Senators Recall Tyler Boucher, Stephen Halliday, Carter Yakemchuk

The Senators announced they’ve recalled forwards Tyler Boucher and Stephen Halliday, as well as defenseman Carter Yakemchuk, from AHL Belleville. They’ll give the Sens some roster insurance as they await the returns of captain Brady Tkachuk and top defenseman Jake Sanderson from Olympic play, with both questionable to return in time for Ottawa’s first game back against the Red Wings on Thursday.

This is Boucher’s first time being rostered during the regular season. The 23-year-old was summoned as a Black Ace for last year’s playoff run but has yet to make his NHL debut nearly five years after being selected 10th overall in the 2021 draft. He remains the only active player in the top 20 (Winnipeg’s Chaz Lucius, selected 18th overall, was forced into medical retirement).

That could now change. The 6’2″, 216-lb winger was viewed as a late first-round choice at best by prospect evaluators in his draft year, so it was a highly controversial decision for the Sens to spend such a high pick on him. The gamble hasn’t worked out. Boucher disenrolled from Boston University 17 games into his post-draft season after struggling to catch on and spent the following year and a half in junior hockey with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, where he struggled through injuries and managed 17 goals and 31 points in 45 games – not nearly the level of offense expected out of a top-10 pick after his draft date.

Boucher’s struggles persisted after he turned pro with the Sens in 2023. He’s spent his entire career to date in the AHL and had just two goals and five points in 21 games as a rookie two years ago. Last year’s 10 points in 47 games weren’t much better.

This season, though, the Arizona native has picked up a little bit of steam. He’s already set new career-highs across the board with six goals, 10 assists, and 16 points in 29 games with a +9 rating. Injuries have again limited him to just over half of Belleville’s schedule, but getting his offensive output up over half a point per game is a definitive step in the right direction. He’ll now get a shot to at least get some practice reps in with the Sens over the coming days until Tkachuk is back in the mix.

Halliday’s recall is more of a formality. He’s been up with the Sens for a big chunk of the season already and was only sent down over the break so that he could keep getting some playing time in Belleville. The 23-year-old figures to remain up with Ottawa’s NHL group for the stretch run, serving as a depth forward option while David Perron continues his recovery from sports hernia surgery.

The 6’4″ pivot had something of a difficult time generating offense in Belleville over the break, limited to three assists in seven games. That only brought him down to a point per game in 29 AHL contests this year, though. He’s also been exceptionally productive in a fourth-line role for Ottawa, managing four goals and 11 points in 25 NHL games despite averaging just 8:08 of ice time per night. Only Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Necas have scored more points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 than Halliday’s 3.14 (min. 10 games played).

Like Boucher, this marks the first regular-season recall for Yakemchuk, who gives Ottawa a seventh defenseman available while Sanderson makes his way back to the club. The 20-year-old’s stint on the NHL roster isn’t likely to last any longer than necessary. Drafted seventh overall in 2024, he’s a first-year pro and hasn’t had a smooth transition from the WHL to Belleville. Yakemchuk has demonstrated the offensive acumen Ottawa’s hoped for, leading the B-Sens’ D group with 25 points in 41 games, but has a team-worst -33 rating in the process. The hard-hitting puck-mover will need to build out his two-way game a lot more before he’s considered for NHL minutes.