There really wasn’t much more he could do.
And in the end, the organization decided that it would just be too much, too soon for the 19-year old first round pick.
Yakemchuk was a pleasant surprise in this year’s Camp and turned heads with his performance at the offensive end of the rink. Yakemchuk led all defenceman in points during the preseason and looked surprisingly comfortable during his first experience at the NHL level.
The reality is there is no way the organization was considering Yakemchuk starting at the NHL level heading into Camp and in the end, they decided that an exceptional performance wasn’t enough to change the development plan for Yakemchuk.
Yakemchuk will have a chance to dominate at the WHL level, anchor the Team Canada blueline at the World Juniors and come back a more polished and NHL-ready defenceman next season.
