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

[Senator Stanley]

Yakemchuk is going to be the end of Chabot anyway, sooner or later. This discourse about Chabot has never made sense because any of the top defencemen available was going to render him disposable, either because it was a LD or because it was an offensive RD. There was no right shot defensive stalwart available.

Yakemchuk will need to be utilized on the PP, and Sanderson isn’t coming off, so that covers both units. What most likely happens is Sanderson runs the first pair and takes on the hard matchups and Yakemchuk runs the second pair and gets to produce against lesser opponents. Essentially, this is Chabot’s current role and they are unlikely to both co-exist on the same pairing.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to having him on the team eventually. It’ll be huge for us if he pans out.

It's possible that Chabot's role starts to change. He wouldn't be the first guy to enter the league as an offensive defenceman but then become more of a two-way guy as he gets older.

 

[Loach]

It's possible that Chabot's role starts to change. He wouldn't be the first guy to enter the league as an offensive defenceman but then become more of a two-way guy as he gets older.

He turns 28 this year. So when does he start to learn to play D? 29, 30, 31? Cause that don't help.

 

[PlayOn]

It's possible that Chabot's role starts to change. He wouldn't be the first guy to enter the league as an offensive defenceman but then become more of a two-way guy as he gets older.

Fair point, and probably a best case scenario for us.

 

[Sun God Nika]

Yakemchuk wasn't off the board though. There's no Boucher comparison here.

It's a very valid choice at #7 overall, and one I'm excited to see play out.

Claiming they reached in the 2nd is fair.

I’m hyped up on the Yakemchuk train, but you do have to admit it’s a slight reach obviously not an outrageous one like Boucher. Sens probably know it too and it’s why they were trying to trade back with Philly

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Yakemchuk is going to be the end of Chabot anyway, sooner or later. This discourse about Chabot has never made sense because any of the top defencemen available was going to render him disposable, either because it was a LD or because it was an offensive RD. There was no right shot defensive stalwart available.

Yakemchuk will need to be utilized on the PP, and Sanderson isn’t coming off, so that covers both units. What most likely happens is Sanderson runs the first pair and takes on the hard matchups and Yakemchuk runs the second pair and gets to produce against lesser opponents. Essentially, this is Chabot’s current role and they are unlikely to both co-exist on the same pairing.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to having him on the team eventually. It’ll be huge for us if he pans out.

I don't see how any of that means it's the "end of Chabot". Seems very premature to say that a rookie that's several years away will mean Chabot will no longer have a spot on the team.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

I’m hyped up on the Yakemchuk train, but you do have to admit it’s a slight reach obviously not an outrageous one like Boucher. Sens probably know it too and it’s why they were trying to trade back with Philly

He's not a reach at all, he was projected to go 13th by McKenzie and was considered in the same tier as Silayev, Parekh, Dickinson, and Buium. And apparently they didn't think he'd be available at 7, so if they traded back it would've been to take someone else.

 

[PlayOn]

I don't see how any of that means it's the "end of Chabot". Seems very premature to say that a rookie that's several years away will mean Chabot will no longer have a spot on the team.

That’s not really my point. Based on that view it’s premature with every draft pick.

I’m saying that in a world where Yakemchuk reaches his full potential, we aren’t going to need another offensive defenceman. So Chabot will have to become a significantly better defensive player to make sense here, otherwise you have overlapping roles. Which in essence, is not that dissimilar to having too many of the dmen of the same handedness and will necessitate a move somewhere.

Today’s version of Chabot is our PP2 QB who provides offence but struggles defensively. If he’s still that in 3 years when Yakemchuk comes along, the Sens are going to want a more defensive guy to complement Yak, there would be too much redundancy there.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Dave Poulin was asked what stood out about Carter and he said his elite skating. Soooo take it fwiw.

 

[DylanSensFan]

Dave Poulin was asked what stood out about Carter and he said his elite skating. Soooo take it fwiw.

His edge work seems pretty good. It's his speed he needs to work on.

 

[aragorn]

It's going to be fun to watch Tours & Eliasson doing board drills fighting for pucks at Development Camp. I wonder how long before one blows their electrical circuits. So will Ostapchuk & Yakemchuk if they are lined up against each other, same for Kleven. Should be a fun camp to watch.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

That’s not really my point. Based on that view it’s premature with every draft pick.

I’m saying that in a world where Yakemchuk reaches his full potential, we aren’t going to need another offensive defenceman. So Chabot will have to become a significantly better defensive player to make sense here, otherwise you have overlapping roles. Which in essence, is not that dissimilar to having too many of the dmen of the same handedness and will necessitate a move somewhere.

Today’s version of Chabot is our PP2 QB who provides offence but struggles defensively. If he’s still that in 3 years when Yakemchuk comes along, the Sens are going to want a more defensive guy to complement Yak, there would be too much redundancy there.

You assume that Yakemchuk will play the same style game in Ottawa that he does in Calgary. That won't necessarily be the case. A lot of these players are drafted on the basis of what you can develop them into, not for what they are at the time of the draft.

The first word Staios used to describe Yakemchuk was "raw". That to me says that the Sens don't believe he's anywhere close to the type of player they believe he will end up. It's much easier to develop a two way game in a young raw player like Yakemchuk than it is to ask Chabot to change his game completely in the later half of his career. Yakemchuk has all the physical tools to be a very useful player defensively, regardless of his offensive game.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Poulin on TSN1200 said:

“What stands out is his skating at his size. He’s almost 6 ft 4 but skating is elite, truly elite. He played on a team that wasn’t at the top of the league this year and when that happens you get into situations where maybe some of the structure and the defensive play didn’t have to be there because it wasn’t demanded or commanded in those situations, they were always behind in games and he was the get up and go guy that can create a lot of offense… truly one of the elite skaters in the draft.”

Kind of confused how the knock on him is skating and Poulin is raving about it.

I think they are talking about 2 different things/situations. Skating on rushes and on offense vs skating on defense and having to pivot and close . Poulin eludes to the structure and defensive play but does not elaborate on that
Hockey Prospect
When forced to use edgework and change directions too many
times, we have seen him lose balance and lose strength on his skates, which can open things up offensively for the
opposing team. When he can hit his top speed (for example, rushing pucks with a lot of space in front of him) his
straight line speed looks more than fine, but his first three-step explosion is something that could stand to improve. His
lateral agility and footwork are also among his weaknesses, and it shows when he gets into trouble with his rush defense
game. Yakemchuk can be really good in his zone but struggles to defend against the rush
Tony Ferrari - The Hockey News - Apr. 15th: "A true wild cowboy of a defenseman, Yakemchuk is such an interesting offensive blueliner. He isn’t the smoothest skater, which sometimes limits his game defensively, but the puckhandling and skill he flashes offensively have allowed him to work around his skating, helping him score 30 goals as a draft-eligible blueliner."
Luke Sweeney - Dobber Prospects - Apr. 20th: "In transition, Yakemchuk’s hands are his best asset as he is not a particularly adept skater or transition playmaker. He is fast for his size, but his mechanics are poor and he lacks explosive acceleration. His difficulty in making timely decisions also prevents Yakemchuk from being a strong breakout or entry creator."
Steven Ellis - Daily Faceoff - May 28th: "Defensively, though, I still need to see more improvement. His decision-making under pressure leaves a bit to be desired, but the potential is high here. With some seasoning, Yakemchuk could be a high-output defender in the NHL."

Now these guys are not of the stature of Dave Poulin but they also don't have a 7OA draft choice to build up and defend.

Its not just us bozos here that take a strong interest in the draft and the prospects that had identified issues.. these things are usually coming from several sources and not just pie in the sky hfers talking through their hats

This draft was always going to be a crap shoot after Celebrini and it was . McKenzie mentioned it but his rankings from 10 NHL teams scouting that influence a lot of onlookers did not really fall the way the consensus if there was one had it

 

[h2]

I’m hyped up on the Yakemchuk train, but you do have to admit it’s a slight reach obviously not an outrageous one like Boucher. Sens probably know it too and it’s why they were trying to trade back with Philly

I legitimately don't think it's even a slight reach.

Like I said, it's very valid at 7th overall. There's even talk that Anaheim had Yakemchuk right after Sennecke.

 

[Golden_Jet]

I legitimately don't think it's even a slight reach.

Like I said, it's very valid at 7th overall. There's even talk that Anaheim had Yakemchuk right after Sennecke.

Agree,
One of the reasons why so many trades this year, organizations lists were so different, teas wanted to move up.

Shame the league is getting rid of the draft format next year.

 

[PlayOn]

You assume that Yakemchuk will play the same style game in Ottawa that he does in Calgary. That won't necessarily be the case. A lot of these players are drafted on the basis of what you can develop them into, not for what they are at the time of the draft.

The first word Staios used to describe Yakemchuk was "raw". That to me says that the Sens don't believe he's anywhere close to the type of player they believe he will end up. It's much easier to develop a two way game in a young raw player like Yakemchuk than it is to ask Chabot to change his game completely in the later half of his career. Yakemchuk has all the physical tools to be a very useful player defensively, regardless of his offensive game.

I don’t assume anything. Yakemchuk is still going to be really young, and if he becomes a really solid two way player it is going to take some time.

This conversation is just a reflection of how many variables there are and how much can change in the span of a few years. But anyway, we can certainly feel a lot better about our RD moving forward so I’ll take it.

 

[BondraTime]

There are lots of things to be excited about with Yakemchuk, elite skating definitely isn’t one of them, that’s wild

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

There are lots of things to be excited about with Yakemchuk, elite skating definitely isn’t one of them, that’s wild

Yakemchuk is an elite skater and Zaitsev is an elite defender with great feet, He's available as well.

 

[LiseL]

The Panthers just won the cup and only 3 of it's player were drafted by the team Barkov, Ekblad and Lundell so yeah drafting is important but its not the be all and end all that some hockey fans make it to be.

Bad comparison. No player has Florida on its NTC/NMC so they don't have to rely on drafting as much. Ottawa is the exact opposite.

 

[TopC0rner]

And the biggest problem with Yakemchuk has to learn how to gap, pass, skate, box, PK only against NHL forwards. It means a prolonged rebuild time. Parekh for example with a Hockey IQ off the charts will be a star defensively and offensively.

I don't know how much you've watched of both, but I don't think your description is correct. Parekh has good vision, but is often out of position and has plenty of brain freezes. Despite smooth skating, he's a liability in his own zone.

As to Yakemchuk, I didn't think he was awful defensively from the games I watched involving the Calgary Hitmen. With his physical play and how he recovers pucks, I actually prefer him to Parekh on that aspect of the game. He's fine on the PK too, but since he plays tons of minutes, you probably prefer to assign him other minutes anyway.

Offensively, Yakemchuk is a play driver, the player that other players defer to. That's not really the case for Parekh. On his team, Dionicio played that role instead.

I'm not a Sens fan btw... I think the last time I was active on the Sens board was when Ottawa fans were flipping out on Sanderson's selection. Back then, people were saying he was strictly a defensive dman, which was a wrongful assessment, even at the time.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Bad comparison. No player has Florida on its NTC/NMC so they don't have to rely on drafting as much. Ottawa is the exact opposite.

A lot of players would stop putting Ottawa on their NTC if they were a playoff team. The undesirable market is overstated, the real issue is that the team hasn't been competitive in the slightest for a long time now. There's only 16 teams that make the playoffs, and players want to play in the playoffs.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

His edges are fantastic and so is his top end speed. He's a big guy that is still growing into his body, his fast twitch and first few steps are going to get better. His decision making offensively is elite, his first pass is very good, he also clears the crease really well and plays with an edge. Yes his d zone positioning needs work and so does his first step. These are things a player can work on. You know what you cant teach, size, skill and a mean streak. All of which he has, he is a raw prospects on a longer development curve. But if he hits he could be a unicorn type player. At worst I think he is a 3rd pair d man who can play on the 2nd pp. At best he is Shea Weber with better hands.

People are going to have to be patient, he will have another year of Jr and probably a year in the AHL where he comes up and down. Big guys take longer to get there but its typically always worth it if they are developed properly.

He would not have been my pick at 7 but I think he'll end up being a good NHL player.

I take issue with him having fantastic edges though. Man, I went to several Hitmen games this year and he is not agile, at all (yet). HIs work in tight spaces is very suspect because he loses space on WHL opponents pretty quickly. At his current level he gets destroyed on the cycle in the NHL.

Hopefully some maturation and strength (he was far from a beast at the combine for better or worse) will go a long way towards rectifying his poor agility/edge work.

I think he ends up a good player but there is s ton of work to be done, including all elements of skating, IMO.

 

[Samsquanch]

I don't know how much you've watched of both, but I don't think your description is correct. Parekh has good vision, but is often out of position and has plenty of brain freezes. Despite smooth skating, he's a liability in his own zone.

As to Yakemchuk, I didn't think he was awful defensively from the games I watched involving the Calgary Hitmen. With his physical play and how he recovers pucks, I actually prefer him to Parekh on that aspect of the game. He's fine on the PK too, but since he plays tons of minutes, you probably prefer to assign him other minutes anyway.

Offensively, Yakemchuk is a play driver, the player that other players defer to. That's not really the case for Parekh. On his team, Dionicio played that role instead.

I'm not a Sens fan btw... I think the last time I was active on the Sens board was when Ottawa fans were flipping out on Sanderson's selection. Back then, people were saying he was strictly a defensive dman, which was a wrongful assessment, even at the time.

It took some people several years before they would concede that Tkachuck was the right pick for us. And yeah Drysdale >> Sanderson was very real, especially after Drysdale made the NHL in his first year...

So yeah Im willing to give Yakemchuk a fair shake because he is clearly loaded with some very useful (albeit very raw) tools, like Sanderson was but in a different way. More bruising and more offensively minded.

I honestly really like a young Phaneuf as his comparable, Hitmen alumni and all! I was actually living in CGY after he got drafted to the Flames, and we had the lockout. While its not 100% accurate in terms of play style, its really not all that far off either. Very comparable rawness and power to their games. Both of them had some known warts to their game (but they are coachable warts). And the upside is very similar imo (until dirty P fell off a cliff and eventually landed in Blue hell).

 

[bert]

He would not have been my pick at 7 but I think he'll end up being a good NHL player.

I take issue with him having fantastic edges though. Man, I went to several Hitmen games this year and he is not agile, at all (yet). HIs work in tight spaces is very suspect because he loses space on WHL opponents pretty quickly. At his current level he gets destroyed on the cycle in the NHL.

Hopefully some maturation and strength (he was far from a beast at the combine for better or worse) will go a long way towards rectifying his poor agility/edge work.

I think he ends up a good player but there is s ton of work to be done, including all elements of skating, IMO.

His edges while controlling the puck are very good which means he should be capable of it at all times. His skating wont be fully developed until is early to mid 20's much like Tkachuk. So yeah you are right he would have a very tough time in the NHL right now but you arent drafting any of these players for right now. But this player in particular will absolutely have a longer development curve, its the nature with big guys who grew quickly. His skating needs work no doubt, but I think the core parts of his skating and the foundation isnt that bad. But its going to be on him if he puts in the work he likely turns out.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Right, obviously the scouting staff likes Yakemchuk. It is just that Parekh has been compared to Karlsson and in the past when we make a pick off the board it turns into a bust, like Boucher.

Do you remember how karlsson used to skate?

Now look at parekh skate. They are not the same

 

[bert]

Do you remember how karlsson used to skate?

Now look at parekh skate. They are not the same

Why quote anyone that compared Yakemchuk to Boucher? Poster clearly knows very little about the sport.