The 2024 NHL Draft class, while not quite up to the level of the 2023 class, is expected to have some really good players in it. The top prospect for the year is expected to be Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini, and he was the consensus top player in TSN draft guru Bob McKenzie’s pre-season draft rankings.

But Calgary Hitmen defenceman Carter Yakemchuk cracked the top 16, coming in at 13th.

A product of Calgary-area minor hockey, Yakemchuk was a third-round pick by the Hitmen in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft. He joined the Hitmen in 2021-22, putting up four goals and 13 points in 56 games in his rookie season. He followed that up with a really impressive 2022-23 season, posting 19 goals and 47 points in 67 games – earning a second team divisional all-star nod – and helped Canada capture bronze at the men’s under-18 World Championships.

Yakemchuk was one of just two WHL players on McKenzie’s top 16, the other being Spokane Chiefs centre Berkly Catton (who came in at sixth). Two others merited honourable mention from McKenzie: Brandon defender Charlie Elick and Medicine Hat centre Cayden Lindstrom.

The 2024 NHL Draft is slated to late June 2024, but the date and host city have yet to be announced by the league.