For every game the Ottawa Senators defence corps has been fully healthy this season, Carter Yakemchuk has found himself watching from the press box.

So, for a fifth time in two weeks, the rookie is expected to be a healthy scratch when the Senators host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

“I mean, it’s tough,” Yakemchuk told the Ottawa Citizen after practice. “Obviously, you want to play and you want to be in the lineup every single night, but yeah, I’m just trying to stick with it.”

Hoping to play his first full NHL season at age 21, there were always going to be growing pains. Have they arrived earlier than expected? Perhaps. But rather than throwing their hands up, assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner — who runs the defence — and coach Travis Green want to figure things out with Yakemchuk.

“I’ve talked to him probably two times in the last week and a half, just about staying focused,” Green said. “Not so much in his game, but just the mental side of it. (I’ve said) that we’re happy with his game. There’s always a time in your career where you’ve got to stay patient and stay confident at the same time, but also work on (your) game.”

This is brand new territory to navigate for Yakemchuk.

In his teens, he was a star defenceman for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, scoring 30 goals in his 18-year-old season en route to being selected by Ottawa seventh overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. Even in his first pro season with AHL Belleville in 2025-26, he played top-pairing minutes and quarterbacked the first power-play unit, racking up 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists) in 54 games.

Now, when he does get in the Senators lineup, he’s playing an average of 17:55 on the third pairing and getting power-play scraps on the second unit. Through 14 games, he has three points (one goal, two assists) and a minus-6 rating.

“Everyone’s been so great, and Baumer and Greener talk to me and help me a lot through it all,” Yakemchuk said. “But I think I’m young and I’m just trying to find a role.”

What has been Yakemchuk’s biggest problem?

After being minus-31 in the AHL last season — only Hartford’s Brandon Brisson had a worse rating league-wide at minus-32 — Yakemchuk has struggled defensively at the next level.

He has made considerable strides away from the puck since an underwhelming training camp, but lapses in ‘D’ zone coverage remain and one of the most glaring problems is Yakemchuk’s skating, preventing him from maintaining a tight gap with puck carriers.

“He’s had a decent start, I would say, but yet he’s still got to improve in certain areas,” Green said. “Practice is a big part of that improvement as well. I think that’s the main purpose of communicating with a young guy, is (so) that they don’t have days where they’re wasted days. And that can happen if you get down that you’re not playing.

“I don’t feel that he’s down about it. I think that he understands it and we still really like him as a player and think that he has a great future. But there’s a patient part to it, too, as a young guy.”

You earn every single second of ice time under Green — just ask Nikolas Matinpalo.

After being scratched for dozens of games in 2025-26 — a season in which he represented Finland at the Winter Olympics — Matinpalo is seemingly now a mainstay on the Senators blue line.

“Just a guy that’s worked on his craft,” Green said of Matinpalo. “He’s an extremely hard worker off the ice, comes to camp in great shape, he’s really low maintenance. And I think you’ve seen his game improve as well.

“Part of that is confidence, part of that is physically improving. He closes quick on guys, he’s got a good stick, he’s physical, he does a lot of good things that you like in a defenceman in today’s game.”

Yakemchuk’s stagnant situation could change in an instant — injuries happen and other players can fall out of favour with the coach due to a string of poor performances — but what if it doesn’t?

Former Sens blue liner Cameron Crotty was available on waivers on Tuesday, however the Vancouver Canucks snatched him up. For now, Yakemchuk remains the team’s seventh defenceman.

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At some point, whether it’s in the minors or the with the big club, he must play again — and for lengthy stretches. The Senators can send him down to Belleville whenever they want.

If it was up to Yakemchuk, surely, he would decide to gut it out in Ottawa. The message from the coaching staff has been clear: Come to the rink with a positive attitude and grind away.

“I’ve been playing some good hockey, so I’m happy with where my game is right now,” Yakemchuk said. “But obviously, I want to keep improving, keep getting better and try to get back in the lineup.”