Yahoo Sports All Is Calm, All Is Bright: Despite His Exclusion From Team Canada, Carter Yakemchuk Will Be Just Fine
When the Ottawa Senators selected Carter Yakemchuk seventh overall at the 2024 NHL Draft, many thought it was a bit of a stretch. He was among a group of six defencemen assumed to go in the top 15, but most draft experts had him slotted lower than seventh.
As the Senators' nine-game road trip passed through Calgary this week, Yakemchuk had a chance to visit the Saddledome on Thursday morning and reacquaint himself with some of his preseason teammates and the club's management types.
Carter Yakemchuk saying hi to the #Sens players and staff prior to tonight's game: #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/rzdPTsbt4Q
— Pesky Sickos (@PeskySickos) December 20, 2024
Much of the recent discussion around Yakemchuk has been on his unexpected exclusion from Canada’s World Junior team, so we may have forgotten about how he stole the show during the NHL preseason with point-per-game production over a seven-game run.
It’s hard to say what criteria Hockey Canada officials use to select the most qualified U-20 players for the annual best-on-best tournament, but draft pedigree doesn’t seem to weigh too heavily. Of the seven Canadian players taken in the top 10 of the 2024 NHL draft only one (Berkly Catton ) was chosen for this year’s team. Presumably, Macklin Celebrini would have made the cut as well but he has more pressing priorities these days.
We do know that none of the Canadian defencemen that will patrol the blue line for this year’s WJC team had an impact during training camp or preseason with their NHL affiliated clubs this year – at least not anything close to Yakemchuk's performance.
As with previous year’s WJC teams, several of the players representing Canada this year will struggle to find their footing in the NHL or not make it at all. The skillsets that make players successful at the junior level do not always translate seamlessly to professional men’s leagues.
Despite the obvious talent, big, offensively-oriented defensemen such as Yakemchuk may be deemed by Hockey Canada to be risky picks in a short tournament with a single game elimination playoff format. But as we know, the NHL’s 82-game grind and four-round playoff structure is a much different animal.
So if you are fully invested in this year’s two week WJC event, go ahead and be disappointed by the lack of Yak.
If your broader focus is on what he can bring to the table for the Ottawa Senators over the next 10-15 years, relative to the other Canadian defensemen selected for this year’s WJC team, don’t worry.
The early returns on the Carter Yakemchuk pick look good.
Related articles at The Hockey News Ottawa:
Related: Final Cuts: Ottawa Senators Send Top Prospect Carter Yakemchuk Back to Junior
Related: Former Ottawa Senator Returns To The Ice Following Heart Surgery
