Ottawa Senators Select Carter Yakemchuk With 7th Pick in 2024 NHL Entry Draft

With a plethora of talented defensemen available to be had with the 7th pick of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the Ottawa Senators selected one such player – Carter Yakemchuk of the Calgary Hitmen, a 6'3, 190 lb right-shot defender. That's 3 'Chuks (and a 'Chouk) on the Sens, for those keeping track.

This past season with the Hitmen, Yakemchuk scored 30 goals and 71 points in 66 games, which ranked second on a pretty bad WHL squad that missed the playoffs this past season.

Part of his draw as a large, skilled defenseman is his willingness to (successfully, I might add!) challenge opposing defenders one-on-one, and dangle past them in slick fashion. That said, his approach to defense can be overly aggressive, leading to throwing hits out of position and allowing opposing zone entries. If he can iron out these tendencies and translate his offense to the NHL, we could see quite the partnership with fellow Top-10 pick Jake Sanderson.

Yakemchuk was one of the defensemen profiled by nkb a few weeks back – for a refresher on what he brings to the table, head over here.

Welcome to Ottawa, Carter!