The Senators have a history of going off the board to draft a player they like.
That tradition hasn’t changed, it would seem, under new general manager Steve Staios.
When five of the first six picks in Friday’s NHL draft were forwards (wait, wasn’t this supposed to be the Year of the D?), Ottawa had its absolute pick of defencemen. Only the talented Artyom Levshunov, to Chicago, had been taken off the board as far as defence.
Senators fans were asking themselves — would the Sens go for slick Zayne Parekh, named the CHL’s top defenceman? Or perhaps the big kid from London who played against Parekh’s Saginaw Spirit in the Memorial Cup — Sam Dickinson.
Instead, the Senators had their eye on a big, right-shot defenceman from the WHL, Carter Yakemchuk of the Calgary Hitmen.
Though ranked several spots below Parekh and Dickinson on most pre-draft charts, Yakemchuk has so many features to his game that it isn’t hard to see why Staios and his staff were intrigued.
Take your pick:
Size? He is six-foot-three and already weighs 202 pounds. He’s 18 and turns 19 in September.
Touch? Yakemchuk scored 30 goals (setting a franchise record for D-men) and had 71 points in 66 games for the Hitmen.
Toughness? Yakemchuk had several fights this season and 120 minutes in penalties.
Watch some highlights of Yakemchuk in action and you will see a kid who doesn’t back down in his own zone and has some terrific hands at the other end, using his height and reach to deceive defenders and goaltenders.
To go with his obvious talent, Yakemchuk offers a lot of upside, the Senators believe.
“He’s a six-foot-three defenceman who not only brings offence but has got some grit to his game,” Staios said from the draft floor in Las Vegas Friday night.
“We still feel that there’s a lot of rawness to him as well. So we feel that the potential is really really high for Carter. Good character kid.”
That means that Yakemchuk may take a few years to get to the NHL, but could be an impact player when he does arrive.
Though he is claimed by Calgary, Yakemchuk and his family are from Fort McMurray in Northern Alberta and moved to Calgary when he was six. He played major junior for Calgary at age 16 and blossomed into a point-producer in year two.
Using one of the popular expressions among young hockey players, Yakemchuk said he “blacked out” when his name was called by Staios. Still, the prospect had an inkling he might be taken by Ottawa, as he explained to Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek during the draft broadcast.
“I met with them this week and I thought it went pretty well,” Yakemchuk said. “It was unbelievable to hear my name called.”
In an interview with reporters in Vegas, Yakemchuk said he was at a loss for words to express his feelings. Mostly, he wanted to thank his mother and father.
“I just wanted to give both my parents big hugs,” Yakemchuk said. “I wouldn’t be here without them.”
The fact he went ahead of some big names in the draft represented a vote of confidence from the Senators.
“It’s everything,” Yakemchuk said. “I want to go to an organization that wants me, as a player I’m really excited to go there.”
Yakemchuk describes himself as a player who takes pride in an all-around game.
“I’d say I’m a two-way defenceman that creates a lot offensively,” Yakemchuk said. “I play physical. I’m hard to play against in the D-zone.”
That physical side of his game has really emerged over the past couple of seasons. According to Yakemchuk, the WHL demands a certain heavy style and he has risen to the challenge.
To his betterment, the Hitmen have entrusted Yakemchuk as their top defenceman and he runs their power play as well as playing in all situations.
In all likelihood, Yakemchuk will return to junior this fall to continue to work on his game.
Don’t be surprised if he is playing a big role on the Canadian junior team when it participates in the world junior tournament in Ottawa this holiday season.
“That would be awesome,” Yakemchuk said. “That’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. When it’s in Canada this year, in Ottawa, that would be awesome to be a part of it.”
As a sidebar to the main story, the Senators continue to stockpile their “Chuks.”
They now have captain Brady Tkachuk, forward Zack Ostapchuk and Yakemchuk in their organization.