RD Carter Yakemchuk - Calgary Hitmen, WHL (2024, 7th, OTT)

[majormajor]

I really think the Yakemchuk hype is going to pale in comparison to Hutson hype.

He's already been anointed as Makar 2.0 around here. Poor Yak just wants to make the NHL!

Hutson was drafted two years ago, there's been plenty of time for him to develop and the hype to bubble up.

 

[HSF]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1841285722969407916

 

[DackellDuck]

I liked the pick because of the raw tools, but holy hell this guys looks good. He seems like a guy who’s just better suited for the NHL than junior. Being around players who know where to be and not to be so he can play off them. I didn’t think he’d be as smart as he is. His skating can still use some work, but he makes so many clever plays already.

I think he could become a 60-70 point guy within the next 3-4 years.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

This kid is gross offensively, are they sending him back to the dub? He seems like one of those cases that would benefit playing in the A instead if he could

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

This kid reminds me so much of Burns / Byfuglien. Gonna score a lot of points in this league.

 

[PatrickMcC]

I see what people are saying about him needing work in the D zone. I think his flaws are fixable though, relies a lot on his reach to defend and less so his skating. Makes sense when you’re used to playing against 5’10-5’11 junior players. Despite all of this, holy is his potential ever high. Hard to find an accurate player comparable.

 

[Senscore]

It's entirely possible that when the season starts, and things elevate, he could hit a bit of a wall.

But even still I don't think it will hold him back for long. Regardless of what league he's in, under a year of guidance from an NHL team on training, nutrition, etc. he'll just end up that much better.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

I really liked him all year. I thought it was weird how much some people seemed to dislike him (having him outside of 1st) and how much the pick was panned. Will be interesting to see what Ottawa decides to do and how his career unfolds.

 

[zenator]

I'd like his bomb of a shot on the #1 PP unit, with Sanderson on the point, replacing Norris. That would help the team win today.

And play him mostly sheltered on the 3rd pair, but also with Sanderson at times. Although, Kleven hasn't impressed me. If Sandy / Chabot play 52 minutes, and Kleven 8, he can be sheltered.

The puck seems to follow Yak around, and goals just happen when this guy is involved, so creative offensively, and such great puck skills and shot.

 

[bert]

And we have the new name that Sens fans will overhype for the next 3 years

From a Habs fan? Hahahahahaha

 

[bert]

I really liked him all year. I thought it was weird how much some people seemed to dislike him (having him outside of 1st) and how much the pick was panned. Will be interesting to see what Ottawa decides to do and how his career unfolds.

It's because it's arm chair scouts that are capable of evaluating the obvious (skating) and not hockey sense. Which he has a plenty of. They also likely haven't been doing it long enough to project big players who are still growing into their bodies.

Yak is making a serious case as being the best player on the team in pre season which is pretty sad and impressive at the same time.

The other d men fighting for a spot have been less than impressive. He's likely gonna get 9 games but he should be sent down for his long term development.

 

[DuklaNation]

What games are people watching these days? I've watched more preseason this time around and I'm absolutely surprised at how many scrubs have permanent roles in the league these days. Zero puck creativity and are just there to help the coach keep his job by playing not to lose.

Yakemchuk has skills you can't teach. Offensive creativity and IQ. Already 19 and not skinny, seems mature. Chabot and Sanderson have proven they're not quality #1 PP guys. And to succeed in NHL, teams need a quality PP these days. He needs to work on his defensive zone reactions but looks like a smart positional dman. Ottawa's management has made so many mistakes, they need to take risks. I don't see the point sending him back to junior. Talent needs to be challenged in order to flourish.

 

[Butchy Dakkar]

Is there not a site with up to date accurate preseason stats? Total points. You would have to think Yak is pretty high, particularly with rookies.

 

[NyQuil]

Chabot and Sanderson have proven they're not quality #1 PP guys.

I mean Chabot, sure.

I wouldn't rule Sanderson out yet.

 

[Baksfamous112]

Loved his game yesterday. Great tools for an 18 years. He was impressive.

 

[BradyTkachucky]

Loved his game yesterday. Great tools for an 18 years. He was impressive.

he's 19

 

[NyQuil]

he's 19

Just turned 19 but yes.

 

[Baksfamous112]

he's 19

Jesus I’m sorry. Let me rephrase.

Loved his game yesterday. Great tools for someone who was still 18 years old 4 days ago. He was impressive.

 

[BradyTkachucky]

Jesus I’m sorry. Let me rephrase.

Loved his game yesterday. Great tools for someone who was still 18 years old 4 days ago. He was impressive.

much better, go tell the kid it doesn't matter, he can actually drink in Ontario now

 

[NyQuil]

Is there not a site with up to date accurate preseason stats? Total points. You would have to think Yak is pretty high, particularly with rookies.

NHL Stat Leaders 2024-25 preseason - Top hockey players

Get the latest NHL player rankings on CBS Sports. See who leads the league in Goals, Assists, Points, Wins, Goals Against Average, Save Percentage, Penalty Minutes, Major Penalties for the 2024-25 preseason.

www.cbssports.com

He is tied for 1st in points among NHL defencemen with 4 other guys with 5.
Raddysh and Pionk have done it in 2 games, Yakemchuk and Jones in 3, and Boqvist in 4.

There are some funny names at the top of the lists.

Reminds me of when guys like Jon Sim and Justin Papineau would light up the pre-season.

 

[bud12]

Was impressed by him last game. He will be good and seem to have a nice slapper for pp duty

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Is he making the team or being sent back? Is 9 games more likely?

 

[NyQuil]

Is he making the team or being sent back? Is 9 games more likely?

It's becoming hard to send him back when he's been one of Ottawa's better players.

But pre-season isn't the regular season.

With a new GM and a new coach, it's hard to speculate with no track record.

I'd give him the 9 games at this point, but I doubt management will.

He just turned 19. Sanderson had a great early progression but still he was 20 before becoming a regular.

 

[Korpse]

Is he making the team or being sent back? Is 9 games more likely?

Not much indication yet. He spent most of his time in camp with Cahbot while Zub was dealing with an injury. With Zub back in the fold he got a look with Sanderson. I'm not sure what to make of that. Sanderson had previously skated mostly with Hamonic.

He has been a play driver offensively and has made some good plays defensively. There's parts of his game that will be exploited at the NHL level, i think the overly aggressive defensive play can be corrected relatively quick but issues he has with skating are going to take time. The consistency has been encouraging, he hasn't had a long stretch of poor play. He's had bad shifts but has shown he can bounce back in the next shift.

I personally lean towards having him on the roster to start the season, give him a couple games with some sheltered minutes and special teams work and continue the evaluation. The consistency and confidence play a big part into it. I think one of the determining factors that I haven't taken into consideration is how they feel about JBD has looked and if they are willing to carry 8 D to start the season.

 

[Faceboner]

I need to stop reading fan writeups about prospects, and instead watch them play, and listen to opinions of those in the know only.

I was afraid to watch the 1st game, as I had already written off Yak as a bad pick because of everything I read on here, reddit, etc, over the summer. I expected him to be terrible, and he was the opposite. I clearly saw why he was picked 6, and why 3-4 teams had him ranked 3rd in the draft.

A couple weeks with the Sens seems to have improved the rough parts of his game a lot. Maybe the coaching in Calgary is poor?

Dude has work to do, as evidenced by the play where instead of lying down to block the pass across, he didn't, and there was a clear cut chance against. Things like this can be taught, you can't teach the insane talent and toolkit he has.

I don't think I've ever changed my mind about a prospect from bad pick to great pick in 1 week before.

Big fast and highly skilled d-man that has a nasty snarled edge to his game with a great shot. His knocks were iq and skating. He has solid enough iq, got questioned due to him basically abusing his skillset at the junior level essentially and his skating could be cleaned up with through training and heavy focus on edges and off ice training. He is a very unique prospect, unicorn defenseman with a very high ceiling but a lower floor. Burns is my high end comp and risto the low end comp however he put to rest my concerns with his iq and will at least be a positive impact physical bottom pairing d-man that could qb a pp. I could also seee him ending up a 20-30 goal d-man who loves to hit like a truck and can man/drive a breakout.