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Senators Make Decision on Carter Yakemchuk

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Carter Yakemchuk's brilliant preseason was not enough to have him stick at the NHL level to start the regular season. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

The Senators announced that Carter Yakemchuk will be sent back down to the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL. After a stellar preseason that saw Yakemchuk score two goals and seven points in four games, many felt he had earned the chance to start the season at the NHL level. Instead, it’s back to junior hockey. Let’s dive in and make sense of this choice.



READ MORE: The Senators Path Back to the Playoffs

Defensive Group was Already Penciled In

Given that Yakemchuk’s phenomenal preseason did earn him a roster spot, it seems as though the Senators already had their group of seven defensemen locked in. Here’s the group they’ll be going with to start the regular season:

  • Sanderson, Chabot, Zub, Jensen, Bernard-Docker, Hamonic, Kleven

That is six players on one way deals, plus Tyler Kleven. The first four guys mentioned above were obvious locks. It’s understandable that the Senators did not want to waive Hamonic or Bernard-Docker. They held those guys to some value and did not want to risk losing them when there was no guarantee that Yakemchuk would play more than a handful of games at the NHL level this season. As for Kleven, he had the advantage of being a left-shot. Hamonic, Bernard-Docker and Yakemchuk play on the right side, so Kleven had essentially earned his spot the moment the Senators let Brannstrom walk and traded away Jakob Chychrun. This reasoning is by no means ridiculous, but it does leave me feeling a little frustrated.

 Yakemchuk’s Dominance Earned Him Regular Season Action

I never thought Yakemchuk would spend the entire season in the NHL. I also don’t think the decision to send him down to the WHL is an egregious mistake that will hurt his development. It always made sense for Yakemchuk to spend this year primarily playing junior hockey. It’s rare for any player that was just drafted to stick around at the NHL level, let alone a defenseman. So my complaint isn’t one that has me pounding the table and throwing my chair across the room.

I just feel like Travis Green pushed these guys hard in camp. His mentality was seemingly to have the team one hundred percent ready for the start of the regular season. He wanted to weed out the weak and have the best possible roster come opening night. So, shouldn’t Yakemchuk’s preseason play have earned him a few games at the NHL level? He led defensemen league wide in scoring and led the Senators in scoring, too.

If it was up to me, I would have given Yakemchuk a few NHL games, and if he handles them well, let him work his way to nine games before sending him down. There’s something to be said about rewarding great play, while also letting the other depth defensemen know that they didn’t do enough to hold the kid off, so they better show themselves well to start the season. Again, not a massive blunder by the Sens, but Yakemchuk earned some regular season games.

Up Next For Yakemchuk

Yakemchuk will head to the Calgary Hitmen for his fourth season there. He’ll do everything for that team, eating up big minutes in all situations. Calgary has been a mediocre team during his time there, so there is a chance that he’s dealt to a contender if the Hitmen don’t find success early on this year. Then of course, there’s the World Junior Tournament. That’s slated to take place in Ottawa at the start of January. There’s a strong likelihood of Yakemchuk being on that team. Hopefully, Yakemchuk continues to progress with his defensive play while still playing with the offensive instincts and creativity that made him such a success this preseason.

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