Carter Yakemchuk is a right-shot defenceman drafted seventh overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2024, and he went into 2026-27 training camp competing for a regular NHL job. He scored a goal and added an assist in his NHL debut in March 2026, then had two assists in his first playoff game. In his draft year, he led every WHL defenceman in goals.
| Fast facts: Carter Yakemchuk | |
|---|---|
| Current team | Ottawa Senators. AHL affiliate: Belleville Senators |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Right |
| Born | 29 September 2005, Fort McMurray, Alberta |
| Height / weight | 6’3″ (191 cm) / 219 lbs, per the Senators |
| Drafted | 2024, first round, 7th overall, Ottawa Senators |
| Contract status | Three-year entry-level contract announced 6 August 2024, running through 2028-29 at a $941,667 cap hit |
| Jersey | No. 26 from 2026-27 (No. 58 in 2025-26) |
How good is Carter Yakemchuk?
Carter Yakemchuk is an offensive defenceman with a heavy right-handed shot, and Ottawa rates that shot as NHL-ready already. NHL Central Scouting had him 11th among North American skaters before the 2024 draft. When he signed his entry-level deal, general manager Steve Staios described him as “an offensively-gifted defenceman who’s competitive and who has an NHL-ready shot.”
He plays with an edge, and he models his game on Evan Bouchard. The questions are about his defending and his skating. His minus-31 in Belleville in 2025-26 was the second-worst in the AHL, and Yakemchuk has said himself that skating is the thing he most wants to improve.
Is Carter Yakemchuk NHL ready?
Going into 2026-27 training camp, the Senators think he is close. He was told at his exit meeting in spring 2026 to come to camp ready to earn a job, and NHL.com’s projected lineup for 2026-27 put him on Ottawa’s third defense pair. The Hockey News saw a straight contest with Nikolas Matinpalo for the bottom-pair spot on the right side, with Matinpalo holding the edge.
Don Boyd, Ottawa’s head amateur scout, gave the club’s view on TSN 1200: “We like what we see, we like the progression, the improvement, and the work ethic that he’s shown us to get where we think, or I do anyway, that he’s close to being a full-time player.”
Ottawa went into 2026-27 in transition: Brady Tkachuk was traded to Florida in June 2026, and the club was one of nine NHL teams without a captain at the start of September. If Yakemchuk does not make the roster, he returns to Belleville. The channels and streams for Senators games are in our guide to how to watch the NHL.
What happened in Carter Yakemchuk’s NHL debut?
He scored. With five Ottawa defencemen injured in March 2026, Yakemchuk got the call at his house in Belleville on a Monday night, drove five and a half hours to Detroit and reached the team hotel in the early hours. On Tuesday 24 March, against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena, he set up Brady Tkachuk’s power-play goal in the first period, scored with a wrist shot in the second and was named first star of a 3-2 Ottawa win, NHL.com reported. He played 12:46, with two shots and two blocked shots.
“He’s a special player. You can see that,” head coach Travis Green said. “We needed a play out of someone tonight, and he gave us that play.”
A week later, on 31 March, he left a game against Florida after an illegal check to the head from Noah Gregor and went into concussion protocol. He returned with Belleville in April and was recalled for the playoffs, making his postseason debut in Game 4 of Ottawa’s first-round series against Carolina, a 4-2 loss that completed a sweep. Our 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs guide has the series.
Both of Carter Yakemchuk’s NHL debuts, regular season and playoffs, were two-point games.
What are Carter Yakemchuk’s career stats?
Carter Yakemchuk played four seasons with the Calgary Hitmen before turning professional in 2025-26. Ottawa drafted him one pick after Utah took Tij Iginla.
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | P | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 56 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 14 |
| 2022-23 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 67 | 19 | 28 | 47 | 31 |
| 2023-24 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 66 | 30 | 41 | 71 | 120 |
| 2024-25 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 56 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 82 |
| 2025-26 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 54 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 36 |
| 2025-26 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Across four WHL seasons, he scored 70 goals and 180 points in 245 games, and he made a WHL All-Star team three years running: the Central Division second team in 2022-23, the Central first team in 2023-24, and the Eastern Conference second team in 2024-25. His 30 goals in 2023-24 led every defenceman in the league and set a Hitmen record for a defenceman, and he was named to the CHL’s Second All-Star Team. In his first professional season, he was second in scoring among AHL rookie defencemen, was named Belleville’s rookie of the year, and made the AHL Top Prospects Team.
What is Carter Yakemchuk’s salary?
Carter Yakemchuk is on a three-year entry-level contract that Ottawa announced on 6 August 2024. Because he played fewer than ten NHL games as a teenager in each of the last two seasons, the deal slid twice, and it now runs from 2026-27 through 2028-29 at a $941,667 cap hit, according to PuckPedia’s contract data. He is due to become a restricted free agent in 2029.
Who are Carter Yakemchuk’s parents?
His parents are Robin and Tammy Yakemchuk, and they made it to Detroit for his debut on short notice. Told at about 8:30 p.m. in Calgary the night before, they caught a 6 a.m. flight to Toronto and drove four hours, reaching the arena about an hour before puck drop. “It was awesome. I mean to have my family there, and (for them) to be able to watch that game was awesome,” Yakemchuk said afterward.
Where is Carter Yakemchuk from?
Carter Yakemchuk is Canadian. He was born on 29 September 2005 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, and grew up in Calgary, where his family moved when he was six.
He represented Canada at the 2023 U18 World Championship, where Canada won bronze. He was left out of Canada’s selection camp for the 2025 World Juniors, a decision Staios publicly questioned, and as a 2005-born player, he was not eligible for the tournament after that. The Senators list him at 6’3″ and 219 lbs; EliteProspects still has 6’4″.
