Carter Yakemchuk Could Force Ottawa Into a Very Good Problem

There is something a little strange about Carter Yakemchuk’s situation in Ottawa. Here is a 20-year-old defenseman who just put up 40 points in 54 AHL games. He is big, he can shoot the puck, and there is enough offensive ability in his game to make you wonder how much upside is still sitting there. Normally, that is the kind of prospect a team is trying desperately to find room for.

But Ottawa may have the opposite problem. The Senators don't necessarily need Yakemchuk to be an NHL defenseman right now. Artem Zub is established. Jordan Spence was brought in to be part of the top four. Jake Sanderson is already the guy running the first power play. On paper, Ottawa has built a pretty good group in front of Yakemchuk.

And that could actually be a good thing. I think we sometimes look at a young player sitting on the outside of an NHL lineup and automatically assume something has gone wrong. Maybe he isn't ready. Maybe the organization doesn't believe in him. Maybe he has fallen behind another prospect.

But there is another possibility. Maybe the organization has simply done a good enough job that it doesn't have to rush him.

Yakemchuk’s problem might actually be a good one.

That's an interesting position for Yakemchuk. He can continue to develop without being thrown into 20-plus minutes a night against the best players in the league. He can make mistakes. He can work on the defensive side of his game. And if his offensive game continues to develop, the Senators can eventually give him more responsibility when he has earned it.

The catch, of course, is that development still requires opportunity. Yakemchuk isn't going to be the quarterback on Ottawa's first power-play unit. Sanderson has that job. He may not even start the season as the team's second right-shot defenseman. So even if Yakemchuk is good enough to play in the NHL, he may not get the kind of minutes or offensive opportunities that would allow everyone else to see just how good he can become.

If Yakemchuk keeps improving, the Senators will have to find a bigger role for him.

Sometimes a prospect is blocked because a team doesn't believe in him. Sometimes he is blocked because the team has done exactly what it was supposed to do. My guess is that Yakemchuk's challenge will be the second one.

Eventually, though, the player gets a say. If Yakemchuk keeps producing and keeps improving, Ottawa may eventually have to find him a bigger role. That's when being blocked becomes something very different. It becomes a problem the Senators are going to be happy to have.