The Buffalo Sabres have a lot to consider when it comes to the 11th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Do they take the best player available and add to their formidable prospect pool or package the pick in the hopes of making an immediate impact on the current roster?
Assuming the Sabres stand pat and go with the best pick available, who would that be? What kind of prospect can they expect to land? One of the names that could potentially be available with the 11th overall pick is physically-impressive defenseman Carter Yakemchuk.
Assessing Yakemchuk’s Strengths
Yakemchuk is one of the most interesting prospects in the entire draft. Though he is projected to fall somewhere into the 8-12 range, he has serious star potential. If he achieves his massive potential, he could be a major minutes-eater with serious offensive upside.
Related: The Sabres’ Problem With the 11th Pick in the 2024 NHL Draft
The first thing that jumps out about Yakemchuk is his size and physicality. At 6-foot-3, he makes good use of his reach and shows a bit of a mean streak along the boards. The Sabres could definitely use that kind of physical edge, especially on the back end.
Yakemchuk also has fantastic puck skills. He protects the puck well and moves through traffic consistently. His shot from the point is heavy and accurate, something that could become a major point of value on the power play. Though he isn’t the most agile skater, he moves well and shows tenacity at both ends of the ice that isn’t tangible but is definitely noticeable.
What Can Yakemchuk Work On?
As stated in the area surrounding his strengths, Yakemchuk isn’t the best skater. His mobility is fine, but he could perhaps work on his explosiveness and transitional skating. Part of that would benefit from better decision-making abilities.
The biggest criticism of Yakemchuk is his decision-making. If he is going to be a focal point and play a ton of minutes, he can’t be making simple mistakes and put himself out of position. Last season with the Calgary Hitmen saw him try a bit too hard to be a driving offensive force, which led to more mistakes than may have otherwise occurred.
He is the kind of player that will likely benefit from at least one more year at the junior level. He might have the highest offensive potential of all defensemen in the draft, but he has to clean up his defensive mistakes if he wants to be on the ice consistently at the NHL level.
Where Does Yakemchuk Fit?
The Sabres have a ton of talent on the blue line. They could use the 11th overall pick on a player like Berkly Catton or Cole Eiserman, and it would be a fine decision. That said, Yakemchuk could be one of the steals of the draft should he fall to Buffalo.
He’s got very good size and is a coveted right-hand-shooting defenseman. Given that Bowen Byram, Owen Power, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Ryan Johnson (most notably) are all left-handed, having a right-handed defenseman would be a nice change.
Yakemchuk’s physicality would be a huge benefit to the defense as well. He battles at a level that few defensemen currently in Buffalo can and has the ability to be the intimidating presence the Sabres need. If he can live up to his huge offensive potential, he would be another dangerous piece for a Sabres power play that has all the talent in the world.
Projecting Yakemchuk’s Career in Buffalo
Perhaps the best thing about taking Yakemchuk is that the Sabres wouldn’t need to rush him. He could develop at a comfortable pace, working on those defensive inconsistencies, playing at least another year in junior before they gave any consideration to his being a regular presence in the lineup.
Long-term, he would provide a nice counter to what Dahlin, Power, and Byram bring to the table. With a big, heavy shot from the point and a nasty streak in his own zone, Yakemchuk could settle into a top-four role where he doesn’t have to be the man but could apply his best traits against the middle of opposing lineups.
With the right development, Yakemchuk could develop into an upper-echelon defenseman in the NHL. The Sabres definitely need an influx of physicality and offense that he can bring to the table. Landing him with the 11th pick would be a major win for the franchise.
