St. Louis Blues 2024 NHL Draft Profile 1.0 involves an imposing blueliner

Blueliners are needed in the St. Louis Blues organization; that is a fact. One reason is that the big club’s probable top-four for 2024-25 are currently between 31 and 33 years of age. So, someone with NHL-ready size would make for a massive boost for the entire organization, and NHL Draft Profile 1.0 covers a player built in that mold: Carter Yakemchuk. 

As of June 6th, Tankathon’s Mock Draft has Yakemchuk going 14th overall to the San Jose Sharks, but it puts him in a decent range to potentially fall to the Blues at 16th overall. Since Yakemchuk has the potential to be a high-scoring two-way player, he should more than find himself on general manager Doug Armstrong’s radar, and he would be a smart, safe pick if selected at No. 16. 

If you don’t know Yakemchuk, let’s conduct a deep dive into what makes him such a great player and why he would be so intriguing to the Blues, starting with some basic background information. 

Who is Carter Yakemchuk?

Carter Yakemchuk is one of the older 18-year-old prospects in this class, as he will turn 19 in September, meaning he will be eligible to play in the AHL full-time in 2025-26. But you can argue Yakemchuk is at least AHL-ready at the moment, given his productivity this past season when he landed 30 goals and 41 assists in 66 regular season games for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. 

While that was quite the jump, it wasn’t like Yakemchuk’s 2022-23 season was by any means a far cry from what he accomplished on the ice this past season. That year, he put up 19 goals and 28 assists, good for 47 points, and we know it set the stage for that epic 2023-24 campaign. 

Yakemchuk is also 6’3, 194 lbs, so the size is also there, but by the time he’s done growing, it’s likely he’ll stand at least 6’4, and roughly 210 pounds minimum, so there’s still room for growth. Anyway, enough about the basic stats and size; let’s talk about what makes Yakemchuk’s game so special.