Article: Defense Prospect Carter Yakemchuk Seems Too Good To Be True For Wild

[Tony Abbott]

View full article

[Citizen Strife]

That's the thing with taking 13.  There's going to be something on offer that can have upside.  Yakemchuk blasted that guy, and that is fun, crowd pleasing, and tide turning sort of stuff.  Even if he goes higher, that still leaves someone else to be taken with hopeful upside.

Cue Russo saying "great players all around, and yet the Wild pick right after that is the most Minnesota thing of all."

Tell that to Montreal, getting a Suzuki at #13.  You just never know what a draft pick is gonna be.  I'd be thrilled if it's Yakemchuk there at that spot.

[Tony Abbott]

They'd have to trade down to get locked out of a great prospect. I'd say the list of guys the Wild would pick that would get an automatic, "Great pick, no notes, let's go" grade for me are:

Celebrini (obv not happening)
Buium
Catton
Demidov
Dickinson
Eiserman
Helenius
Iginla
Levshunov
Lindstrom
Parekh
Silyayev
Yakemchuk

I could talk myself into a few more players at 13, but there are more no-brainer types than there are spots ahead of the Wild.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

37 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

Tell that to Montreal, getting a Suzuki at #13.  You just never know what a draft pick is gonna be.  I'd be thrilled if it's Yakemchuk there at that spot.

Looks like Vegas selected Suzuki in 2017, trading him the following year for Max Pacioretty, but still good value in his draft slot at #13.

Montreal received Tomas Tater, who scored well for them, and a 2nd round pick with Suzuki, so that seems like a good deal for both parties, at least prior to Pacioretty suffering injuries and falling off.

[Citizen Strife]

Every time I see Tatar's name, I'm thinking of tater tots and tartar sauce, and now I'm hungry again...

Wonder if he ever got a local sponsorship deal for either of those.

Edited June 5 by Citizen Strife

[mnfaninnc]

Obviously, I'm rooting for Lindstrom or Silayev. I could not be disappointed with Yakemchuk. 

 

[mnfaninnc]

Does Shooter take control of the 1st round again?

Quote

Yakemchuk simply ticks too many boxes for the Wild for them to pass on him in that No. 13 slot.

There are boxes, and then there are boxes. One of the boxes on Brackett's card is skating ability. This is why I worry we could pass over him for some elite skating Euro player who's between 5'11" and 6'2". 

And then we all go "huh?" Scratch our heads, and carry ourselves with hung heads off to bed. I don't know about you guys, but when I heard Charlie Stramel's name on the tv, well, that's about how it went for me. (I did read up on him later and got a little more excited, but his WI seasons haven't been encouraging)

Speaking of Stramel, I really hope he is getting some mental health therapy this summer. Getting his head right will be a good step for him having a good year.

[Protec]

Yeah, it looks like a tough call for Calgary who could take either Yakemchuk or Iginla perhaps. Should be interesting to see how it plays out. 

I would be happy if MN got Yakemchuk but like Tony said, a few pretty good options should be there. I prefer the NA guys. If Helenuis and the Russians are gone, that pretty much leaves NA guys in the BPA spot for MN. Yakemchuk would be a great selection if it worked out. Seems unlikely cause if we want it = won't happen, MN-thing...

[B1GKappa97]

I've been banging the Yakemchuk drum all season! He'd be a huge get for this team! That said... given how well he did, and his ideal size, I really can't see him lasting until #13. The NHL is all about overdrafting guys with his size profile, so he's probably going in the top-10 if I had to guess. Calgary is likely his floor. 

Just based on that size trend, I think we should expect to get either Helenius or possibly Iginla, who's been a relatively late riser. Didn't really see him cement himself in the top-12 until later in the pre-draft process. 

The only way that changes is if the Sabres, Devils or Flyers decide they like a winger like Sennecke, who's also rising lately, and/or MBN. And then there's an outside chance maybe a Zayne Parekh makes it to #13 for us. Which would be just as exciting. Pronman put out a mock with this scenario happening. 

He also had Eiserman falling to #17. Honestly, I think, given his lack of established two-way game, he's the most likely top-10 talent that could drop to us at #13. Have we done an article on him yet? I think a top-6 sniper would be a huge get for the Wild as well, provided they can help him develop into a two-way player. 

[B1GKappa97]

18 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

That's the thing with taking 13.  There's going to be something on offer that can have upside.  Yakemchuk blasted that guy, and that is fun, crowd pleasing, and tide turning sort of stuff.  Even if he goes higher, that still leaves someone else to be taken with hopeful upside.

Cue Russo saying "great players all around, and yet the Wild pick right after that is the most Minnesota thing of all."

I mean if he was basing that off of an early season comment from scouts, then he wouldn't be too far off. There is definitely a cutoff around #14 where you start to drop from the 'top-6 forward'/'top-pair defenseman' quality to more 'middle-6'/'top-4 defenseman' prospects. 

There has been some movement on the prospect front since then though. Now granted NHL drafts are usually pretty crazy (case in point, Marco Kasper being a 20-ish rated prospect going in the top-10 to Detroit just 'cause he was bigger, or Detroit passing on Wallstedt for the bigger Cossa) so its tough to really predict where guys will go... but I think that we can get somebody at #13 that'll excite the fanbase either way.

I had hope it would be one of those 6 defensemen regarded as being a 'top-pair' guy, but unless multiple teams really go against the grain with some of the bigger forwards, I doubt that happens for us. 

Our best shot is likely hoping that the Russian factor keeps teams from drafting Silyayev. I think he's most likely to be there at #13 for those top-pair potential D.

Edited June 6 by B1GKappa97

[Protec]

29 minutes ago, B1GKappa97 said:

I mean if he was basing that off of an early season comment from scouts, then he wouldn't be too far off. There is definitely a cutoff around #14 where you start to drop from the 'top-6 forward'/'top-pair defenseman' quality to more 'middle-6'/'top-4 defenseman' prospects. 

There has been some movement on the prospect front since then though. Now granted NHL drafts are usually pretty crazy (case in point, Marco Kasper being a 20-ish rated prospect going in the top-10 to Detroit just 'cause he was bigger, or Detroit passing on Wallstedt for the bigger Cossa) so its tough to really predict where guys will go... but I think that we can get somebody at #13 that'll excite the fanbase either way.

I had hope it would be one of those 6 defensemen regarded as being a 'top-pair' guy, but unless multiple teams really go against the grain with some of the bigger forwards, I doubt that happens for us. 

Our best shot is likely hoping that the Russian factor keeps teams from drafting Silyayev. I think he's most likely to be there at #13 for those top-pair potential D.

They’re beginning to say Helenuis is NHL ready. I think he goes before Iginla. I am glad there are gonna be good players available. I hope a team goes off the board somewhat or the breaks allow the Wild to get a quality big defenseman. I like to see where teams evaluate players or whether they go for position. Eiserman’s numbers are pretty solid. Catton too, but will teams in the top 10 appreciate that or draft all the defenseman? 
 

You could guess Yakemchuck is safer pick than Silayev, Canada vs. Russian factor. You could begin to guess what teams might do based on their needs but it seems like smart GMs do BPA so it’s impossible to know how their lists have the players ranked. 
 

My gut tells me, Catton, Iginla, maybe Eiserman are there when the Wild are up. Especially if teams go for all the top defensemen.

[Citizen Strife]

Drafts are weird

Stramel is one thing, later in the 1st round, but Michael Penix at 8, after signing Cousins to some insane contract?  GMs do weird ass things sometimes, in all sports.  If players like Stolberg (who could still just be a mid 2nd despite all the recent buzz) and Pulkkinen are there, you can get sizeable dmen if that is a forced situation.  Pulkkinen is likely in that 40-45 range, but it's not some crime if they don't.

The thing is, the NHL would be flooded with All Eks, Reaves, and Charas if size was all that mattered.  There's going to be skill at play, whether the Wild force their way up or down the board.  Yakemchuk at least has some scoring potential AND size...but I'm not going to cry if he's gone.

Edited June 6 by Citizen Strife

[Pewterschmidt]

2 hours ago, Protec said:

I think he goes before Iginla

If Calgary passes on Iginla I’ll eat mnfan’s weight belt.  Won’t happen.  Even if he’s a bust the jersey sales alone will make it worth their while

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Having 2 picks in the top 50 could yield some nice prospects.

If they go forward in round 1, they could possibly get Chaska's Adam Kleber at pick #45, who is a 6'5" RD weighing in at over 200 lbs.  Harrison Brunicke would be another option. He's over 6'2" and around 185 lbs right now, but you'd expect him up around 200+ as he matures to become NHL ready, as as a RD option.

[mnfaninnc]

29 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

If Calgary passes on Iginla I’ll eat mnfan’s weight belt.

That weight belt is pretty stinky. Kind of like a combination of bad fish, cheese that's gone rancid and feet. 😁

[mnfaninnc]

30 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

If they go forward in round 1, they could possibly get Chaska's Adam Kleber at pick #45, who is a 6'5" RD weighing in at over 200 lbs.

I have to assume that if Kleber is in our backyard, he has been heavily scouted by the Wild. I assume the same for Stramel and that's why we may have had a higher value on him.

[B1GKappa97]

5 hours ago, Protec said:

My gut tells me, Catton, Iginla, maybe Eiserman are there when the Wild are up. Especially if teams go for all the top defensemen.

I don't think Catton would make it past Philly. He's a top-line talent who would only fall because he's not 6'+. If he got to #13 the Wild should run that up to the podium no matter which defenseman is leftover. 

There's a chance Iginla or Eiserman are there. Between the two.. idk, I like Eiserman more as a sniper. I think he'd fill our needs better, even if there's more questions about his two-way game. I won't be mad if we end up with Iginla either though. 

#13 is a pretty solid place to be, honestly, from what I can tell. 

[Willy the poor boy]

2 hours ago, B1GKappa97 said:

#13 is a pretty solid place to be, honestly, from what I can tell. 

How un-Minnesota like is that. Usually MN. teams are just 1 slot out of where they need to be for a top tier pick.