Carter Yakemchuk : In-Depth Scouting Report

Carter Yakemchuk is a 6’3 right-handed defenseman playing for the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL. He is what we could call a ‘Throwback’ reminiscent of the typical physical player of an ancient era. In full disclosure, he is the player who has seen the biggest rise on my list over the course of the year (if I exclude players who made a later appearance). Some improvements were observed, but mainly, it is because I gave too much weight to certain errors, which in the end, didn’t repeat themselves with a frequency high-enough justifying a more severe position towards him.

Yakemchuk set a Hitmen franchise record with 30 goals this season. To reach such a mark, it will come as no surprise to learn that the Canadian defenseman has an absolute cannon of a shot. His slap shot is very powerful and his team’s offensive schemes are definitely geared to feed him. He’s the ‘Trigger-Man’ on the powerplay. His wrist shot also has a lot of velocity. His shots are threatening even from the blue line.

From a technical point of view, it is very interesting to note that Yakemchuk is very skilled at changing his shot angles, showing soft hands. He takes advantage of the fact that his opponents fear his shot to cleverly delay it just enough for an opening to open up to him. It is far from being a common practice among defensemen to manage to change the angles of their shots this way.

This demonstrates intelligence and offensive instincts on an individual basis, but Yakemchuk has a heightened understanding of opposing defensive systems and he manages to turn that to his advantage. His offensive instincts are very good as we regularly see him exploit holes in the opposing coverage by advancing into the slot or low in the offensive zone. Personally, what I like the most is that you can tangibly see Yakemchuk wanting to be the one to put the puck in the net. He wants to be the one who will make the difference.

As said earlier, although the Hitmen’s offensive strategies are designed to feed Yakemchuk, the latter proves to be a good puck distributor.

Once again, I will refer to his offensive instincts as he demonstrates the vision necessary to spot passing lanes that are only accessible if he eliminates a variable at first. These passing lanes lead to excellent scoring chances when they are opened up following a clever move by Yakemchuk. When comparing Yakemchuk to the other defensemen in this draft described as ‘Two-Way’, I didn’t see in them the ability to spot those plays that appear hidden at first glance. I also doubt these defensemen can execute these plays.

The Alberta native also demonstrates ease in feeding his teammates which is equal on both sides, not falling into the trap of demonstrating too strong of a tendency in his game which can become predictable. His execution can be very quick on both sides.

Listed at 6’3 and 194 lbs, Carter Yakemchuk is one of the most physically mature players in the entire draft (he is also one of the oldest having been born on September 29). This is evident as he is one of the most physical players this cohort has to offer.

He distributes very solid checks, especially along the boards.

It would also be important to warn his opponents not to challenge him too much during skirmishes since he has a fairly short fuse! Several players this season probably had to reconsider their actions subsequently because Yakemchuk’s response was fierce.

Yakemchuk has also been involved in several fights during the calendar. It’s very rare to see a player projected this high for the draft drop the gloves.

In the physical aspect, the only thing we can blame him for is that he sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him, leaving his position to go and hit a player.

At the start of the season, I was harsher on him for a few blunders, which, in the end, only turned out to be occasional; inaccurate breakout passes, leaving too much space on the outside for an opponent or lying down prematurely on the ice to cut off a pass.

What worried me the most was Yakemchuk’s foot speed. Some movements in smaller spaces seemed difficult. He also tended to stop moving his feet when in possession of the disc, preventing him from creating the necessary separation.

On the other hand, when he gets moving, Yakemchuk deploys enough power in his strides. It is often more difficult to appreciate the speed of big players since their stride frequency is lower, but Yakemchuk moves well on the ice and there is nothing to worry about.

The only criticism I had on Yakemchuk that has persisted all season is that he is responsible for a lot of puck losses while attempting plays. Strangely, it’s not that Yakemchuk doesn’t have good hands. This was also mentioned previously when talking about his ability to change his shooting angles and to set-up plays for his teammates. The problem is that he thinks his hands are much better than they actually are. Although it bothers me a little, I can understand the plays he’s trying and they serve a purpose. A lack of intelligence is not involved in these attempts.

But in the end, the main task of a defenseman is to defend and Yakemchuk has qualities in his game that make him a player who can earn the trust of his coach.

I particularly like how he closes the lane giving access to his goalkeeper during counterattacks from the opposing team. He prevents his opponents from presenting themselves in dangerous areas to take a rebound, or even to disturb the goalkeeper.

Without the puck, however, his greatest quality remains the number of plays he manages to break. Thanks to a good vision of the game and good anticipation, Yakemchuk interrupts several plays from his opponents by cutting passing lines at the last minute. His positioning on the ice is never an issue, which helps him in this aspect. He also has a good stick defensively.

What’s interesting is that he breaks plays in all three zones. In the neutral zone too, but especially in the offensive zone where his audacity allows him to prevent breakout and thus extend his club’s offensive sequence.

These reasons are enough to make Yakemchuk a highly coveted defender by NHL teams, but to make it all better, he also does great breakout passes.

Personally, I see Yakemchuk as being the most balanced defenseman in this draft. The one where his offensive as well as defensive qualities are at high levels. Parekh and Buium have deficiencies in their defensive play (some of them significant) and Silayev, Dickinson and Levshunov do not have the offensive qualities of Yakemchuk.

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