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Why Carter Yakemchuk deserves an NHL roster spot with the Ottawa Senators

SenShot · Jul 22, 2026 18:00 · 3 min read

Why Carter Yakemchuk deserves an NHL roster spot with the Ottawa Senators — Sep 22, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators forward Carter Yakemchuk (58) scores the winning goal in overtime past Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Matt Murray at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

From his offensive instincts to his defensive growth, here's why Carter Yakemchuk deserves a place on the Ottawa Senators' NHL roster

The Ottawa Senators have a great dilemma, having too many right-shot defencemen available to them on their NHL roster. One of those defencemen is rookie Carter Yakemchuk. The seventh overall pick in the 2024 Draft finished his first professional season with the Belleville Senators, putting up 10 goals and 30 assists in 54 games. No one would have questioned whether or not he had the capability to continue his offensive output at the next level, but could he improve defensively? Plus/minus is a flawed stat; however, it's hard to miss his staggering minus-31. It begs the question, though: Is Yakemchuk ready to make the jump full-time to the NHL?

The two biggest knocks on Yakemchuk's game are his defensive compete and his skating. Both leave a lot to be desired; however, the 6-foot-4 defenceman is working with skating coach Shelley Kettles to get it to the next level. On the defensive side, there has been an internal push to ensure he's improving. When he was drafted, former Senator Wade Redden was tasked with checking in with Yakemchuk consistently on his game. Belleville head coach Andrew Campbell also believes he's made "huge strides over the course of the year" in his defensive game. Ultimately, Belleville was a team that lost a lot of games last year, finishing last in its division with a minus-39 goal differential.

Yakemchuk's game also brings the physical edge that old-school fans yearn for: hard-hitting physicality with questionable penalties that gets people out of their seats. With 120 penalty minutes in 2023-24 and 82 in 2024-25, Yakemchuk knows when to mix in the physicality, and coach Campbell attributes that to his "hate to lose" attitude. With Tyler Kleven also on the back end, having both of those guys put up 100-plus hits a season would make opposing offences a bit more hesitant in the Senators' defensive zone.

Where Yakemchuk struggles and continues to improve his defensive game, his offensive game is already at an elite level. The year he was drafted, he had 30 goals and 71 points on the season. In the following season, he committed to stronger defence, "only" scoring 17 goals and 49 points, but he improved dramatically on the defensive side. Senators fans even got a taste of how NHL-ready his offense is back in the 2024 preseason when he went end-to-end against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In his NHL debut last season, Yakemchuk had two points. One of them was a slick between-the-legs backhand pass to set up a Senators goal, and the second was a snipe from the point. The important thing to remember about both of those plays is that a rookie made them. Generally, rookies want to make the fewest mistakes and take the fewest risks, but not Yakemchuk. As he's pressured at the point, he knows Tim Stützle is hovering at the opposite point, and he has a lane: one that goes between his skates.

On the other play, he gets the puck at the right-side blue line with a 15-foot gap between him and the defender, fakes the shot, skates further in, uses the defender as a screen, and snipes it past goalie John Gibson.

The poise that he showed as a rookie defenceman in his first game, during an intense, pressure-filled playoff race, shows Yakemchuk is ready. Yakemchuk also got playoff experience against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, recording two assists in a losing effort. He moves the puck effortlessly and adds a ton of offensive upside from the back end, which is already highlighted by Jake Sanderson. It's hard to think Yakemchuk will get into Game 1 over Nikolas Matinpalo, but he will definitely get the opportunity to play early in the season.