kp61c
Registered User
they spit on his face with their signings, thank god he was able to spit back.
G Yaroslav Askarov (2020, 11th, NSH; traded to SJS) - PART 2
- Thread starter LeafChief
- Start date
Spit back by.....getting his team the richest return for a low NHL GP goalie since the Corey Schnieder trade in 2013?
Shark Finn
∀dministrator
- Sep 29, 2016
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Who said that? Askarov is still young and one of the top goalie prospects in hockey. I haven't seen anybody call him a bust but many users seem to share my concerns about his lack of progress, especially in terms of positioning.
What I said is that Askarov isn't making any progress and seems to be unable to evaluate his own situation correctly. That's a concern but likely something that can be fixed with a few honest talks followed by some work put in.
Btw: I wrote the same thing on the main boards already when Askarov refused to report. I also wrote several very similar posts in this thread already back when leaving the Preds organization didn't even seem to be an option. Ever since getting drafted, Askarov has been an incredibly frustrating prospect to watch and follow but that doesn't make him a bust. Goalie development is voodoo and hardly ever linear. Having said that, he'll have to right the ship eventually and fix his positioning if he wants to reach his full potential.
Wallet Inspector
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- Jan 19, 2013
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Not to go off topic but that was easily the worst move of San Jose's rebuild so far.
They could have gotten a blue chip prospect like Mateychuk or Lekkermaki but ended up with Bystedt, who while a good propsect, may not even end up as a top 6 guy. And the second round prospects San Jose got were nothing special.
67 others
Registered User
Im baffled by this. The Vegas pick is probably still going to be a late pick. I'm not sure what universe folks think Vegas is suddenly going to become a bottom feeder. A late 1st and bottom 6 C prospect for the best goalie prospect around is not a bad trade.
And in what way has Askarov disappointed? In his small north American sample size, he's got an AHL record of 56-29-6 with 9 shutouts and a good GAA and sv%. And in the 1 game he started last year in the NHL he won, and he came in 1 game in relief and stopped everything with a 1.47GAA and 94.3%sv
Patty Ice
Registered User
Referring to his playoff performances where he was replaced twice, ironically by two former Sharks Devin Cooley and Troy Grosenick.
67 others
Registered User
Yes and in one series he was playing through a lower body injury.
Marc Andre Fleury had some historic youth collapses as well. A lot of us felt that own goal at the world Juniors was a death knell for his confidence. It happens.
Patty Ice
Registered User
I don't disagree at all. It's growing pains but some will use it as ammunition to promote their narrative.
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
It's completelt fair to question Askarov's attitude or mindset. But a lot of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history have been head cases too...
Patty Ice
Registered User
Patrick Roy was cool as a cucumber if I recall absolutely incorrectly.
- Sep 29, 2016
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I wouldn't say that it's a bad trade. That remains to be seen. It's maybe a bad contract but even if, the Sharks can afford to throw that money out of the window.
Askarov played two seasons behind what was probably the AHL's top team but his own level of play was closer to ECHL than AHL. He cost them two playoff runs in a row and as mentioned before I don't think he ever played 5 solid regular season games in a row either. While some up and down's are to be expected from a goalie prospect, Askarov's inconsistency is a direct result of him not working (at least that's my interpretation) on his weaknesses. In my view he probably didn't even identify positioning and technique as weaknesses. I posted this in this thread even before he refused to report to Milwaukee. I really think Askarov is struggling to evaluate his performances (or lack thereof) and weaknesses.
I'm not saying that it can't be fixed but it needs to be addressed one way or the other. Askarov has disappointed because he was at such a high level when getting drafted but hasn't really improved since. I'm no scout and some hfboards users claim to have spotted technical improvements but either way his positioning hasn't and definitely remains a huge concern. He wants to play ASAP but keeps on losing his net on a regular basis...game after game. He probably still thinks he can afford to do so because of his talent (combination of size, reflexes and athleticism) but that's not gonna work. At least not consistently.
Potentially good trade for the Sharks. If they can talk sense into Askarov I can see him improve quickly. It's definitely high risk though.
Grinner
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- May 31, 2022
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I wish it hadn't been so far back in the draft. But, the Sharks prospect pool was empty and I imagine Grier wanted mire chips at the draft.
No, he asked for a trade because his path to being a starter in Nashville was blocked by Saros getting the 8 year contract (and Wedgewood getting a 2 year deal as the back-up). Not reporting to the AHL was the mechanism by which he pressured for a trade.
I wonder how much difference there will be with Askarov playing in San Jose in either the NHL or (more likely) AHL and being proximate to the goalie coaches versus when he was in Milwaukee when I would presume the Pred’s goalie coach spent most of his time in Nashville?
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Lebrun said Nashville asked for Fowler (maybe +) for Askarov, Montreal said no.
Interesting.
Interesting.
I don’t think it is tbh. It’s very clear with the Saros extension there was zero path to that net and the icing on the cake was signing a backup to a 2 year deal. I think anyone would feel slighted by that.
His problem was not having a path to the net and obviously not being important in an organizations plans, not playing in the AHL. He’s fine with playing in the AHL for the sharks if he has to. It probably doesn’t hurt that he’s getting well paid should he have to though. He was making bank in Russia in the top league only to come over to Milwaukee and make AHL money and ride busses.
- Jul 25, 2007
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I'm taking the bait here just to defend Grier on this one.
He was hired literally the week before the 2022 draft, it wasn't his scouting team, it wasn't his scouting work, he wasn't likely deeply familiar with the players on the board even if he was roughly following. The trade back was probably his call, but it's hard to fault him for wanting 3 shots on goal instead of 1 when he wasn't even sure he trusted the scouting staff (probably didn't -- 2023 had a vastly new team).
It doesn't look like a great trade if he had targeted Mateychuk or Lekkermaki instead, but who's to say the poorly performing Sharks scouting team would have fed him that one, or that he somehow had his finger on the pulse of the draft class enough to override them? As far as rebuild setbacks go, it's not a major one in my opinion.
Askarov trade -- now that's a ballsy move by Grier which will either pan out amazingly or look like a pretty big mistake, in my opinion. We'll see in a few years after Askarov develops (or not) and we see where VGK picks and who is picked around that spot that could have been a fit for the rebuild.
Porter Stoutheart
Seen Stamkos?
- Jun 14, 2017
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As I replied on the main boards during the trade, I think this is an overly harsh criticism of Askarov's time in Milwaukee.
Yes, he still has many things to work on, his technique remains flawed, and I do agree that he would benefit from another year of working on those things at the AHL level under the tutelage of a good goaltending coach. But. It's not fair to say he has made NO progress. Or that his level of play was even remotely close to ECHL level. He was a valid AHL all-star goalie. Yes, on a good team. Not the best team in the AHL, nor particularly the best defensively - but certainly a very good team (part of which included having good goaltending).
Positioning and upper body movements remain his biggest technical weaknesses. (On the ice anyway - mental might be the biggest of all). But he has improved in both of those areas during his 2 years in North America. He still doesn't square up to shooters well and loses his posts (both laterally and in terms of depth). A lot of the time he more than makes up for this with his phenomenal legwork. His leg flexibility and quickness is absolutely elite, and it allows him to get away with flawed positioning. At the AHL level anyway - jury is out on how much it might cost him at the NHL level. He may need some real-life demonstration of how much it will cost him in the NHL before he fully buys in to fixing it further. I think he has come a long way in terms of how he sets his arms and uses his hands, however. Granted, he still whiffs completely sometimes with his trapper. But he used to be a lot worse. I think he has been shown what he needs to fix there and tries, just it isn't second nature/muscle memory to him yet and so sometimes he forgets. Continuing to work on his consistency in applying the things he has been learning by playing more at the AHL level I think would have been great for his development.
Arguably, if he spends a whole year in the NHL, seeing NHL speed and shooting even in practice every day, maybe that will also help open his eyes to accepting the work he still needs to put in? He wasn't going to get a lot of games as an NHL backup in Nashville, so I think it would absolutely have been far better for his development to play 50+ games in Milwaukee with another playoff run instead of being in the NHL with the Preds. But maybe he'll get more work in San Jose if he sticks there. I could see him "surviving" at the NHL level at least, just because his natural talents are so impressive. But he's going to have to keep working on his weaknesses, because his legs aren't going to keep bailing him out forever as he gets older.
