Not only did he try to dangle too much, but something that stood out to me on Saturday was just how sloppy he can look handling the puck. To use another basketball analogy, he has a loose handle. Watching him, I couldn't help but wonder how he would look playing with a shorter stick. I know how much he relies on that long reach to defend, but maybe as his skating improves and he can defend more with his feet, he could rely less on reach and play with a slightly shorter stick that allows him to handle the puck better. Sometimes he looks like a kid playing with stick that's a foot too long for him.
The Good
-Yakemchuk was assertive and generated a good number of chances for himself and teammates. He could have easily come away from that game with a goal and a couple assists. He was definitely the most (and only?) dangerous player on Calgary.
The Bad
-The more I watch, the more I think he's limited in how he sees the game offensively. Doesn't mean he can't be productive in the NHL, but I'm starting to see a ceiling. People have thrown around Bouchard as a comparison, but Bouchard sees the ice at an elite level. It's what allows him to play the game in a rocking chair and still create so much. Yakemchuk doesn't seem to have that. I haven't seen that special ability to slow things down, to manipulate defenders, to create with his brain. Maybe it comes, but I still see a guy who's style of offence is to attack at one speed and in straight lines.
Down 2-0, Calgary is in real danger of getting bounced this round. They look like a well coached, low-skill team that finished high in the standings by playing consistent, low-event hockey, but that lacks the firepower to make a serious playoff run.
The last part is key. London plays a style where everybody gets touches. It is like a video game. Yakemchuk doesn't have that luxury and cannot read and react with smart and creative players. There are times in games, where Calgary is just having a problems getting the puck through the neutral zone with a couple of clean passes. His teammates don't find him, plain and simple. Tulk and Kindel are offensive paper tigers.
Calgary sucks the life out of offense for D-men. Look at Mynio, his pro-rated point production is way down in Calgary. He hardly produces anything in the playoffs.
I think as he gets bigger and stronger- the awkwardness in his game will will be less prominent. The long stick will be more of an asset, with better balance. His reach and anticipation will make him a very good defender in the NHL.
I agree their are reasons for questioning his offensive upside. He doesn't have the same offensive creativity as Bouchard. He is more an Ekholm with a dash Bouchard. I never would have compared Yakemchuk to Ekholm until very recently. Elkhom is a player that broke the 40 point mark once in Nashville and has become a perennial 40 point player (pro-rate this year) in his mid 30s in Edmonton. I think Yakemchuk is a better offensive players than Ekholm, with a similar athletic profile.
I also use Ekholm to show how important context is for points. I don't think it is a coincidence that Ekholm put up a career high in Edmonton (while in his 30s), while playing big minutes.
At the same time, it would not surprise me at all if Yakemchuk looks better offensively in the pro-game. I think hew will thrive in structure.
You are not really mentioning defense. He is developing into a shutdown guy. Yager has been quiet in this series and a lot of it has to do with Yakemchuk. It is also the amount of poise he shows in the defensive end. He is a calming presence. I didn't really expect to come away from this season thinking that Yakemchuk was a better defender than Mynio, especially after watching Mynio at the WJC. But here we are.....The growth in that aspect of his game has been exponential. I think I was in the the minority, thinking this guy would be a solid, two-way defender. In pre-draft, people were describing him as a lead footed, unpoised and undisciplined fool that would skate around his own zone like a chicken with its head cut-off. This was consensus opinion on HFboards and it probably still is to the moment.
He also has massively cutdown on penalty minutes. He has 2 minutes this entire playoff and it was an embellishment call, after being hit in the groin. From my recollection, He has only been on the ice for one goal this playoff. It was a play where he just got on the ice and joined a tired group who were trapped in their zone, as the only change.
Yakemchuk is still very raw. His skating has shown impressive growth this year. Earlier in the season, I noted how often Yakemchuk was falling or losing balance when the puck was at his skates, and I criticized the lack of power in his first three strides. I am not as concerned anymore.
In pre-draft, I thought there was chance for Yakemchuk to bust in a worst case scenario. And if not bust, he could end up being a sheltered,, third-pairing d-man that would help on the PP. I do not have those worries anymore. I think he will be a 4 for sure. And if continues to develop and grow into his body, I think he will become an absolute unicorn. A 6'4, 225 physical, shutdown guy with around 50 point upside(maybe more). If Ekholm can be a 40 point player on an Edmonton team in his mid 30s, I don't think it out of the question that Yakemchuk can do better.
Please note: I am not saying Yakemchuk will be as good as defender as Ekholm.
