Speculation: With the third pick in the 2024 NHL draft the Anaheim Ducks select...(Draft is June 28th @ 4pm PT. ESPN. ESPN+)
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Zegs2sendhelp
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- Jul 25, 2012
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Ya, personally i still prefer Levshunov, Dickinson, Buium over Yakemchuk/silayev... but id take yakemchuk over silayev.
Sannecke is an interesting name... but again if were very high on sannecke/Yakemchuk and kinda fallen off on silayev/demidov... id seriously consider trading down to 5-7 range.
- Sep 29, 2016
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Yakemchuk's skating is a work in progress but it's good for his size. At no point did it stop him from dominating the WHL at will... in his draft year.
Defensively, Yakemchuk is as solid as anybody in this draft. I watched a ton of WHL and he's a wall. Consistently rock solid despite playing for one of the leagues worst team with horrible goaltending. Didn't make mistakes at all. He got burned a few times when gambling in order to make a big hit or create an advantage for his team but he's easily in the positive there and I'm sure that's also what he's been asked to do. It's also something that's easily coachable.
He's not completely without risk but Yakemchuk is the only defenseman worth taking 3rd overall. He's just as dynamic as Buium and Parekh, has similar or better hands and vision as well as the by far best shot of all draft eligible defensemen. At the same time he's also more solid than Dickinson or Levshunov and even more physical and way more intense than Silayev. He's also not just a volume hitter but also a grade a fighter.
When drafting Yakemchuk you have to understand that he's a project but he's just the only defenseman available with this many elite tools. He's top of the table in pretty much all areas.
The only options for me are Parekh or Buium but that would be an insane risk to take at 3 because they're nowhere near as mature and solid as Yakemchuk. If he stays healthy, Yakemchuk is 100% gonna be a valuable NHL player. At the very worst you get a stay at home defenseman, volume hitter and premium fighter with a unique shot. If given enough time I think there's a good chance of his offense fully translating to the NHL and him becoming a franchise defenseman. That's what you're looking for 3rd overall and the only other two defensemen with similar upside have serious bust potential.
In my view it's pretty much Yakemchuk or a forward. Drafting a defenseman with serious bust potential 3rd overall would be insane and drafting somebody who most certainly doesn't even have the offense to play on a top pairing 3rd overall would be dumb as well. Again the reminder that Montreal was given a lot of heat for drafting Reinbacher 5th overall. The only draft eligible defensemen with higher offensive potential than Reinbacher are Yakemchuk, Buium and Parekh.
The Mighty Duck Man
R-E-L-A-X
A lot of displeasure might be an understatement. There was a good amount of crashing out all over the place including one of the SBNation sites, I think AnaheimCalling, starting a petition to fire Murray over it.
I think Drysdale is literally the only top-6 pick made by this team, at least post-2003, that didn’t have some level of controversy somewhere. This place seemed to somewhat learn the lesson last year but that also wasn’t that crazy of a pick, probably the least of the rest in that regard. But this year could certainly test that.
All that is fair as long as you recognize that you are in the distinct minority of draft watchers/scouts who believe he'll be anywhere near as good as you portray him. If he were, he'd be a consensus top 3 pick and he is far from that. He could be great but he is a very very risky pick.
Dr Johnny Fever
RIP Grizzly 399
Oh yeah. Every guy talked about has warts and reasons why people don’t want them. There already seems to be an agreement that none of the prospects we are discussing are worthy of being a 3OA. This year is ripe for a revolt. Stock up on the popcorn.
- Sep 29, 2016
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I'm not saying he's a consensus top3 pick...I'm saying that if you don't want a forward, Yakemchuk is the only defenseman worth taking at 3 because the other options would be far too risky (Buium, Parekh) or just simply don't have the offensive upside (everybody else) to justify a 3rd overall pick. If you didn't like Reinbacher at 5 last year (and most people didn't) then you certainly don't wanna draft a defenseman with even less offensive upside at 3 this year.
And yes, there's risk involved with Yakemchuk but the only question is if his offense is gonna fully translate to the NHL or not. Even if it doesn't he could still end up scoring more points than most if not all defensemen of his draft class. Also, because of Yakemchuk playing such a mature game, nobody in his right mind would ever question Yakemchuk's ability to play in the NHL. His game against the puck is very mature and he's the most physically ready and imposing prospect of his draft class. He's got the NHL body. He could play in the NHL right now and dominate physically.
Still, as I explained...if you want the offense to translate then he should be given time. His skating is good for his size and it's excellent for the WHL but the NHL isn't the WHL. If you want Yakemchuk to dominate the NHL the way he's currently dominating the WHL then his skating is gonna have to be worked on for a couple of years at the very least.
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The Mighty Duck Man
R-E-L-A-X
That’s the weirdest thing to me. No one guy below Celebrini has really stood out but I don’t think that’s because they’re bad, it seems more like they’re all pretty damn good. So many of these guys have great feathers in their cap, like Buium setting a freshman scoring record and being a major part of a national champion, Levshunov having what would’ve been a record year and making a massive impact in college right away, Denison breaking all kinds of records in Russian junior, Silayev making an impact in the 2nd best league in the world, Dickinson being a point a game top pair shutdown guy for the OHL champion, Parekh being a 1.5PPG defenseman on a championship team at 17, it crazy. Even someone like Yakemchuk scored 30 as a defenseman and is hard to play against. I’m far from any kind of expert but the talent level seems great. Just so many seemingly great options to me.
goonsaredumb
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- Sep 30, 2022
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He's been brought up before but I could really get behind picking up AJ Spellacy with one of our 3rd round picks. Major boom bust potential but he's big, he's fast and he hits everything in sight, it would be fun to have him in the system.
Anaheim4ever
Registered User
- Jun 15, 2017
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I'd take Inginla at #3 overall way before even considering Sennecke at #7.
Is Sennecke a Logan MacMillan 2.0 ? Aka Logan MacBust
Is Sennecke a Logan MacMillan 2.0 ? Aka Logan MacBust
He destroyed the combine as well. He's going to go higher than what the industry is ranking him.
Dr Johnny Fever
RIP Grizzly 399
I’m strongly considering hopping on the Iggy bandwagon. At least until I find out all his warts and how he has no chance to be like his old man. 
Yakemchuk is a blast to watch and brings a lot of what this defense needs, i'd be cool with it
MMC
Global Moderator
Just booked my hotel, I'll be going to day 2 of the draft, probably gonna just leave at 4 am and go straight to the draft, lol
The issue with the Ducks is that they have plenty of young defensemen who are offensively inclined...Mintyukov, Zellweger, Luneau, LaCombe, and even Dionicio. I don't think another one is really necessary.
What they desperately need is an impact D who can actually dominate defensively. Yakimchuk will never be that player. And - as you admit - Yakimchuk is a project. Skating issues are not a small matter and neither is his inconsistentcy on defense. In many ways, Yakimchuk is a right-handed version of Dionicio. Maybe the Ducks feel they can turn both Yakimchuk and Dionicio into top pairing defensemen but I wouldn't bet money on that happening.
Bottom line for me is that Yakimchuk is too much of a project at 3OA. He's years away from being able to be a major contributor in the NHL if he ever does. I'd rather take a higher floor guy like Dickinson or Silayev who are easily projectable as top 4D. They both skate exceptionally well and are defensively far more advanced. You want a sexy project pick...I just want someone who will be impactful in an area that the Ducks are woefully lacking. I'll take my chances with Dickinson or Silayev in a tough fast-paced playoff series over Yakimchuk any day of the week.
SlafySZN
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- May 21, 2022
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Habs fan here. Not trusting McCagg at your own risk.
That man is usually pretty spot on with his sources. Wouldn’t be shocked to start hearing by more people around the league like next week that Anaheim likes Yakemchuk. He’s always kinda ahead of the pack and then you start hearing more.
- Sep 29, 2016
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Yakemchuk is easily the most defensively dominant player available in this year's draft. Silayev is probably close but Yakemchuk is more intense, more mean, probably more mature of a player as well. He's a very solid player. It was mentioned here before but everybody in the WHL hates playing against him. He's so smothering, dominating you in every way. He's always well positioned and there's just no way to get past him. He's also very efficient at boxing out, clearing the slot. If you want to mix it up he's just gonna beat you up. As annoying as it gets if he's not on your team.
Yakemchuk doesn't have skating issues. Again, skating has never been a problem for him in the WHL. He's a good skater for his size.
The problem is that he's a ~6'4 and 200lbs kid (I haven't checked what he was measured at the combine but that would be about my guess) but his play with the puck is still the most wild of his draft class. I mean that in a positive way but he won't be able to dangle and beat players, to pull off his crazy moves in the NHL the same way without further improving his skating. I'm fully convinced Yakemchuk could step into an NHL lineup right now and be an impact player. He'd be rock solid and skating wouldn't hold bim back one bit. However, dominating the NHL is much more difficult than dominating the WHL. If you want Yakemchuk to become a franchise defenseman in the NHL, to hold onto pucks and dance through opponents the way he does right now then that, considering how big he is, won't be possible without elite skating. That's why he's a project. But his skating isn't bad. In the WHL you can watch him for hours and it's never a problem. It's just that it could (likely will) become a problem if you want his play with the puck to be this adventureous in the NHL as well.
Dionicio is a similar type of player in the sense that both of them are big guys who love to hit and fight but at the same also have the ambition to hold onto pucks and dangle/dance as if they're much smaller. I don't think you can ever have enough of those players who can do it all.
Having said that, Dionicio, both as a player and as a person, is nowhere near as mature as Yakemchuk. Dionicio's body is also still a work in progess while Yakemchuk could pretty much step into an NHL lineup right now. Yakemchuk is much more solid, has much better discipline as well. He loves the rough stuff, takes too many penalties for how good of a player that he is but he doesn't do nearly as much really stupid stuff as Dionicio. Which is why Yakemchuk is a top prospect and Dionicio was not. Dionicio may have similar upside but the difference is that he's far less likely to ever get there.
Zegs2sendhelp
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2012
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Still trying to talk my wife into going
WhatTheDuck
9 - 20 - 8
Enjoy! If it's anything like when I attended in 2008, the fans will really thin out by the mid rounds and you'll be able sit right down among the prospects and families. Doughty came and sat down next to us for awhile on day two, until one of his buddies was picked. Got autographs from all of the top five picks and a few others as they were around the rink doing interviews and meeting fellow picks etc. Also met Burkie, Bruce (still with the Caps at the time), Cliff Fletcher and a few others as well. All of that was day two where there's just way more access, day one was mostly just sitting and watching, though we did have John Carlson's family sitting right by us for his selection which was neat.
WhatTheDuck
9 - 20 - 8
I don't think that Yakemchuk has skating "issues" but his transitional skating is his biggest weakness at this time IMO. He may need a year to just continue working on his explosiveness, but it's not like most young D are NHL ready right away. Nothing there to raise any red flags for me, but I think it's the one area that keeps him from being considered a lock top 3/5 guy.
anezthes
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- Mar 20, 2014
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I think I've settled on Demisilastromsonekhchuk.
Combine that with the possible jersey disappointment and this place might be a nightmare for a few weeksAs crazy as all the pre-draft chatter has been, I fear what this place will be like after the draft, regardless of who we pick.
Yakemchuk would be an interesting choice. I think he finished close to dead last in all the tests at the combine. Also takes a ton of penalties (he’d fit right in…)
Zegs2sendhelp
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2012
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Most of the dmen in this draft have some sort of “flaw”, area to improve…. But I do like yakemchuk overall skill set and potential(idk that I like it at 3, but I also don’t really like buium or saliyev at 3 either).
If we do go dmen, our scouts have given me 0 reason to doubt whoever we go for tho…. I mean who is the worst dmen we’ve drafted in the first 3 -4 rounds? Jacob larsson maybe?
WhatTheDuck
9 - 20 - 8
Yeah it's just that type of draft, if there wasn't a question mark or some sort of weaker point with each of those top D, there would normally be a bit more defined top 3 or top 5. In most drafts there are at least 3 guys you just would be shocked to see escape the top 5-7. This year it seems that everyone after Celebrini gives even just the slightest bit of pause to where you can't really be certain about their blue chip status. Lev being maybe the one exception depending on who you ask.
That's why I lean towards the two guys who seem to have a pretty high defensive floor while still showing home run upside overall (Silayev/Dickinson), maybe would lump Yak in there as well.
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