For Ottawa Senators fans, the sting of their team’s first-round elimination is starting to fade. Soon, that disappointment will give way to excitement for the future, and much of that excitement centers around young NHL prospects.
Exhibit A is defenceman Carter Yakemchuk, probably the number one prospect in the organization. According to The Athletic in their January ranking, the Sens have the league’s 27th-best prospect pool. That makes it all the more important that a blue-chipper like Yakemchuk pans out.
And based on the state of things on the right side of Ottawa’s blue line, if he does pan out, he’d be exactly what the doctor ordered.
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The 19-year-old, who turns 20 in September, will probably start next season with the Belleville Senators. He recently concluded his WHL career with the Calgary Hitmen after a Game 7 loss to Lethbridge in Round 2 of the playoffs.
Had we known at last year’s NHL Draft that the Senators were targeting an offensive defenceman at seventh overall, most fans might have assumed they’d take Zeev Buium or Zayne Parekh. Those two were ranked seventh and eighth in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s rankings and were both still available when Steve Staios, Michael Andlauer, and head amateur scout Don Boyd hit the stage in Vegas to make their pick.
But this group values (and needs) size on the back end and couldn’t resist Yakemchuk, ranked 13th by McKenzie.
The Sens believe Yakemchuk is that rare blend of size (6’3″) and skill who will someday thrive in the NHL. In 2023–24, he topped 30 goals and 70 points in the WHL, huge numbers for a draft-eligible blueliner. His offensive instincts, puck protection, and heavy shot make him a dangerous threat from the back end.
His first NHL training camp last fall was outstanding, to the point where he almost made the team. He led the Senators in preseason scoring, and his coast-to-coast OT winner against the Leafs was a highlight. Yakemchuk was the Senators’ final cut and headed back to junior to work on his defensive details and, most importantly, improve his skating.
The silver lining, or so everyone thought, was the chance to go back and dominate the WHL and also play for Team Canada at the World Junior tournament in Ottawa.
But neither of those things happened. Yakemchuk didn’t make Team Canada. In fact, he wasn’t even invited to camp. And his offensive numbers in Calgary took a sizeable dip from the season before.
Carter Yakemchuk – WHL Regular Season Stats
2023–24: GP 66, Goals 30, Assists 41, Points 71, PIM 120, -6
2024–25: GP 56, Goals 17, Assists 32, Points 49, PIM 82, +6
The drop-off isn’t entirely negative. As instructed by the Senators, Yakemchuk focused on becoming a more complete two-way player. He was also more physical, using his size advantage to finish body checks as a matter of policy.
And with the Hitmen transitioning from a struggling 65-point team to a 96-point Memorial Cup contender, the expectations were higher and the systems were more detailed.
But even with all that adjustment, you’d think some of that might have been offset by the fact that he was now a year older with some new, NHL-influenced swagger.
Take Parekh and Buium, for example. They were also drafted for their skill and were sent back to their amateur teams with instructions to work on becoming more complete players.
Neither of them had a dip in production.
Parekh didn’t make Team Canada, but they brought him to evaluation camp ahead of Yakemchuk. In his draft year, Parekh had 33 goals and 96 points in 66 games for the Saginaw Spirit. This year, he had 33 goals again and 107 points in five fewer games. The Calgary Flames even brought him in to make his NHL debut at the end of the season.
Buium played for a second year in a row at the World Juniors for Team USA. His numbers at the University of Denver stayed virtually the same, going from 50 points in his draft year to 48 this year. But the Minnesota Wild were so impressed with his development, they threw him right into the fire of a first-round playoff series, where he played four games.
Summer Breakups: Senators GM Steve Staios Prepares For Another Rebalancing ActThe Ottawa Senators held their seasonal exit meetings last Saturday, the final assignment for a fine young NHL club that took a huge step forward this season, forcing their way into the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
We’re not suggesting at this point that the Senators should have taken these two players instead. I cannot stress that enough. As good as they are, adding more offensive skill with limited physicality isn’t what’s needed on Ottawa’s blue line.
But why did those players thrive this season in similar circumstances while Yakemchuk’s numbers dipped?
It could be several things. Every young player has a different body and brain and develops at their own pace. It’s hard enough to reliably figure out what’s happening in the brain of a teenage male at any given moment, let alone predict what sort of player or person he’ll be in five years when his frontal lobe is fully formed.
What matters is that the Sens remain very pleased with where Yakemchuk is in his development, and perhaps, as he did last fall, he’ll be able to elevate again at the pro level. This was his fourth season with the Hitmen, and while we’re not saying this is necessarily the case here, he wouldn’t be the first teenager to return to junior hockey feeling some complacency, like he’s already proven himself at that level.
But make no mistake: while this season didn’t deliver the dominant numbers many expected, Yakemchuk’s future remains bright — and the Senators are counting on it.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News – Ottawa
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