Former First Round Pick Kailer Yamamoto Placed on Waivers: What Does This Mean for His Career?

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Austin Kelly
October 25, 2024 (5:25 PM)

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The Utah Hockey Club have placed forward Kailer Yamamoto on waivers for the purpose of reassignment, with the former first round pick potentially headed to the AHL.

Why Was Kailer Yamamoto Was Placed on Waivers

Since scoring 20 goals in the 2021-22 season for the Edmonton Oilers, Yamamoto hasn't had the same scoring luck since. Yamamoto has had 18 goals in the past 2 seasons from 2022-23 to 2023-24 between the Oilers and the Seattle Kraken and neither team could justify a place for Yamamoto in their lineup.

Yamamoto was traded to the Detroit Red Wings from Edmonton in 2023 and the team bought out his contract the next day. After signing in Seattle, Yamamoto continued to have trouble replicating the talent that netted him $3M a season. Currently pointless in 3 games for Utah after signing in the offseason, head coach Andre Tourigny commended Yamamoto as a player, but said the team had too many options at forward and Yamamoto was ultimately the casualty of such.

Utah has also been a potential trade destination as the team looks to reinvigorate it's defensive core after the loss of defensemen John Marino & Sean Durzi. Utah has been linked to Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren, with Yamamoto a possible demotion to sort out its roster for a potential transaction.

Possible Outcomes for Kailer Yamamoto

The obvious outcome is that Yamamoto will either be claimed off waivers or will clear, being assigned to the AHL with Utah's affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. Either or will happen, though it's too early right now to guess either way. Yamamoto, who is currently pointless in 3 games this season for Utah, will be claimed most likely based on his past seasons, if that's enough of an intriguing proposition if teams think they can bring him back to form.

Yamamoto is only making $775K, league minimum for this season, a far cry from the $3.1M paid out to him the last two seasons. Yamamoto was signed by Utah after a successful tryout with the club in the preseason, scoring three goals in four games and playing himself into a deal.

Is This the Beginning of the End for Kailer Yamamoto?

One thing is almost certain, and that is that Kailer Yamamoto will continue to play hockey whether that's in the NHL, AHL, or elsewhere, but more than likely it will be in North America. Though given his size and teams biases towards bigger players, Yamamoto could thrive in Europe with a faster game and play his way back into the big leagues.

A smaller, offensively skilled player like Yamamoto who excels in a top-six role but doesn't fit physically in a bottom-six setting, is a prime candidate to be a top scoring talent in the AHL, which has been highly friendly to undersized scorers who can't make the physical jump to the NHL.

Last season's AHL points leader, Mavrik Bourque, is only 5'10, second place for points was 5'6 Rocco Grimaldi. TJ Tynan, the league's assists leader last year is 5'8, the same height as Yamamoto. Yamamoto had a brief tenure in the AHL with Bakersfield, and scored 34 points in 50 games, proving he can at least play at pro level.

The last player over 6'0 to lead the AHL in points was Carter Verhaeghe in 2019, so if Yamamoto is done as an NHLer, history is still favorable to him having a productive career at the AHL level where size plays less of a necessity vs. the rough-and-tough NHL physicality.

If Yamamoto is claimed, then he's given another chance to prove he can be the offensive talent that shows his 20 goal season wasn't a fluke, but a real indication of Yamamoto's ability when he's given a real chance at ice time. Many teams don't have the space to give top-six minutes, especially to a smaller forward with no points on the year so it would be a real gamble for a team to claim him with no plan in mind.

No matter what happens to Kailer Yamamoto, there is still the potential for being an impactful hockey player, the only question that remains is where?