Prospect Info: 2024 7th OA : Carter Yakemchuk (RHD)

[bert]

Idk if I'd call Florida's D with size and length, ekblad is the only guy I can think of that fits that description. I do generally agree it's an important element to the game and one we have need for though.

Ekbkad 6'4, Mikkola 6'5, OEL 6'2, Kulikov 6'1, Forsling 6'0 while being an incredible two way skater, Montour 6'0 200 another incredible skater. There was no where to go. If the player wasn't long they stated skated like wind or played a very heavy game.

 

[bert]

Not sure why you think I'm a Zadina guy. Dobson was my pick in 2018. Didn't want Tkachuk or Zadina at #4.

Yakemchuk is a year ahead of Parekh in development. Despite that he had 3 less goals and 25 less points in the same amount of games. Massive gap in production when you consider age.

Parekh played on a better team but Saginaw had no elite talent at forward. He led his team in points 21. For all the talk about Yakemchuk playing with no good players, he didn't lead his team in scoring.

I have to laugh when I see people saying Parekh doesn't rush the puck a lot like it's a negative. Most NHL D don't put up points by rushing the puck. Elite offensive D put up points by consistently putting the puck on the tape of teammates when they get open, and Parekh does that in the offensive zone better than any other D drafted in several years. His skill, vision and shot accuracy is Karlsson-esque.

You thought Tkachuk was a terrible pick you said he wouldn't turn out with the same confidence you had in Yakemchuk. You haven't tracked bigger physical players since Jr and watched them develop. It's literally almost an identical situation.

Development is not linear. Big players take longer to get there its been proven time and time again. Saying Yakemchuck is ahead in Development of Parahk is false. He entered the league st 5'10 he's grown 5 inches in two years and has a late birthday. There's been steady improvement and growth year over year. If anything dispite Yakemchuk being 5 1/2 months older he's less physically mature in his body.

The bolded is 100 percent false. Saginaw was an absolute wagon. Absurd comment. Stacked from top to bottom knew they were hosting the mem cup and loaded up all year. If you actually think this then try and tell me that Parehk is like Karlsson that's how I know you have not watched . He doesn't have the explosive speed to create separation. He doesn't create off the rush. He doesn't not have the tools. You know who does, Buium. An NHL forcheck is a different animal d men need to be able to create separation. Parehk is the most risky pick in the entire top 12. Reminds me of a right handed Ghostesbeher. Elite offensive d man who is a liability when he doesn't have the puck. I watched him alot this year. Definition of an elite Jr player with skills that are questionable to translate. Alot like Demidov elite offensive skillset that torches weak competition. These guys are YouTube superstars. But that's not how the games played. Are they talented enough to turn out, of course but not by doing it the way they did it in Jr.

 

[bert]

The old bert "you disagree with me so you've obviously never watched the player" non-argument argument.

Classic.

Unfortunately your content reflects this. You said Saginaw had no elite forwards... You're saying parehk plays like Karlsson... You're your own worst enemy.

 

[RickyLafleur]

Other than Boucher and Rogers who that we have drafted was such a trash pick?

The disappointment has been trading away our firsts (mind you one was converted into Ullmark which is a win). Picks like Ostapchuk, Halliday, Donovan, Stanley, Andonovsky, Nikitin and who knows who else could still provide value. Too early to make such a claim.

The disappointment was in not having 2 consecutive firsts and sure, that might make it seem like trash but I don't think it's an accurate assessment.

Disappointment comes from not making the playoffs for 7+ years in a row, having a bottom 3 prospect pool, and hiring a mediocre coach who is somehow expected to take this team to the next level

 

[Senator Stanley]

Regarding Yakemchuk's PIMs, I wish I could find it, but I saw an article that pointed out pretty much half of them were either game misconducts or fights. Plus, his PIM amount in the 2022-2023 season was actually pretty modest, so it's not really a case of Yakemchuk accumulating loads of crosschecks/trips due to playing recklessly or poorly.

I don't know what a normal distribution of PIMs would look like, but 16 roughing minors and 10 cross checking minors seems like a lot.

Cc George Fargher

2024 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Carter Yakemchuk

Carter Yakemchuk’s dance card at the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine was nearly full, as the 18-year-old defenseman met with 23 teams last week in Buffalo ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft. As expected…

www.diebytheblade.com

 

[Xspyrit]

Nothing alike from how they physically engage. Yakemchuk clears the crease and is heavy in the corners. Has a mean streak, isnt as strong a skater. How they approach the game defenisvely is pretty much polar opposites. Yakemchuk Also shoots right. If chychrun did that he would be a way more valuable player. Stylistically he is like Phaneuf with better hands.

A Chychrun that use his body better for defensive play wouldn't be so bad... I guess I'll be hoping for a modern Phaneuf version.

I obviously didn't scout him much before the draft (since he was expected in the mid teens) but lol I should have known with the Sens

Ridly Greig et al. (2020) is the saving grace of this franchise. We'd be so pooched without that draft

Imagine where we'd be at without Karlsson and Pageau trades (Norris, Stutzle, Greig, Kleven) and without that 2020 draft (Stutzle, Greig, Kleven). The rebuild would 100% be a failure

The disappointment has been trading away our firsts (mind you one was converted into Ullmark which is a win).

Converting a 7th OA pick to a goalie UFA at the end of the season is a win?

The disappointment was in not having 2 consecutive firsts and sure, that might make it seem like trash but I don't think it's an accurate assessment.

Yeah, right after the puzzling Boucher selection. 3 years in a row for a rebuild is a CRIME against hockey fans (of that team)

 

[BondraTime]

A Chychrun that use his body better for defensive play wouldn't be so bad... I guess I'll be hoping for a modern Phaneuf version.

I obviously didn't scout him much before the draft (since he was expected in the mid teens) but lol I should have known with the Sens



Imagine where we'd be at without Karlsson and Pageau trades (Norris, Stutzle, Greig, Kleven) and without that 2020 draft (Stutzle, Greig, Kleven). The rebuild would 100% be a failure



Converting a 7th OA pick to a goalie UFA at the end of the season is a win?



Yeah, right after the puzzling Boucher selection. 3 years in a row for a rebuild is a CRIME against hockey fans (of that team)

Yakemchuk was always a guy who could be taken very high, especially for the Sens, he was in that group that could be taken anywhere from 3-15 since October. He was never considered a mid teen guy, he was always seen in the grouping with Dickinson/Buium/Parekh, any of which could have been considered the same

I wouldn't have been surprised if he fell towards 15, that's probably around where I'd have had him, not that that has any weight whatsoever, but he was always a guy that teams in the 3-10 range would be looking very hard at

 

[Tuna99]

Disappointment comes from not making the playoffs for 7+ years in a row, having a bottom 3 prospect pool, and hiring a mediocre coach who is somehow expected to take this team to the next level

I also like to add the fans that are dragging their ass around is a massive disappointment.

If you can’t get pumped for Takchuk, Stuztle, Pinto, Batherson, Greig, Ullmark Sanderson, Chabot, Giroux and a coach who we know will do anything to win then you need to get yourself an double scoop ice cream cone with sprinkles and chill out

 

[RickyLafleur]

I also like to add the fans that are dragging their ass around is a massive disappointment.

If you can’t get pumped for Takchuk, Stuztle, Pinto, Batherson, Greig, Ullmark Sanderson, Chabot, Giroux and a coach who we know will do anything to win then you need to get yourself an double scoop ice cream cone with sprinkles and chill out

We had all of these guys - Ullmark last year and this team finished in the bottom 7. Now Giroux is another year older, and likely only has 1-2 years left in the tank. It's hard to be excited when this team fundamentally sucks, no need to try and gaslight me and other fans because we can see with our own eyes what kind of team this is.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Most 17 and 18 year old defenseman, aren’t considered 2-way players in their draft year.

True. And most players who showed almost no offense before being drafted don't end up in the NHL. It's almost exclusively guys who could provide offense at lower levels.

 

[Golden_Jet]

True. And most players who showed almost no offense before being drafted don't end up in the NHL. It's almost exclusively guys who could provide offense at lower levels.

Luckily then by your metrics, Yak led the WHL in goals for a defender then with 30.

 

[RickyLafleur]

Luckily then by your metrics, Yak led the WHL in goals for a defender then with 30.

Heres hoping. This team badly needs capable 2-way defenders who can play in the top 4.

 

[BondraTime]

Luckily then by your metrics, Yak led the WHL in goals for a defender then with 30.

Wasn't it already answered what was being discussed in that conversation, that being our scouting staff and the other D from 2021-2023 that are all similar?

Nobody thinks Yak isn't showing offense, and that comment had nothing to do with Yak's offense

 

[Golden_Jet]

Wasn't it already answered what that was being discussed in that conversation?

Poster started with all defenders who make it to NHL are good 2-way players in junior.

I said most players in junior aren’t good at 2-way NHL defending.

Then poster responded with true, and switched to most good at offense in junior become good NHLers.

So I responded with, Yak led the WHL in goals for a defender.

That’s the history of the convo.

 

[BondraTime]

Poster started with all defenders who make it to NHL are good 2-way players in junior.

I said most players in junior aren’t good at 2-way NHL defending.

Then poster responded with true, and switched to most good at offense in junior become good NHLers.

So I responded with, Yak led the WHL in goals for a defender.

Yes, it was a response to the same comment that was about our scouting staff and the types of D we have been picking the past 3/4 years, that was clarified to be talking about our other D, people were just following along with that conversation, that was clarified for you already

Not talking about Yakemchuk, I'm referring to Eliasson/Stanley/Andonovski/Nordberg/Roger.

Yak clearly is producing very good offense, if anyone has the thought that he isn't showing any offense, not too sure what to say, but that conversation was pretty clearly about our other guys, albiet in the Yak thread

 

[Golden_Jet]

Yes, it was a response to the same comment that was about our scouting staff and the types of D we have been picking the past 3/4 years, that was clarified to be talking about our other D, people were just following along with that conversation, that was clarified for you already

That was a different discussion, these responses are with Alf.

 

[BondraTime]

That was a different discussion, these responses are with Alf.

Alf was responding to the exact same conversation

 

[Golden_Jet]

Alf was responding to the exact same conversation

Ya and I responded to Alf’s posts lol.

 

[BondraTime]

Ya and I responded to Alf’s posts lol.

And he literally states in the exact post you quoted to be talking about the other guys, from that same conversation. Literally says Yak can change the way the scouts have been choosing their D that haven't been producing offense. You took the bottom paragraph and ignored the previous 2

That's 1/6 for the Panthers regular D who were drafted in the mold of the guys we've been feasting on in the draft (Kleven, Andonovski, Eliasson, Roger, Nordberg, Wallberg).

We need a more balanced approach to our D drafting. Hopefully Yakemchuk can be a player that offsets some of the monoculture of D that we've been drafting.

Our scouts seem to have an outdated idea of what good defense looks like. Most of the guys who are truly good at D in the NHL were at worst two way guys when they were drafted.

 

[Xspyrit]

Yakemchuk was always a guy who could be taken very high, especially for the Sens, he was in that group that could be taken anywhere from 3-15 since October. He was never considered a mid teen guy, he was always seen in the grouping with Dickinson/Buium/Parekh, any of which could have been considered the same

I wouldn't have been surprised if he fell towards 15, that's probably around where I'd have had him, not that that has any weight whatsoever, but he was always a guy that teams in the 3-10 range would be looking very hard at

As you saw in poll #11, it's directly linked to the 2024 Consensus NHL Draft Rankings

2024 Consensus NHL Draft Rankings

The 2024 NHL Entry Draft begins on Friday, and EOTP has been keeping track of most of the rankings to come out ahead of the draft. Some rankings have more correlation to how the draft will unfold than…

www.habseyesontheprize.com

And if you want to specifically look at McKenzie's list : 13th OA

It would be fun to have an average of NHL teams based on their lists, released after the draft but I doubt they'd want to make that available even though that'd be a lot of fun for us

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Hopefully when folks talk about him being a potential Dion Phaneuf, they mean a Phaneuf with better feet. Game is faster now than it was a decade ago.

Yak has an intriguing toolset, but I really do think he's going to take a while to get there.

 

[Micklebot]

As you saw in poll #11, it's directly linked to the 2024 Consensus NHL Draft Rankings

2024 Consensus NHL Draft Rankings

The 2024 NHL Entry Draft begins on Friday, and EOTP has been keeping track of most of the rankings to come out ahead of the draft. Some rankings have more correlation to how the draft will unfold than…

www.habseyesontheprize.com

And if you want to specifically look at McKenzie's list : 13th OA

It would be fun to have an average of NHL teams based on their lists, released after the draft but I doubt they'd want to make that available even though that'd be a lot of fun for us

And if you read Mackenzie's writeup, you see that Yakemchuk was seen as in the same grouping as the other top D prospects, with some teams considering him as high as 4th. There was no clear consensus for the guys 3-15 or so, which is why a guy like Buium ranked third on the consensus you linked, or Silayev ranked 4th on Mackenzie's list, went 12th and 10th respectively.

Saying you didn't consider Yakemchuk because he was expected to go in the mid teens just shows you didn't really understand the dynamic of this year's draft and how the tiers fell.

 

[Golden_Jet]

And he literally states in the exact post you quoted to be talking about the other guys, from that same conversation. Literally says Yak can change the way the scouts have been choosing their D that haven't been producing offense. You took the bottom paragraph and ignored the previous 2

I was responding to his follow up posts, you know like you do in a forum, if you don’t like follow ups, then just ignore them lmao. Someone take your puppy.

 

[bert]

A Chychrun that use his body better for defensive play wouldn't be so bad... I guess I'll be hoping for a modern Phaneuf version.

I obviously didn't scout him much before the draft (since he was expected in the mid teens) but lol I should have known with the Sens

Was never projected to go mid teens by actual hockey scouts. Maybe some arm chair chart pumpers but even Pronman had him #3 on his list. Professionals who did scout him had him going in the top 10. Secondly there was a very distinct top 12 to this draft and after number 1 the next 11 players could have gone any which way. And likely will go any which way when you look at this draft in 10 to 15 years.

Id love for you to show me all the D men that lead the WHL D in goal scoring are 6'3 have a mean streak and have hands who get picked in the teens. I will wait. If you can provide some examples I am all ears.

I find the push back over the Yakemchuk pick so perplexing. He plays the most sought after position in hockey, he scores goals, has terrific individual skill, breaks the puck out, clears the crease and has size. How people don't like this type of prospect is mind boggling.

Especially considering how soft and easy to play against this D core is. While the goaltending has obviously been weak specifically last year, the amount of goals this team gives up because the D dont box out, clear the crease or tie up sticks is sickening to watch.

As you saw in poll #11, it's directly linked to the 2024 Consensus NHL Draft Rankings

2024 Consensus NHL Draft Rankings

The 2024 NHL Entry Draft begins on Friday, and EOTP has been keeping track of most of the rankings to come out ahead of the draft. Some rankings have more correlation to how the draft will unfold than…

www.habseyesontheprize.com

And if you want to specifically look at McKenzie's list : 13th OA

It would be fun to have an average of NHL teams based on their lists, released after the draft but I doubt they'd want to make that available even though that'd be a lot of fun for us

You didnt even read Mackenzies article did you. He even talks about him as a top 5 prospect. Teams also weight RD positional value very high. There is no coincidence out of the big 6 D men all three right handed guys went first.

Bob McKenzie's Final NHL Draft Ranking: Many attractive and diverse options after Macklin Celebrini | TSN

This year’s final ranking, from No. 2 on, is much more challenging to assemble because of two factors - many more divergent opinions and variance on even the top 10 picks and two Russians forcing their way into the conversation in the upper echelon.

www.tsn.ca

 

[bert]

Hopefully when folks talk about him being a potential Dion Phaneuf, they mean a Phaneuf with better feet. Game is faster now than it was a decade ago.

Yak has an intriguing toolset, but I really do think he's going to take a while to get there.

You are probably right but if he does turn out he could be the best D man in the draft. He has the toolbox to be the best, his raw talent along with mean streak is unicorn level type D man in the NHL.

His absolute peak would be Shea Weber with better hands. I dont expect him to be that good defensively but he will be as good or better offensively.