RW Nail Yakupov - Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik, KHL

[nabob]

OV and Yak do have similar skill sets but OV just destroys him in the physical aspect of the skills. That's why I believe Yak won't be able to match OV's level of domination. Don't get me wrong I'm a huge Oiler fan and would love for me to be wrong. But I can't see Yak coming in and having a OV like impact on the league.

Of course. Maybe not as a rookie but I bet that when he is 26 he will have a season as good or better than Ovi's 26 year old season. I dont think anyone thinks he will come close to Ovi's rookie season, no one has thats for sure. I was a point that was brought up to try and discredit his amazing KHL season to date.

 

[Turrican*]

Didn't Bure have 60 inch thighs?

Why yes. Yes he did.

 

[nabob]

Rofl

RSL and KHL are about as similar as AHL and NHL.

I guess that makes Yakupov's season even more impressive.

 

[nabob]

I never said anything about Oveckin right now outperforming Yakupov, you could learn something from some of the other oilers fans posting here, none of them seem to think Yakupov is a better player at 19 then Oveckin was, it's just you buddy.

never said he was a better player. Just that his stats are more impressive.

 

[ZenOil]

OV and Yak do have similar skill sets but OV just destroys him in the physical aspect of the skills. That's why I believe Yak won't be able to match OV's level of domination. Don't get me wrong I'm a huge Oiler fan and would love for me to be wrong. But I can't see Yak coming in and having a OV like impact on the league.

Ovi's "physical" play might be the main reason he has suffered such a steep decline in his play. Sure he was dishing out the hits, but a body can only take so much. I hope Yak focuses more on goals than dishing out abuse.

 

[nabob]

Didn't Bure have 60 inch thighs?

Why yes. Yes he did.

thats why I said he was very strong on his skates. But he was not the Physical beast that Ovi is.

 

[Samkow]

Is it also not fair to compare their current stats for this season in the same league? Probably not because Ovechkin is playing on the best team in the KHL.

The difference above is actually not that great considering that Yakupov only has 3 less goals in 24 less games played.

Yeah, that's why included the 2004-2005 stats, to compare how Ovechkin's 2012-13 season compares to Yakupov's 2012-13.

 

[eS7]

I never said anything about Oveckin right now outperforming Yakupov, you could learn something from some of the other oilers fans posting here, none of them seem to think Yakupov is a better player at 19 then Oveckin was, it's just you buddy.

I'm an Oilers fan. Now I'm not going to say that Yak is better than Ovy was at the same age BUT it has to at least be taken into consideration. I don't think anyone that thinks this draft had a weak 1st overall pick expected Yak to light it up like he is right now and most of them won't admit to it either. He's playing exceptional.

GPG in the 2004-2005 RSL-4.65
GPG in the 2012-2013 KHL (To this point)-5.37

It's not exactly fair to compare stats between the 2 leagues...

So we're saying that the scoring isn't as high now however 4.65 and 5.37 gpg aren't that far away, it's not this huge difference. The leader in goals last year in the KHL had 27, Radulov was second with 25...Yak is on pace to shatter that and even if he doesn't keep up pace (I understand that would be insane) he will still be up there.

To the poster above who said RSL = AHL and KHL = NHL your just silly because if that's the case then Ovy in AHL should have been dominating compared to Yak in NHL right?

Everyone is getting on nabob but he's throwing out some good points that no one has taken into consideration.

And on top of it all their stat line is almost identical right now when Ovy is much older, more experienced, and playing top line on a better team.

 

[Samkow]

I'm an Oilers fan. Now I'm not going to say that Yak is better than Ovy was at the same age BUT it has to at least be taken into consideration. I don't think anyone that thinks this draft had a weak 1st overall pick expected Yak to light it up like he is right now and most of them won't admit to it either. He's playing exceptional.



So we're saying that the scoring isn't as high now however 4.65 and 5.37 gpg aren't that far away, it's not this huge difference. The leader in goals last year in the KHL had 27, Radulov was second with 25...Yak is on pace to shatter that and even if he doesn't keep up pace (I understand that would be insane) he will still be up there.

To the poster above who said RSL = AHL and KHL = NHL your just silly because if that's the case then Ovy in AHL should have been dominating compared to Yak in NHL right?

Everyone is getting on nabob but he's throwing out some good points that no one has taken into consideration.

And on top of it all their stat line is almost identical right now when Ovy is much older, more experienced, and playing top line on a better team.

.72 GPG is a huge gap.

Here's a chart of NHL GPG
http://dropyourgloves.com/Stat/LeagueGoals.aspx

 

[Suxnet]

Yakupov is a better playmaker than Ovechkin, which will make him much more difficult to shut down at the NHL level imo.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

I'm an Oiler fan, but I don't think Yakupov comes comes to Ovechkin as a prospect. Ovechkin was a generational talent and a surefire superstar right out of the gate. I think Yakupov will eventually be a solid 1st-liner but I definitely can't say that he'll be a star, let alone a star as a rookie.

 

[eS7]

.72 GPG is a huge gap.

Here's a chart of NHL GPG
http://dropyourgloves.com/Stat/LeagueGoals.aspx

It's not though and that link you posted proved my point.

05/06 = 6.17 11/12 = 5.47 difference = .70

In 05/06 the top 11 players had over 40 goals and the top 30 had over 32, top 60 had over 28.

In 11/12 the top 1 player was off the charts 4 had over 40 goals and the top 30 had over 30, top 60 had over 24

Your top scorers are your top scorers and that .70 doesn't change their goal production.

Edit: This is not me saying Yak will have the rookie season of Ovy because I don't see it. This is me saying that their seasons before they played in the NHL aren't "not even close to comparable" they are comparable.

Yes Ovy was a can't miss, Yes Yak has some question marks, but he also has some aspects of his game that are better than Ovy's.

To say he is the weakest first overall in a while (which there has been lot's of) is absolutely crazy. This is for sure.

 

[Hynh]

Ovechkin had points on 26 of his team's 179 goals (13%). Yak has points on 14 of 70 (20%).

 

[Senor Catface]

OMG Yakupov would have 9.5 goals instead of 10 goals if he played in 2004-2005!!

 

[hototogisu]

People desperately need to wrap their heads around the fact that they are comparing two different leagues.

 

[Turrican*]

People desperately need to wrap their heads around the fact that they are comparing two different leagues.

And which one is more difficult to play in?

 

[Aceboogie]

His ice time is not so limited.

Its actaully pretty limited

 

[s7ark]

His ice time is not so limited.

According to here, he's 7th among fwds on his team in TOI/G. Imo, that's pretty limited.

 

[Senor Catface]

"Different" leagues that just coincidentally both house a great similiar number of teams. This isn't comparing the WHL to the NHL or something...

 

[Aceboogie]

Yakupov has better points in a better league, but still a prospect.

I think its fair to say Yakupov is slightly better at the same age looking at stats but Ovy took his skill to the NHL and dominated. Yakupov still has to do that.

 

[Senor Catface]

Being a scout must be tough.

"I don't know who to pick! All these players are in different leagues...We can't just COMPARE them like that!"

 

[RipsADrive]

People desperately need to wrap their heads around the fact that they are comparing two different leagues.

How much does this change really though?

It's already been established that the GPG are relatively similar in the two leagues. They're are/were both men's leagues based in Russia and have a similar calibre of players. If anything, Yakupov's stats in this league are more impressive considering the infusion of NHL talent in Russia this year.

 

[s7ark]

"Different" leagues that just coincidentally both house a great similiar number of teams. This isn't comparing the WHL to the NHL or something...

Agreed. Perhaps it may be like comparing clutch and grab NHL vs the post 1st lockout? I dunno I haven't watched a lot of RSL vs KHL hockey.

If people don't like comparing RSL to KHL I guess we can only compare him to other top rated young Russians post draft seasons in the KHL. Not really as useful because none of them have proven squat in the NHL, but it's all there is.

Yakupov 2011–12 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 13 10 4 14

Tarasenko 2010–11 HC Sibir KHL 42 9 10 19
Kuznetsov 2010–11 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 44 17 15 32

 

[eS7]

Yakupov has better points in a better league, but still a prospect.

I think its fair to say Yakupov is slightly better at the same age looking at stats but Ovy took his skill to the NHL and dominated. Yakupov still has to do that.

This is exactly it, and I don't even expect Yak to come out and dominate in the NHL right away like Ovy did. If he does, pleasant surprise. But I think he has the potential to get there eventually. Might be wishful thinking but it looks good.

 

[oilphan]

Oiler fans (of which I am one), just drop the Prospects board and come back and get giddy about Yak on the Oiler board. You will be much more openly accepted there.