Carter Yakemchuk of the Ottawa Senators passes the puck during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on March 24, 2026 in Detroit. Photo by JAIME CRAWFORD /GETTY IMAGES

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Carter Yakemchuk wasn’t surprised to be asked to report to his third Ottawa Senators development camp this summer.

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He’s “still young, only 20-years-old,” and will also take part in the NHL Prospect Challenge in mid-September when the Senators host the tournament in Gatineau.

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His bosses surely want the young man to force their hand come the fall.

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According to Yakemchuk, the message from coach Travis Green and general manager Steve Staios on locker clean out day in late April was, “Come to camp with the mindset to earn a job and make the team.”

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As of right now, Ottawa has six defencemen signed to one-way contracts. Barring any trades or signings, if the Senators plan on taking seven blue liners into the regular season, Yakemchuk has a solid chance to graduate.

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Admittedly, seldom do defencemen around his age and experience crack a National Hockey League roster. In 2025-26, there were only a dozen full-time NHL defenders who began the season at age 21 or younger. And of those 12, just two played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Organizations are typically hesitant to promote young Dmen, anxious that the pace and physicality of the best league in the world will crush their budding player’s confidence.

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Though, Yakemchuk, turning 21 on Sept. 29, isn’t exactly lacking in that area. If belief in oneself was the only requirement to playing in the NHL, he would’ve made the opening night lineup three months after he was selected seventh overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.

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With total conviction, Yakemchuk asserted himself offensively in the few games he played with the big club last season. His NHL debut — a goal and an assist against the Detroit Red Wings, including a between-the-legs pass to Tim Stutzle to set up a beautiful power-play goal — was unforgettable. And his post-season debut was nearly just as impressive.

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Here’s an excerpt from our player grades from Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes: “Yakemchuk looked cool under the immense pressure of his first playoff game. The Senators’ blue line badly needed another puck mover in the lineup with Jake Sanderson out, and Yakemchuk did well holding onto pucks to get better passing options in the offensive zone. And when a lane opened up, he wasn’t shy to take a rip, firing three shots on goal. … He played one game in this series and only two teammates had more points.”

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In the American Hockey League, it was a bit of a different story. Sure, the Fort McMurray, Alberta, native put up respectable offensive numbers with the Sens’ farm team in Belleville — 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists) in 54 games as a rookie — but his minus-31 rating was second-worst in the league.