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

[Beech]

you have Travis Hamonic who is probably gone.
You have Jensen who will be 35 next year. Will he hold up?
You have JBD who dos not appear to be moving the needle all that much

There are zero RHDs in the AHL that look to be making any impact.

2021 draft pick Ben Rogers (RHD) is a bust. 2022 picks were LHD and do not appear to be moving the needle.

Carter's road to a spot on the Sens in 2025/2026 is paved in gold.

He will be 20 .. He has a late birthday (Sept 29). He was drafted more or less, a year after his peer group.

I will be shocked if the Kid is not up here next year. And if he is not, what will they do. They have 2 spots possibly open.

 

[PlayOn]

you have Travis Hamonic who is probably gone.
You have Jensen who will be 35 next year. Will he hold up?
You have JBD who dos not appear to be moving the needle all that much

There are zero RHDs in the AHL that look to be making any impact.

2021 draft pick Ben Rogers (RHD) is a bust. 2022 picks were LHD and do not appear to be moving the needle.

Carter's road to a spot on the Sens in 2025/2026 is paved in gold.

He will be 20 .. He has a late birthday (Sept 29). He was drafted more or less, a year after his peer group.

I will be shocked if the Kid is not up here next year. And if he is not, what will they do. They have 2 spots possibly open.

If the Sens don’t like JBD enough, they can always look for a bottom pairing RD and keep either JBD/Hamonic as a 7.

I hear you on Jensen, but his skating is still really good. It’s hard to fathom a major drop off next season as he should still be able to play even if he does lose a step.

I suspect it’ll have more to do with how good Yakemchuk is than us not having any other options. I don’t think they will keep him in the AHL all year if he’s tearing it up but I don’t think we are in such a dire position that we’ll have to force him into the NHL.

 

[Golden_Jet]

It will be his age 19 season right? There's definitely a chance that he's back in Jr, it is not remotely a guarantee he makes the SENS. The memorial cup is in the W next year too, so there's a little extra motivation to go for it.

Also, in Jr. hockey the concept of a rebuild is not like in the big leagues. Picks are so unpredictable that loading up is not a sure fire path to success. For that reason you see a lot of teams holding on to their stars to chase a playoff win or two, cash in on merchandise sales and hope the player returns for their age 19 season where you'll then have an excellent chance at a deep run. It made no sense that Regina held on to Bedard other than merch and a Hail Mary at a playoff win or two. Point is, there are different things at play than a pending UFA situation.

You used the Giants (Ostapchuk) as an example and I think you're talking about his non injury season in 2022 (which is more comparable to Yaks season now)? That year they underachieved but had a team that showed a lot of positives with Lysell. They actually played the top teams really well before the trade deadline, Everett specifically. They held on to their players and ended up pulling off an upset for the ages that went a lot further for the franchise than blowing it up, I would argue.

We will see what happens. Personally I am hoping he is traded to the BC division (I'm a season ticket holder) but want to see him stay in CGY as long as possible because it's a good development situation for him.

No, he’s 19 now,

 

[Beech]

If the Sens don’t like JBD enough, they can always look for a bottom pairing RD and keep either JBD/Hamonic as a 7.

I hear you on Jensen, but his skating is still really good. It’s hard to fathom a major drop off next season as he should still be able to play even if he does lose a step.

I suspect it’ll have more to do with how good Yakemchuk is than us not having any other options. I don’t think they will keep him in the AHL all year if he’s tearing it up but I don’t think we are in such a dire position that we’ll have to force him into the NHL.

Jensen has this year and next on his contract. It pays him $3 M next year. By Christmas, he is down to $1.5 M. Making him perfect trade bait. And making him 35. So, unlikely to re-sign him. Unless you do a 1 and 1.

JDB/HAMONIC are both UFAs.. what do you do???

Come Christmas of 2025, 1-3 spots are almost surely open.

Unless Yak. craps the bed in training camp. You may have little to no choice but to put him on. There is literally no one to play RHD.

Dip into FA and now you take risks. And there are few trade chits.

The wagon is far more hitched to Yak. than people assume. Plus ZUUUUUBBBBB, is starting a pretty good trend, yearly injuries!

 

[Micklebot]

Jensen has this year and next on his contract. It pays him $3 M next year. By Christmas, he is down to $1.5 M. Making him perfect trade bait. And making him 35. So, unlikely to re-sign him. Unless you do a 1 and 1.

JDB/HAMONIC are both UFAs.. what do you do???

Come Christmas of 2025, 1-3 spots are almost surely open.

Unless Yak. craps the bed in training camp. You may have little to no choice but to put him on. There is literally no one to play RHD.

Dip into FA and now you take risks. And there are few trade chits.

The wagon is far more hitched to Yak. than people assume. Plus ZUUUUUBBBBB, is starting a pretty good trend, yearly injuries!

Hamonic is gone after this season, that's the only very likely open spot, and it's not one that is difficult to fill.

We likely re-sign Jensen at the end of next season (essentially he replaces Hamonic's role of older vet), very little chance we'd trade him at the deadline next year unless things are going extremely poorly. Next year should be a year we expect to be in the playoffs, we aren't moving RHD that can play in your top 4 even if he is getting old. Only way we trade him is if Yakemchuk forces him out of the top 4, even then, we'd probably just use him as an internal deadline acquisition.

JBD might get another contract, provided he's still interested in staying here being a 6/7 and not testing the free market. Again, not a hard guy to replace if you aren't worried about upside.

Yakemchuk will certainly get a shot at the roster, particularly if JBD is gone, but I could see us exploring the UFA market as well. We'll want to have the option to start him in the AHL, so there won't be a spot waiting for him. By the 2026-27 season, he should be ready for full time

Guys like Savard, Dumoulin, Maata, Rutta, those are the ones we'll take a look at imo.

 

[PlayOn]

Jensen has this year and next on his contract. It pays him $3 M next year. By Christmas, he is down to $1.5 M. Making him perfect trade bait. And making him 35. So, unlikely to re-sign him. Unless you do a 1 and 1.

JDB/HAMONIC are both UFAs.. what do you do???

Come Christmas of 2025, 1-3 spots are almost surely open.

Unless Yak. craps the bed in training camp. You may have little to no choice but to put him on. There is literally no one to play RHD.

Dip into FA and now you take risks. And there are few trade chits.

The wagon is far more hitched to Yak. than people assume. Plus ZUUUUUBBBBB, is starting a pretty good trend, yearly injuries!

Well yeah if we trade everyone then there is no one to play RD. I assume we won’t be trading everyone.

As it stands we have Jensen, Zub and the ability to choose between Hamonic/JBD as I doubt we keep both. Then you just go find a bottom pairing guy.

I think you’re right that Yak will be needed at some point in the season ie when there are injuries but I don’t think he’ll need to start here unless he dominates in camp/pre-season.

 

[BondraTime]

Think it's extremely, extremely likely he's in the AHL next season.

Sens will sign a placeholder for a season or two.

When he pushes his way up, bring him in, but don't think he's going to be gifted a spot

He's got much to work on, AHL will be beneficial for him

 

[Sens in Process]

Who’s watching him play? Is he pushing the play 5v5?
@Sens in Process

He is playing with restraint and gambling less under this coaching staff, so pinching and forcing plays is kept to a minimum.

At 5 on 5, the whole team struggles. It is a team that generally cannot sustain pressure in the offensive zone. It is one and done. The team primarily scores at even strength on breakdowns and odd man rushes.

Yak is playing well 5 on 5. His breakout passing, if I may say so, is fairly high end. He hits guys with clean passes, generating speed through the neutral zone, The problem is the team lacks the talent to play the sort of puck possession game that can adequately make use of their defensemen. Two cases in point, Reese Hamilton, an offensive D-man projected to be a 2nd or 3rd rounder in the 2025 draft, has only 3 points in 20 games, while having 31 in 41 games last year. Pisarczyk, another D, had 18 points in 55 games last yea. He has 0 points in 19 games this year. Overall the team is scoring a bit less this year, while shaving off more than 0.5 goals a game. The transition to a more defensive team, combined with mediocre overall talent, has depressed some of offensive numbers.

I think Yak looks great and there are plenty of reasons to optimistic about him. He is a player that will excel when surrounded with better talent.

Calgary has been playing better lately and came off a very successful road trip. They also acquired an overage d-man, Kalem Parker, who should also help.

​

 

[BondraTime]

I think Yager will be traded as the main big piece of the W trading season, and Calgary will go from there.

Different positions, but both are the biggest fish in the pond, give or take

Mosse Jaw just finished their cycle, they are heading into a 4-5 year rebuild now, and Yager will kickstart that.

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

feel like he is type of player who looks more natural playing against/with NHLers than against/with CHLers.

 

[Dionysus]

3 goals from the dmen so far this season for the Sens. Could really use a guy who can score from the blueline right about now.

 

[SensFactor]

yes its the WHL, but

Carter has 7G, 11A (18pts) in 16 games so far.

 

[RickyLafleur]

3 goals from the dmen so far this season for the Sens. Could really use a guy who can score from the blueline right about now.

They hardly ever shoot and always defer to the forward along the boards, and then behind the net where they lose the puck.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

yes its the WHL, but

Carter has 7G, 11A (18pts) in 16 games so far.

If you are looking at purely points for defensemen in the CHL... this is down the list.


If you filter that by Sens D prospects points in the CHL .. it's on top.

 

[BondraTime]

If you are looking at purely points for defensemen in the CHL... this is down the list.


If you filter that by Sens D prospects points in the CHL .. it's on top.

He's sitting pretty well in the WHL at 9th in D points with 18, 2nd from the 2024 draft behind Tarin Smith who has 23. He's doing very well on the PP with 3rd most with 12 points. He's likely to slide in a a decent amount lower than he finished last season at 5th, missing a bit of time for the Canadian Camp at the very least

Overall on Offense alone in the CHL from the 2024 draft right now he has the 8th most points:

OHL Dickinson 11th - 31p
OHL Marelli 86th - 31p
WHL Smith 79th - 23p
OHL Parekh 9th - 23p
OHL Mews 74th - 23p
QMJHL - Lavoie 89th - 19p
OHL Harding 223rd - 19p
WHL Yakemchuk 7th -18p

Yak offers the most physicality out of that group, outside of Lavoie (who was/is criminally underrated). He has aspects the others don't, while at the same time others have some that he doesn't

 

[Sens in Process]

Yak will inevitably get hot and his point totals will shoot up. All it takes is one big game to considerably close the gap on many of the top scoring defenders, some of which have played 3 or 4 more games.

The team is starting to win and they keep adding pieces as well:

https://x.com/i/web/status/1859432168516116495

Tanner Howe is a pretty big get and arguably becomes their best forward.

Point totals stripped of their context are pretty meaningless, especially when comparing different CHL leagues. WHL is a different brand of hockey. With that being said, Yak should take it to the next level now that team around him is improving.

I will mention one area that bugs me about Yak and will basically determine if he is NHL ready next season. It is his balance and short area strength/quickness. He gets tangled up at times when making quick pivots and starts/stops. He needs to get stronger in his lower body

I am not concerned about his hockey sense or ability to make plays. I catch myself multiple times a game being highly impressed with his vision and anticipation. He is making plays that will eventually be reflected in his personal stats.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1859659172704551159

 

[Hale The Villain]

Ugh of course the Hitmen decide to "go for it" with a middling team

Bloody morons

 

[BondraTime]

Not too smart, but if you're going to go for it you may as well go for it. They need to make some big moves, because that team is not very good at the moment in comparison to others. Doesn't much effect Yak, but it's pretty stubborn by Calgary, though they really don;t have a great future outlook either. Very little in the way of young promising players, prospects and picks

The fact that Hamilton who would have been one of their lynchpin guys in the next two years wanted to be traded definitely helps that decision

Wild that Everett is the best team in the league while also just picking the best prospect since McDavid and Crosby up. That's what being smart with your 19 year old guys can do for you. That Zellweger and Hofer trade was absolutely Mem Cup making for them. They had a better record than the Hitmen did when making that trade. Calgary seems to be going for broke this year.

They will be the best team in the WHL for the forseeable future thanks to the haul of picks they got from Kamloops, and 3 years of a #1 overall guy rather than 2.

Calgary are in no mans land. No playoffs in the last 4/5, they just traded away one of 2 impact players they added from those finishes with their 1st's, they don't have a promising future outlook, and they are at best a team hoping for an upset come the 2nd round.

 

[Micklebot]

Ugh of course the Hitmen decide to "go for it" with a middling team

Bloody morons

Meh, unless you're a hitmen fan, I don't see how this is a big deal.

Yakumchuk will get extra support, and hopefully as a result he will still gain lots of valuable experience. Idk that going to a team that can coast into the playoffs, and win a round or two is any better for his development than being on a team that will be clawing it's way in all season, and maybe lose in the first round.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Meh, unless you're a hitmen fan, I don't see how this is a big deal.

Yakumchuk will get extra support, and hopefully as a result he will still gain lots of valuable experience. Idk that going to a team that can coast into the playoffs, and win a round or two is any better for his development than being on a team that will be clawing it's way in all season, and maybe lose in the first round.

It's not a big deal, but I think most people would have preferred Yakemchuk get traded to a legitimate WHL contender in his last season in the league, not remain on a middling team pretending they are one.

 

[bicboi64]

Yak is going to have the equivalent of EK in 2017 playoffs for the Hitmen watch out WHL!

 

[BondraTime]

Not invited to the World Junior Camp. Neither was Parekh, though he has next season



Not too surprising for a 2 week tournament, but still disappointing

 

[Bileur]

Not invited to the World Junior Camp. Neither was Parekh



Not too surprising for a 2 week tournament, but still disappointing

Not even invited to camp is pretty surprising to me.

Making the team or not, fine, but no camp?

 

[BondraTime]

Not even invited to camp is pretty surprising to me.

Making the team or not, fine, but no camp?

They generally have a feel for what the team is going to be heading into the season

He looked pretty bad at the WJ camp this summer, and hasn't exactly done much this season thus far compared to the other guys.

Dickinson is likely their guy for offense and PP, and they seem to be bringing some strong defensive players in Brunicke and Gibson. Not much room for him with the way they look to be building their team for a 2 week tournament.

Like it or not, his skating isn't very well suited for the tournament.

He wouldn't be looked on for defensive, and seems they are going elsewhere for offense (for better or worse)