St. Louis Blues 2024 NHL Draft Profile 1.0 involves an imposing blueliner
The St. Louis Blues are lucky to fall into a draft stacked with blueliners, and one in particular stands out over all the others.
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.
What are the best attributes of Carter Yakemchuk’s game?
If you’re in the cohort of fans labeling the Blues current lineup as “boring,” you at least won’t be saying the same about their prospect pool if Yakemchuk becomes part of the organization. Entertaining is an understatement here, so perhaps electrifying is the best adjective to use regarding Yakemchuk’s game.
When you watch his shot, you’ll see why I’m labeling some aspects of his offensive game as such. He can easily sneak the puck past an opposing goaltender from the point or the blue line, and it’s zooming by opponents before they can even set themselves up to get in front of the shot.
Yakemchuk also has more than one technique in his playbook, as his ability to adequately time his shot with a drag-release will also throw off opponents and opposing goaltenders. It also doesn’t matter if a shooting lane is closing; Yakemchuk will find a way to not just time the shot well, but will also fit it through the narrowest spaces.
It’s either coming off of his stick quickly from the point, behind the circle, or just in front of the blue line, or he’s waiting, waiting, waiting, and bam, the puck’s off his stick, and everyone on the other team knows there’s no hope in stopping it.
His puck control is also special, and it’s like he’s got a magnet in his stick at times, thanks to the way he dekes out opponents, and the puck either sticks to or momentarily leaves his stick before it’s once again seemingly connected to it before he gets off a shot.
Other times, there’s nothing supposedly magnetic about it, and the puck’s bouncing off an opponent’s skates before it lands back on his stick. The key takeaway is the sheer variety Yakemchuk possesses for something like puck control.
Other strong attributes Carter Yakemchuk brings
It’s common to see skating as a work-in-progress among larger defensemen, and Carter Yakemchuk’s isn’t great by any means, given his slow acceleration. Top speed is there, so I’m labeling his skating as decent, but with the potential to evolve over the next few seasons.
Agility and edgework are other reasons his skating isn’t bad, as he can fake out opponents with relative ease, especially when he hits top speed. He can evade others with relative ease, so while his 6’3 frame helps, it’s not all about keeping the puck out of an opponent’s reach using only his length.
By now, you probably have a hunch that Carter Yakemchuk possesses some outstanding stickhandling, something implied above and in the previous section. That stickhandling also bolsters another aspect of his offensive game - passing. It’s one reason why he’s so comfortable skating toward opponents with the puck, drawing them in and leaving him with several open teammates deep in the offensive zone as the below video courtesy of NHL Draft Pros points out.
Passing is another strong attribute for the most part
The same goes when he’s one-on-one against an opponent with a high compete level. Yakemchuk doesn’t panic in these situations, trusting his stickhandling ability, keeping his head up the entire time, and creating enough space to allow for a teammate to get open. And he’s able to make all the passes in these situations, whether it’s an eventual drop-pass or a backhand; there’s no limitations to what Yakemchuk offers, even under pressure.
That said, he will sometimes panic under pressure and make a desperation move, leading to an easy turnover. If an opponent skates in out of nowhere and Yakemchuk has the puck, he’s prone to making some ill-fated decisions with it in an attempt to make something happen.
But there are other times when he will take on an opponent, and simply deke his way into some open ice and freeze them, giving him the option to either shoot or dish the puck to an open forward and let them fire the puck into twine.
What does Carter Yakemchuk’s defensive play look like?
As a blueliner, Carter Yakemchuk must possess sound defense, or else he may as well convert to winger, right? Well, if you thought he was a physical player with his sheer size, you guessed correctly. Yakemchuk isn’t afraid to engage in puck battles along the boards, and he’s not giving up until an opponent finds a way to pass the puck into an open area of the ice, but if it isn’t there, he’ll just take it and give his team a chance offensively.
Put it this way, the last thing an opponent wants to do when they’re in control of the puck is to try and take it along the boards when Yakemchuk is nearby. It won’t end well for them as he will, at the absolute least, pin them against the boards and make sure the puck’s up for grabs. What’s even scarier is that Yakemchuk can also do the same in open ice.
He’s competitive, there’s no doubt there, but he can be over-competitive at times and deliver unnecessary hits. When one is over-competitive, it also means an opponent can draw them in early, and Yakemchuk is prone to that, which will cause an odd-man rush to develop.
Both the unnecessary hits that lead to penalties and biting too much when his team isn’t in possession of the puck are two major areas of concern, so he needs to improve them to further balance out his game.
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