Poulin on TSN1200 said:
“What stands out is his skating at his size. He’s almost 6 ft 4 but skating is elite, truly elite. He played on a team that wasn’t at the top of the league this year and when that happens you get into situations where maybe some of the structure and the defensive play didn’t have to be there because it wasn’t demanded or commanded in those situations, they were always behind in games and he was the get up and go guy that can create a lot of offense… truly one of the elite skaters in the draft.”
Kind of confused how the knock on him is skating and Poulin is raving about it.
I think they are talking about 2 different things/situations. Skating on rushes and on offense vs skating on defense and having to pivot and close . Poulin eludes to the structure and defensive play but does not elaborate on that
Hockey Prospect
When forced to use edgework and change directions too many
times, we have seen him lose balance and lose strength on his skates, which can open things up offensively for the
opposing team. When he can hit his top speed (for example, rushing pucks with a lot of space in front of him) his
straight line speed looks more than fine, but his first three-step explosion is something that could stand to improve. His
lateral agility and footwork are also among his weaknesses, and it shows when he gets into trouble with his rush defense
game. Yakemchuk can be really good in his zone but struggles to defend against the rush
Tony Ferrari - The Hockey News - Apr. 15th: "A true wild cowboy of a defenseman, Yakemchuk is such an interesting offensive blueliner. He isn’t the smoothest skater, which sometimes limits his game defensively, but the puckhandling and skill he flashes offensively have allowed him to work around his skating, helping him score 30 goals as a draft-eligible blueliner."
Luke Sweeney - Dobber Prospects - Apr. 20th: "In transition, Yakemchuk’s hands are his best asset as he is not a particularly adept skater or transition playmaker. He is fast for his size, but his mechanics are poor and he lacks explosive acceleration. His difficulty in making timely decisions also prevents Yakemchuk from being a strong breakout or entry creator."
Steven Ellis - Daily Faceoff - May 28th: "Defensively, though, I still need to see more improvement. His decision-making under pressure leaves a bit to be desired, but the potential is high here. With some seasoning, Yakemchuk could be a high-output defender in the NHL."
Now these guys are not of the stature of Dave Poulin but they also don't have a 7OA draft choice to build up and defend.
Its not just us bozos here that take a strong interest in the draft and the prospects that had identified issues.. these things are usually coming from several sources and not just pie in the sky hfers talking through their hats
This draft was always going to be a crap shoot after Celebrini and it was . McKenzie mentioned it but his rankings from 10 NHL teams scouting that influence a lot of onlookers did not really fall the way the consensus if there was one had it