Marat never led his team in scoring by 8 while playing 5 fewer games at 19/20 years old. Marat's good year, he was 6th in scoring (5th forward). Not quite equals.
Yes it was. That said, it was claimed that Metallurg was holding him back in his year when he played about 4 minutes per game and put up no points, and then he signed a contract, got 1st line center time, and popped off. So is he not playing as well as last year, or is he being punished for not signing another contract extension? It seems like there's possibly some truth to both sides when it comes to this particular league.
In one article in the summer, I think, Yurov said that he had been asked to play a defensive role in last year's playoffs in order to win the G. cup, and that's why his numbers were down. Perhaps this year is a continuation of that direction, but it's unfortunate that he is working on being a middle of the lineup defensive C rather than an offensive threat. I mean, we've got JEE, and Gaudreau, and Marat...
I can completely understand a team not trying to develop a player who has made it clear that they are leaving the team at year's end, but I also have to wonder at how we can expect a player who is barely. 5P/PG in the KHL is expected to be an offensive force in the NHL? The NHL is a WAY better league.
Roughly the same way that we know that Boldy produces better with Rossi and Zuccarello than he does with Johansson and Gaudreau.
