Yakemchuk makes immediate impact for Senators in NHL debut

DETROIT -- Carter Yakemchuk got the call Monday night at his house in Belleville, Ontario. He drove 5 1/2 hours to Detroit, arrived at the hotel in the wee hours of the morning and didn’t sleep much.

Then, with no morning skate to help him prepare, the 20-year-old defenseman was the First Star in his NHL debut Tuesday and helped the Ottawa Senators jump into a Stanley Cup Playoff spot.

With his family in the stands -- after they had scrambled from Calgary to Toronto to Detroit -- he had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings. The Senators, who were last in the Atlantic Division two months ago, are on a 15-3-2 run and hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

“What a 24 hours for him,” center Lars Eller said. “It was not an easy situation to be thrown into, and I think he handled it incredibly well. I’m sure he’s going to have a good career ahead of him.”

The Senators found themselves in a bind Monday night when they lost defensemen Thomas Chabot (right arm) and Lassi Thomson (lower body) to injuries during a 2-1 win at the New York Rangers.

Already missing three other blueliners -- Dennis Gilbert (undisclosed), Nick Jensen (knee) and Jake Sanderson (upper body) – the Senators called up Yakemchuk and 21-year-old Jorian Donovan to make their NHL debuts in Detroit.

Entering the game, the Senators trailed the New York Islanders by two points for the second wild card in the East, the Red Wings by one point.

“It’s not a regular first game,” captain Brady Tkachuk said. “It’s almost like a first playoff game, with what’s at stake and how big this game was.”

Yakemchuk is a big-time prospect, though.

Ottawa selected him with the No. 7 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft after he had 71 points (30 goals, 41 assists) in 66 games for Calgary of the Western Hockey League in 2023-24.

He had 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) in 56 games for Calgary of the WHL last season and has 36 points (10 goals, 26 assists) in 50 games for Belleville of the American Hockey League this season.

“I just got the call that me and ‘Dono’ were coming to Detroit to play,” Yakemchuk said. “We were both pretty excited. Yeah, it was an eventful night.”

Yakemchuk’s family found out about 8:30 p.m. MT on Monday. In a panic, they made a flurry of phone calls looking at flights and hotels.

They ended up taking a 6 a.m. MT flight from Calgary to Toronto, renting a car and driving four hours to Detroit, making it to Little Caesars Arena about an hour before the 7 p.m. ET face-off.

Parents Robin and Tammy, brothers Connor and Keeling, and uncle Bill Elliott were there to see his rookie lap. They were there to see his first NHL point, a secondary assist on a power-play goal by Tkachuk that gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 17:15 of the first period.

And they were there to see his first NHL goal.

He took a pass at the right point, saw he had room, faked a shot, then skated to the top of the right circle and fired a wrist shot past goalie John Gibson, extending Ottawa’s lead to 2-0 at 9:28 of the second period.

“Just excited,” Tammy said. “Happy for him. Proud. Proud moment.”

“Proud,” Robin said. “Real excited for him. Awesome game to do it in.”

“Pretty awesome,” Connor said.

“It was cool to watch him play,” Keeling said. “He was pretty poised out there.”

Yakemchuk played 12:46, including 1:22 on the power play. He had two shots and two blocked shots.

“He looked like an NHL player,” Eller said. “He looked like a good NHL player.”

The Senators hope he will be just that in the future.

“He’s a special player,” coach Travis Green said. “You can see that. We needed a play out of someone tonight, and he gave us that play. …

“He sees the ice well. He passes the puck well. He can zip it up to our forwards quick, like the type of game that we want to play. But he’s dangerous at the point. He’s got a shot that he’s capable of getting it through. He can buy some time while he’s dragging it, much like his goal.

“Obviously, exciting, exciting for us, watching him play tonight. Obviously, the first step is always the hardest, but he did a good job tonight.”

Yakemchuk took it in stride. He barely smiled as he held the puck from his first NHL goal for photos.

“I felt pretty good,” he said. “The guys were great. They were all super supportive and helpful, so they kind of helped me and ‘Dono’ throughout the game. Yeah, it was awesome to be a part of it.”

While Ottawa held on to defeat Detroit, the Islanders lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. The Senators leapfrogged the Red Wings and Islanders into the second wild card.

Afterward, Yakemchuk met his family in the basement of the arena. They shared a few words, laughs and hugs, and general manager Steve Staios stopped to say hello to everyone. Eventually, Yakemchuk said had to say goodbye, off to the bus and the next challenge.

“It’s one of those games you’ll remember,” Green said. “I’m sure he will for the rest of his life.”