Yak has gotten worse and worse each year since his first year in Junior. No joke.
Each year he's gotten worse and worse. But it makes absolutely no sense.
As a close follower, and former fan of Yak, here's the itinerary of his development.
- 49 goals in his rookie Jr. Year. He looked like the second coming of Mike Bossy.
- Then he stagnated in his draft year with lower PPG totals (due to injury and missing Chucky to injury). VERY underwhelming playoffs.
- During the lockout in the KHL, he scores at a high pace. 10 goals, 18 points in 22 games (.818). Other notable players hovering around that same pace:
- Kuznetsov
- Zherdev
- Semin
- Joe Pavelski
- Anisimov
All pundits, scouts, and journalist have Yakupov pegged as a 50 goal scorer.
He does not disappoint his first season:
48Games 17Goals 31 points.
Pro-rates to:
29 Goals 53 Points.
Leads all rookies in scoring, and Goals. Leads the team in goals.
Same amount of goals scored as Martin St.Louis (Art Ross Winner), Hossa, Marleau.
Coach Kruegar fired. Worst coach in NHL history is hired. Dallas Eakins decides to 'rebuild' Yakupov into a reliable 2-way forward, by benching him, playing him 5mins a game, and press boxing him regularly for any hint of a turnover. Yak loses his confidence and his game. He is noticeably worse than he was during his first season.
All his numbers regress.
His third season is by far his absolute worst. Rumors swirl about a trade request. Still averages 5mins a night, and is benched scolded, and rarely ever sees any ice time. Plays most of his shifts in the defensive zone with one of the worst Centers the Oilers have ever had (Eric Belanger) who had 0 goals and 3 points.
Eakins fired. Derek Roy acquired.
Yakupov put on a line with Roy, who seems to whip him into shape. Turns into the mentor Yakupov needed all along. Telling him where he needs to be on the ice, when he needs to be there, and what is expected of him.
Yak scores 21 points in the final 28 games, and looks to have finally turned a corner.
(Yes he was still a defensive trainwreck, but at least he looked to have regained his confidence and scoring touch).
Roy was not renewed, Eberle gets injured in training camp, and Yakupov finds himself on the top line with Connor McDavid.
McDavid uses Yakupov's speeds and unpredictability. Yak goes a PPG in 12 games, before Eberle returns. Everyone says its 100% all on McDavid when not even Draisaitl or Eberle were able to put comparable numbers.
When Eberle returned from injury, Yakupov's offensive game completely disappears on Mark Letestu's line, getting something abysmal like 10 points in the next 45 games. As a line so incapable of generating any semblance of offense, Yakupov frequently tries going end to end deking past every opposing player, failing miserably as his linemates Letestu and Korpikoski usually never skated farther than the red line.
Yak is mercifully traded to one of the most strict defensive coaches in the league, offering the chance to once again, rebuild yakupov into a defense-first player.
Not shockingly, Yak fails pretty miserably in St.Louis.
The Dude is 23. He shows Sporatic displays of offense. He plays an absolutely chaotic game, incapable of any semblance of structure (unless you give him an offensive minded Center), but man he has skill, speed, and a wicked shot.
I mean, I wouldn't want him back in any capacity, but he has such an enticing skill set, I can see several GM's giving him a chance, hoping they can put him on rails and just do what he does best.
