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.”
