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

[aragorn]

Yakemchuk has a mean streak, that is something that can't be taught & we have seen a lot of bigger guys who just are not that physical & it's not part of their nature Yakemchuk is a physical presence, he hits hard, is hard to play against & along with being physical is that he brings offence & is closer to being a more well rounded defencemen than one dimensional offensive D.

When asked about the NHL playoffs, he mentioned hard hitting & we saw how physical the NHL playoffs get with every round. You need players who not only can deal with hard hitting games, but can dish it out & he will dish it out. And he will drop the mitts, like it or not, it's sometimes needed in the NHL still. He's big, he can score, he hits, he fights, he can skate, he can stick handle, he can pass which makes him more complete than most one dimensional offensive D. Fans like offence, coaches like all the other intangibles that make up a complete player which collectively makes up a complete team. And that seems to be what Staois was going for this summer more balance on the team.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Sure, and those were the questions they chose thinking they'd make the best content, that's even more frightening...

They didn't need to show any of the questions, they chose to show those ones...

I think you're reading into it too much, they chose to show those questions most likely because they were the easy ones that painted Carter in a professional light.

 

[BondraTime]

Will be curious to see what happens with the scouting staff, they need some new blood and an updated directive extremely badly.

The Boeser’s, De Blois’ and Gordon’s, I have no issue with these area guys, but we need to be making some additions above the old guard of Fargher, Boyd, Janecyk.

 

[Micklebot]

I think you're reading into it too much, they chose to show those questions most likely because they were the easy ones that painted Carter in a professional light.

And painted them in a negative one?

It makes the org look like amateur hour.

Having some content behind the scenes is great, but they didn't do themselves any favours releasing that.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

McKenna should be there imo. He'll be going to the Hlinka but I expect him to be named.

 

[Icelevel]

I was a little disappointed with the questions the asked, I mean, it seemed obvious what answers they wanted to hear...

Totally. Carter looked like the smartest guy in the room. Not hard with those guys asking questions.
New scouting staff incoming. It’s the weak point now.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Will be curious to see what happens with the scouting staff, they need some new blood and an updated directive extremely badly.

The Boeser’s, De Blois’ and Gordon’s, I have no issue with these area guys, but we need to be making some additions above the old guard of Fargher, Boyd, Janecyk.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

In 2 years he slides into Jensen’s spot in the top 4 and we keep rolling.

Yakemchuk - Sanderson could be the best D pairing we ever have in Ottawa if this works out and their Mom’s are best friends - Mom’s were the best part of last season, it all makes Sensanon sense.

I'll take that bet. IMO.. he is more than 2 years from holding down an NHL spot. Secondly he and Jensen are two completely different players.. Jensen although older now, is a steadying defensive defenseman more in the mold of Zub. Yakemchuk is almost pure offense in terms of his development currently and has a fair bit of runway to be a reliable NHL player defensively. Sure he plays physical and he isn't afraid to cross check you in front of the net but there is a lot more to the position he is still very much developing. I hope the Hitmen allow him to focus on those aspects vs asking him to drive offense at all costs.

If they graduate him after a year in the Dub and a year in the AHL it won't be to replace Jensen.

 

[Sens in Process]

I'll take that bet. IMO.. he is more than 2 years from holding down an NHL spot. Secondly he and Jensen are two completely different players.. Jensen although older now, is a steadying defensive defenseman more in the mold of Zub. Yakemchuk is almost pure offense in terms of his development currently and has a fair bit of runway to be a reliable NHL player defensively. Sure he plays physical and he isn't afraid to cross check you in front of the net but there is a lot more to the position he is still very much developing. I hope the Hitmen allow him to focus on those aspects vs asking him to drive offense at all costs.

If they graduate him after a year in the Dub and a year in the AHL it won't be to replace Jensen.

The Calgary coaching staff is mostly, if not entirely new this season; Paul McFarland was named the new coach in May and has substantial experience at the NHL level as an assistant coach. Calgary's coaching issues and poor deployment of players got raised by scouts in the Hockeyprospects, Wheeler and McCagg,

Calgary was also one of the youngest teams in the WHL and we should see nice growth from Kindel and Wetsch among others. Yak should have better support and better structure this season.

I actually liked Yak's response to the coaching staff giving him free reign and if it helped or hurt the perception of him. He didn't blame the staff, but put took responsibility for his risky play. I'm sure the new coaching staff will enable a more structured environment.

​

 

[Loach]

If he doesn't make Team Canada, can he go next year?

 

[Ouroboros]

If he doesn't make Team Canada, can he go next year?

No.

 

[Loach]

No.

Too bad. The experience would be good.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

This interview questions are the best.

Uhh do you want to win. Or would you rather be a selfish prick that no one likes…answer carefully.

 

[BondraTime]

Should have a big year, somewhere in the 70ish range like last season would be nice as the new coaching staff in Calgary will likely put the reigns on the offensive gambles he needed last year that the previous staff gave him the go ahead. Hopefully he can show that a lot of the decisions he was making was driven by the role rather than the player.

First guy in the CHL we’ve had since Chabot and Brown nearly 10 years ago that is expected to have a big year, though Grieg I guess could be viewed that way as well.

Will be watching a lot of Calgary, and wherever he gets traded in January, games this year.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Calgary Hitmen in need of new coaching staff

The Hitmen won't be renewing the contracts of head coach Steve Hamilton and assistant coaches, Trent Cassan and Don McGillivary.

calgary.ctvnews.ca

GM Gary Davidson talks about the need to change the coaching staff and stresses player development

Hitmen hire Liffiton, Wilson, Krebs to round out coaching staff

The WHL club has announced the hiring of assistant coaches David Liffiton and Ben Wilson, as well as video coach Dakota Krebs.

calgaryherald.com

Have to applaud the hitmen for recognizing a need for change and identifying the people to help them better develop players.

 

[BondraTime]

You're seeing what was likely a 1-2 hour process condensed into a 10 minute narrated video. I'm sure there were a lot more questions asked that weren't shown and provided more interesting abstract insight.

They had 15-20 minutes, not 1-2 hours

 

[Senator Stanley]

They had 15-20 minutes, not 1-2 hours

One very minor thing that stuck out to me during the video was George Fargher talking about Yakemchuk's penalty minutes, and adding something along the lines of "now, I don't know how many of those were for misconducts, but".

My first thought was - why doesn't he know that? If you're advocating for this guy at 7OA, and that's an important enough caveat to mention to your GM, why didn't you figure it out before the meeting? People on here went and looked it up, and yet our area scout didn't bother to do a quick Google?

It's such a small thing, and we don't know the rest of the the conversation, but it really does make them look like the old guys from Moneyball. "Big clapper. Uses the lumber. Girlfriend's a ten. He's an Ottawa Senator."

 

[BondraTime]

One very minor thing that stuck out to me during the video was George Fargher talking about Yakemchuk's penalty minutes, and adding something along the lines of "now, I don't know how many of those were for misconducts, but".

Why doesn't he know that? If you're advocating for this guy at 7OA, and that's an important enough caveat to mention to your GM, why didn't you figure it out before the meeting? People on here went and looked it up, and yet our area scout didn't bother to do a quick Google?

It really does make them look like the old guys from Moneyball. "Big clapper. Uses the lumber. Girlfriend is a ten. He's an Ottawa Senator."

I don't think that's minor, you can literally get a printout of his penalties very quickly, at the very least is something you could take the 20 mins to check yourself on the WHL website

I mentioned earlier, the staff needs to have it's longtime core shaken up. Fargher, Janecyk and Boyd alone have 60+ years scouting for the Sens, which of course speaks to how respected and talented they are/were, but time is moving on and so is scouting and development.

 

[Loach]

I don't think that's minor, you can literally get a printout of his penalties very quickly, at the very least is something you could take the 20 mins to check yourself on the WHL website

I mentioned earlier, the staff needs to have it's longtime core shaken up. Fargher, Janecyk and Boyd alone have 65+ years scouting for the Sens, which of course speaks to how respected and talented they are/were, but time is moving on and so is scouting and development.

Surely Staios and Poulin see this aswell? If you guys can pick the players we drafted and who did it, they must see the same stuff.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Surely Staios and Poulin see this aswell? If you guys can pick the players we drafted and who did it, they must see the same stuff.

Poulie thinks they're elite lol

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Surely Staios and Poulin see this aswell? If you guys can pick the players we drafted and who did it, they must see the same stuff.

I like Staios but I was not a fan of the Poulin hire. So I think he's right on board with the old boys club, so to speak.

I did like the addition of Di Maio and hopefully he can bring some insight on how we can add some new blood/ideas to our scouting.

 

[Loach]

I like Staios but I was not a fan of the Poulin hire. So I think he's right on board with the old boys club, so to speak.

I did like the addition of Di Maio and hopefully he can bring some insight on how we can add some new blood/ideas to our scouting.

DiMaio is pro scouting. I think they change up amateur scouting. Bowness is there, they have analytics now. I don't know what it means, but it must mean something.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

DiMaio is pro scouting. I think they change up amateur scouting. Bowness is there, they have analytics now. I don't know what it means, but it must mean something.

Di Maio is director of player personnel AND director of pro scouting. Pretty big role. I'd hope that he has some input into how we scout the guys we plan on drafting (or not drafting). Who knows though.

 

[Loach]

Di Maio is director of player personnel AND director of pro scouting. Pretty big role. I'd hope that he has some input into how we scout the guys we plan on drafting (or not drafting). Who knows though.

I get ya

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I like Staios but I was not a fan of the Poulin hire. So I think he's right on board with the old boys club, so to speak.

I did like the addition of Di Maio and hopefully he can bring some insight on how we can add some new blood/ideas to our scouting.

I wonder if Jensen was a Di Maio pick