Ottawa Senators Top 25 Under 25, 2024 #7: Carter Yakemchuk

Last Year: N/A, Reader Rank: 7

(Editor's note: An earlier version had Yakemchuk as shooting left. This has been corrected.)

The Sens went into the 2024 draft with their highest pick since 2020, when they took Tim Stützle (3rd overall) and Jake Sanderson (5th). In fact, it was their first first-round pick at all since taking Tyler Boucher 10th in 2021, after dealing their first-rounders away in consecutive years for Alex DeBrincat and then Jakob Chychrun (deals that look fantastic in hindsight). This year, the Sens took 6'3", 203 lb defenceman Carter Yakemchuk from the Calgary Hitmen. Yakemchuk had been mostly projected to go in the 10–17 range, so taking him at 7 was a little off the board, but not a lot (I personally was surprised, though not necessarily displeased, that the Sens didn't go for 6'7" behemoth Anton Silayev). It wasn't hard to see what the Sens saw in him, in that he's big, has the scoring stats (71 points in 66 games as a defenceman in his pre-draft season!), shoots right, and played in the WHL; I do think for a number of NHL teams, the amount of data we have on success in Canadian Major Junior translating to success in the NHL makes drafting a CHL prospect more attractive.

I don't want to repeat too much information about him that's already on this site. NKB had a great summary in his pre-draft profile, and Shaan added a little more after the pick was announced. In short, he can shoot and score (30 goals and 41 assists in 66 games as a defenceman), he can hit and be mean (120 PIMs in that same span), and he can stickhandle: here's a video we've shared before of him, in the words of Elite Prospects, "dangling everyone". My extremely rigorous source of talking to family who saw him play in the WHL said that he can fly on the ice, which is great, but also is probably something he'll have to rein in in the NHL, where teams will be more likely to make a roving defenceman pay for continually pinching.

In the short term, he doesn't fit an obvious organizational need. If he's supposed to be an offensive defenceman, there's competition with Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot. If he's supposed to be physical, he's competing with Tyler Kleven. However, and critically, he shoots right, so his competition is weaker; Jensen will be 34 when the season starts, Artem Zub will be 29 in October, and then it's Jacob Bernard-Docker and Maxence Guenette in the prospect pool (or I guess Lassi Thomson if he comes back from Europe). His spot on the top pairing in three seasons is nearly already pencilled in (barring some real struggles in turning pro). Even more importantly, let's remember that, first, the Sens likely drafted based on best player available, and second, even a 7th-overall pick like Yakemchuk won't be a near-term contributor. There's a near-100% chance he's going back to junior this year, where the Sens will be hoping he tears it up even more. He'll have played 4 CHL seasons at that point, so since he's signed his ELC (Editor's Note: an earlier version said he had yet to sign his ELC), he'll likely join Belleville late in the year, provided the Hitmen don't go on a deep playoff run. The organization is probably projecting a full year in the AHL at a minimum after that. What will the Sens' organizational needs be in 2026–27? It's hard to know. What we do know is that right-handed defencemen always come at a premium. And if Yakemchuk shows himself as an NHL-level guy, it doesn't matter if anyone's in the way, he'll get his spot. He has the gifts and tools to be a real impact player.

It's an interesting side note that Yakemchuk is our highest-ranked player the same summer as his draft year since Tim Stützle, who debuted at #3 back in 2020. (Jake Sanderson debuted at #9 on the same list.) It's safe to say we're excited for a high-ceiling prospect in the organization. His high debut is partially because there aren't any blue-chip prospects left in the Sens organization; everyone ahead of him on this list is an NHL regular. But at the same time, it also shows there's a lot of excitement around him; 10th-overall pick Tyler Boucher debuted at #21 in 2021. It'll still be a couple years of waiting to likely see him get a real NHL chance, but I'm looking forward to seeing him at training camp and in some early pre-season games.

As a final treat, here's a highlight video of all his points from last season. Check out the opening goal and the one at 6:35 in particular that show off just how soft his hands can be.