Now That Everyone Is Healthy, Where Does Carter Yakemchuk Fit?

Now that the Senators' blue line has returned to relative health, the ultimate question has to be answered.

Where does Carter Yakemchuk fit on the depth chart?

Up until this road trip, there has always been at least one key component of the Senators' top four out of the lineup, so with Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub and Thomas Chabot all back in the fold, it's forced the Sens to answer.

Travis Green's answer appears to be this: Yakemchuk is still outside the top six.

The Senators' 6-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night represented the third straight game that Yakemchuk has been sitting, and barring injury, there's no telling when he will get back in.

Without getting too far into the debate over whether Yakemchuk sitting makes sense from a performance standpoint, the analytics support the decision, given that he was playing third-pair minutes.

Yakemchuk's value on the blue line was always going to be his offensive upside, which would ultimately compensate for any defensive miscues.

When you're playing on the third pairing and second power-play unit, the offensive opportunities are going to suffer, and without those, the defensive lapses tend to stand out more.

That isn't the player he was drafted to be.

In hindsight, some questionable asset management led to this situation. Yakemchuk being waiver-exempt on his entry-level contract should have made him the choice to return to Belleville, while Cameron Crotty could have continued to be the seventh defenceman.

Instead, the Senators lost a depth player, and Yakemchuk is watching when he should be playing.

General managers and coaches often butt heads on this type of decision. Both want to win. Coaches don't care who gets the credit. They just want the best lineup every night. Managers don't just want to win. They want their draft picks and trades making the difference whenever possible.

Right now, Jordan Spence is the only defenceman on the roster that Steve Staios brought into the fold. In terms of putting his stamp on the team, he clearly thought Yakemchuk would be ready by now, and in other lineups, he might be.

There is no shame in a 21-year-old defenceman being the odd man out on a team like the Senators. It isn't to suggest that Nikolas Matinpalo is going to be a better player long-term than Yakemchuk. He is simply better suited to the minutes in question.

Pundits will point to Zayne Parekh, Sam Dickinson and Zeev Buium as players who are playing regularly in the league after being drafted behind him. This is true. However, none of them are lighting it up, and the defence corps they're breaking into don't boast a top four like the Senators'.

Even Artyom Levshunov, who went second overall in 2024, is not in nearly as much of a dogfight for a spot in the lineup in Chicago, and his numbers are modest.

So why has Yakemchuk been languishing in the press box rather than playing top-pairing minutes in Belleville?

Obviously, you can't undo the loss of Crotty. However, there are defencemen in Belleville who can do what Yakemchuk is doing right now, though none of them have his offensive instincts and upside.

Is this a question of pride? If it is, as the saying goes, pride precedes the fall, whether it be the player's or the GM's.

Like it or not, Yakemchuk has not earned Travis Green's trust in a third-pairing role. His defensive-zone starts were already being limited whenever possible.

The third pairing was never where he was intended to play. The idea that he will play his way up the lineup is foolhardy. The top four is just too good.

This kid needs reps, and every game he watches risks being a blow to his confidence. If he stays with the Senators as a third-pairing defenceman, then choosing him at No. 7 in 2024 was a mistake. If you groom him to be a top-four defenceman, that's the only way he will become one.

There will always be another injury, and the Senators have opportunities to recall him from Belleville when needed. Use them.

Develop this kid properly, and he may actually become what was intended.

By Pat Maguire 
The Hockey News Ottawa