47 games acquired in trade
Aura 23 points in 66 games Rookie
Williams 20 points in 68 games
Hurtig 16 points in 55 games Rookie
Pisarczyk 6 points in 50 games

So you can see that Mynio and Parker have a total of 54 points, this has taken a lot of the pressure on Yak and maybe he is not playing as much time as he was before, and maybe his +/- of +6 is not good overall but what was his +/- before Mynio and Parker joined the team.

 

[BondraTime]

Maybe in the 1st half of the season Yak was playing 25 mins or more per game on not too good a team, Calgary acquired 2 good defencemen in Mynio and Parker, if you look at Calgary's defence, before those 2 were acquired they used 11 defencemen who had a grand total of 119 points, take away Yaks points and you have 70 points. Calgary traded or released 6 of those players, those 6 had a grand total of 5 points. They now have 7 defencemen.
Yak has 49 points in 56 games
Mynio 26 points in 31 games acquired in trade
Parker 28 points in 47 games acquired in trade
Aura 23 points in 66 games Rookie
Williams 20 points in 68 games
Hurtig 16 points in 55 games Rookie
Pisarczyk 6 points in 50 games

So you can see that Mynio and Parker have a total of 54 points, this has taken a lot of the pressure on Yak and maybe he is not playing as much time as he was before, and maybe his +/- of +6 is not good overall but what was his +/- before Mynio and Parker joined the team.

His role definitely diminished with the additions.

Both Parker and Mynio took some PP time, and both were deployed defensively over him, along with Hurtig

The big reason for the increase in +/-, for everyone on the team, is they got much, much better defensively/offensively that boosted everyone's +/- columns, in both halves of the year he was at the bottom of the D core

2024
33 gp 126 gf 110 ga. Team was +16, Yak was -5.

2025
35 gp 140 gf 73 ga. Team was +67, Yak was +11.

Taking into account PP/PK, Calgary was sporting ~+10 ES in 2024 and +50 ES 2025

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Maybe in the 1st half of the season Yak was playing 25 mins or more per game on not too good a team, Calgary acquired 2 good defencemen in Mynio and Parker, if you look at Calgary's defence, before those 2 were acquired they used 11 defencemen who had a grand total of 119 points, take away Yaks points and you have 70 points. Calgary traded or released 6 of those players, those 6 had a grand total of 5 points. They now have 7 defencemen.
Yak has 49 points in 56 games
Mynio 26 points in 31 games acquired in trade
Parker 28 points in 47 games acquired in trade
Aura 23 points in 66 games Rookie
Williams 20 points in 68 games
Hurtig 16 points in 55 games Rookie
Pisarczyk 6 points in 50 games

So you can see that Mynio and Parker have a total of 54 points, this has taken a lot of the pressure on Yak and maybe he is not playing as much time as he was before, and maybe his +/- of +6 is not good overall but what was his +/- before Mynio and Parker joined the team.

less than +6 but Yakemchuk's +6 was pretty much gained in a stretch of games; I think that stretch put him over +6
between Feb 19 and March 7
Scores were
5-0 W
5-0 W
5-1 W
3-0 W
2-1 Loss SO
7-0 W
6-2 W

Yakemchuk is 6th in +/- for Calgary hitmen D with 50 games or more ; Wyatt Pisarczyk a 17 y/o is 7th at +4; The top 3 D on the team are all over +30
He is behind 2 rookies

Yakemchuk is a -27 for his WHL career

 

[GCK]

hmmm I suppose its a theory to explain his less than desirable play away. A lot of excuses have been thrown around trying to explain away superior performances from the other D available to us last year. The teams they play on mask their deficiencies while Calgary does nothing to hide Yakemchuks.

Hence the tracking of the D we passed on. Maybe the small preseason sample is the real deal and the warts in the WHL are because he doesn't care.

What happened to the get better everyday thing.

Who knows. Remember Drysdale vs Sanderson.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Who knows. Remember Drysdale vs Sanderson.

Sanderson literally got better and progressed every year.

 

[Senator Stanley]

One poster on the prospects board who has watched a lot of him and may be a Hitmen fan seems to think he just doesn't care and has been half-assing it for awhile.

My guess is that he's been asked to play a more conservative role by the coaches, almost as a shutdown guy alongside Hurtig, and he's been trying to stick to that. Yesterday, I thought he was much more responsible defensively than I've ever seen him in the past.

Now, when they needed a goal in the final five minutes, the old run and gun Yakemchuk came out. He was pushing for offence, rushing the puck, going for dangles (with mixed results). But if I'm being honest, that was a worse player than the guy I'd watched the rest of the game, and I think the coaches figured that out about him. Yakemchuk playing a more restrained game is better for the team than the offensive defenceman version of the player. He is capable of doing a lot more, but I'm not sure his offensive game is strong enough to offset the downsides that come with him playing that way - at least not on a team that's actually good.

 

[Oscar The Grouch]

My guess is that he's been asked to play a more conservative role by the coaches, almost as a shutdown guy alongside Hurtig, and he's been trying to stick to that. Yesterday, I thought he was much more responsible defensively than I've ever seen him in the past.

Now, when they needed a goal in the final five minutes, the old run and gun Yakemchuk came out. He was pushing for offence, rushing the puck, going for dangles (with mixed results). But if I'm being honest, that was a worse player than the guy I'd watched the rest of the game, and I think the coaches figured that out about him. Yakemchuk playing a more restrained game is better for the team than the offensive defenceman version of the player. He is capable of doing a lot more, but I'm not sure his offensive game is strong enough to offset the downsides that come with him playing that way - at least not on a team that's actually good.

So he's going to be a Tyler Kleven instead of Dougie Hamilton.

 

[BondraTime]

So he's going to be a Tyler Kleven instead of Dougie Hamilton.

He’s going to be more than a Kleven, he is as good a bet as you can get to be a 30 point D

He’s somewhere in between those guys. Before, and after, the draft I said I’m expecting him to be a Damon Severson “type” D. A 2nd pair #3/4 if everything goes well.

His skating is troubling, it’s going to be an issue in the NHL.

 

[Ouroboros]

Sounds like we've finally found a guy to fill the Cody Ceci-shaped hole in our hearts.

 

[BondraTime]

Sounds like we've finally found a guy to fill the Cody Ceci-shaped hole in our hearts.

They had very similar CHL careers.

Ranked ~12th at the draft
Both 6’3 ~200 at time of draft
Both late birthdays
Offensive D in Junior, ~ppg with lots of goals because of cannon on the PP, likely need to transition once turning pro
Questions about IQ
Both were seen as front runners for the WJ team but were surprise omissions from camp

 

[Senscore]

Sounds like we've finally found a guy to fill the Cody Ceci-shaped hole in our hearts.

 

[Emerica]

What’s with all the Yak talk? I come here to get updates on Dickinson and Parekh

 

[Gil Gunderson]

One poster on the prospects board who has watched a lot of him and may be a Hitmen fan seems to think he just doesn't care and has been half-assing it for awhile.

Then let’s hope the Hitmen lose in the first round so we can see if he cares in Belleville next month.

 

[zenator]

I think it could be that Yak isn't the greatest athlete. He isn't quick footed, though not at Logan Brown levels of slow (hopefully). Last season, he was featured heavily on a bad team, could have made him seem like he had more potential than he did. He still has upside, great hands and shot, but probably not as much upside as Parekh, Buium, Dickenson. It could be time for Staios to add some new scouts to a group that hasn't drafted well for 5 years.

 

[BigRig4]

I think it could be that Yak isn't the greatest athlete. He isn't quick footed, though not at Logan Brown levels of slow (hopefully). Last season, he was featured heavily on a bad team, could have made him seem like he had more potential than he did. He still has upside, great hands and shot, but probably not as much upside as Parekh, Buium, Dickenson. It could be time for Staios to add some new scouts to a group that hasn't drafted well for 5 years.

I’ve only watched ~7ish games this year, so grain of salt, but he seems like a fine athlete to me. His skating has improved since last year and he’s quite strong. To me his problem is he lacks hockey IQ. When the pucks on his stick he has all the talent in the world, when he’s away from the puck he doesn’t seem to have that sense of where he needs to be - especially in the defensive zone. I hope to be wrong, but that’s my honest assessment.

 

[Senator Stanley]

I’ve only watched ~7ish games this year, so grain of salt, but he seems like a fine athlete to me. His skating has improved since last year and he’s quite strong. To me his problem is he lacks hockey IQ. When the pucks on his stick he has all the talent in the world, when he’s away from the puck he doesn’t seem to have that sense of where he needs to be - especially in the defensive zone. I hope to be wrong, but that’s my honest assessment.

It's possible what you're seeing is a lack of IQ, but I think the more charitable take on it is that he's learning how to play a different style of game. This is a player who's probably always played like an offense-first defensemen, and this year he's been asked to adjust. But adjusting doesn't mean just staying back and making the simple play all the time, it's learning how and when to introduce (or reintroduce) that attacking style that he's used to playing without sacrificing defense.

Some prospects have the offence and have to learn how to defend (Karlsson). Some guys have the defence and their offensive game starts to develop on top of their defensive foundation (Sanderson). And then there are of course all sorts of players in between. My theory with Yakemchuk is that they (being his coaches, the Sens, or both) are telling him to focus on building the defensive foundation of his game right now, knowing that there's innate offensive talent there that he'll be able to tap back into as his game rounds out.

There may also be IQ issues, or effort issues. I'm not saying there aren't. But growing pains are part of development, and do not necessarily mean a lack of hockey sense.

 

[Ouroboros]

I think it could be that Yak isn't the greatest athlete. He isn't quick footed, though not at Logan Brown levels of slow (hopefully). Last season, he was featured heavily on a bad team, could have made him seem like he had more potential than he did. He still has upside, great hands and shot, but probably not as much upside as Parekh, Buium, Dickenson. It could be time for Staios to add some new scouts to a group that hasn't drafted well for 5 years.

Could be.

All the talk in the lead-up to the draft was that he tested really poorly at the combine, particularly in the lower body drills. Apparently a lot of teams came away with some pretty substantial concerns about his natural athleticism.

 

[BondraTime]

I think it could be that Yak isn't the greatest athlete. He isn't quick footed, though not at Logan Brown levels of slow (hopefully). Last season, he was featured heavily on a bad team, could have made him seem like he had more potential than he did. He still has upside, great hands and shot, but probably not as much upside as Parekh, Buium, Dickenson. It could be time for Staios to add some new scouts to a group that hasn't drafted well for 5 years.

The combine told teams he was one of the worst guys there athletically, many teams thought he wasn’t athletic enough

Edit: What Ouroboros said above