I wanted Murray but he hasn't exactly turned heads either. I remember Galchenyuk was considered the safe pick because of his size.
Why is Yakupov a bust?
- Thread starter Mike Martin
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I wanted Murray but he hasn't exactly turned heads either. I remember Galchenyuk was considered the safe pick because of his size.
Newfoundland
Registered User
Up the Irons
Registered User
I'd just like to know how so many so-called hockey people, including Mackenzie, thought this kid was the next Bure, and 'the best Russian prospect since OV'.
it just goes to show, they don't know everything and they get it completely wrong sometimes.
it just goes to show, they don't know everything and they get it completely wrong sometimes.
The Oilers were not going to "develop" a brain for him.
He is the least intelligent hockey player I have ever seen.
Bob McKenzie never makes evaluations on prospects himself.
He interviews, sorts and lists the general scouting consensus. Which is why his list is easily the most accurate year after year.
cptjeff
Reprehensible User
The Oilers might not have been able to do it, but there are teams who certainly manage to teach young players well, and build their skills. It's called "development", and it's not easy, but it can be done if the player is receptive. If you have a coachable player and a coach that's willing to teach (not all players are willing to listen and not all coaches are willing to spend the time), then players can and frequently do get better.
The Oilers spent a good decade ignoring that concept, deciding that all of their high picks knew everything they would ever know about hockey at age 18, throwing them into the NHL with no instruction, hoping that magic would happen. It didn't work. Other teams don't do that.
Was Yakupov ever a guy who could learn? I don't know. People have opinions, I never watched him enough to make a judgement. Can he still learn? Likely not. Once habits solidify, they're hard to break. The window has likely passed. Probably best to let him go to the KHL in peace, filing him under the categories of "players whom the Oilers' incompetence ruined forever" and "what might have been".
BlueBaron
Registered User
Vegas seems like an obvious choice, they will be starved for offense so he could be 1 or 2 RW there and they could overlook bad defense if he could chip in 20 plus goals.
Darcy Tucker
My Name is Bob
With 1st line + 1st PP unit minutes, along with a license to do whatever he wants, certainly, yes.
After all, one must not forget David Clarkson once scored 30.
John Eichel da GOAT
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Obviously "low hockey IQ" is the answer beleived by most here. How in the world did that get by soooo many scouts that it made him the consensus #1 overall pick? He played at a pretty high level at WJC and dominated.
I find it hard to believe this guy is that much of a bust. I still want to blame a decent chunk on the joke Oilers franchise at the time and then being buried in a 3rd line role ever since.
Throw him on Crosby or Malkin's wing and I bet he's a 30 goal scorer real quick.
I find it hard to believe this guy is that much of a bust. I still want to blame a decent chunk on the joke Oilers franchise at the time and then being buried in a 3rd line role ever since.
Throw him on Crosby or Malkin's wing and I bet he's a 30 goal scorer real quick.
Doesn't always work out that way, but if I was him, that's what I'd do.
Sign for $1.2 mill or something real low for one season in Pittsburgh. If you can get it going there, then you have an NHL career, if not, then hello KHL.
Cyclones Rock
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Ryan Murray is a third pairing defenseman. He's a bust for a 2OA pick.
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People said the same thing about Devan Dubnyk when he was on the Oilers. A little time with Sean Burke when he was with the Coyotes and look at him now.
The Oilers have a long list of prospects they bungled the development of and when they went elsewhere they prospered.
if they are starved for offense why would they want yakupov who last showed he was capable of anything offensively in juniors ?
he is, for a variety of reasons, not made for the NHL game. his best option is to go to the KHL, and try to get people interested in him again not go to bust out of his third team in three years because he's not top 6 material ( even on an expansion team) and has no idea how to play a bottom six role.
throw a ham sandwhich on crosby's or malkin's wing and they score the same amount. The game isnt " how can we make yakupov better" the game is " can yakupov be better than player X "? so far the answer is no.
He's NEVER shown he deserves first or second line minutes, that's his problem. Yet people think that he somehow deserves these minutes based on where he was drafted 6 years ago. have people simply forgotten every thing that has happened in the mean time ?
TheNumber4
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He didn't dominate WJC though. One of the first times I doubted him as an Oiler prospect. Tarasenko and his line were dominant though. Yak looked like a passenger on a crazy strong Russian junior team.
Chet Manley
Registered User
Wish more Blues fans would comment on this, as I haven't watched him this year. The whole time he was an Oiler, I was thinking he should watch every game tape of Tarasenko as a template for how to make Yaks skills useful in the NHL. So when he was traded, wished him the best and hoped Hitchcock plus Tarasenko were his best chance at turning it around.
Yak reminds me of a person whose brain falls out when in distress. Like that friend you had in school that knew everything the night before a test only to do poorly on it because they were nervous. I was the same playing hockey if my father was present, as he would nitpick the entire game after. Brain would fog... less able to see the play.
The Oiler's totally screwed up the development of Hall, Eberle, RNH, Yak, and Gags. Too many young players at once without any shelter nor competition from decent vet players for roster spots/icetime. Plus Eakins. Example; RNH was the first line centre almost immediately. Between being totally in over his head and Hall hogging the puck, his offensive vision and creativity just died in development. The things he was heralded as having for making him a 1OA to begin with. Haven't seen it in 2 years... maybe a little bit at the WCH. Now people are goating him as the reason the Oilers don't win every game and want him gone. (Oil fans always have a scapegoat) Years of suffering through watching one of the worst teams in history just to watch the pieces that justified those years turn into little. grrrr
That got off track. Yak, so many things to like and still hope he turns a corner to NHL player. PS Never understood the Bure comparisons, skate nothing alike.
Yak reminds me of a person whose brain falls out when in distress. Like that friend you had in school that knew everything the night before a test only to do poorly on it because they were nervous. I was the same playing hockey if my father was present, as he would nitpick the entire game after. Brain would fog... less able to see the play.
The Oiler's totally screwed up the development of Hall, Eberle, RNH, Yak, and Gags. Too many young players at once without any shelter nor competition from decent vet players for roster spots/icetime. Plus Eakins. Example; RNH was the first line centre almost immediately. Between being totally in over his head and Hall hogging the puck, his offensive vision and creativity just died in development. The things he was heralded as having for making him a 1OA to begin with. Haven't seen it in 2 years... maybe a little bit at the WCH. Now people are goating him as the reason the Oilers don't win every game and want him gone. (Oil fans always have a scapegoat) Years of suffering through watching one of the worst teams in history just to watch the pieces that justified those years turn into little. grrrr
That got off track. Yak, so many things to like and still hope he turns a corner to NHL player. PS Never understood the Bure comparisons, skate nothing alike.
DANOZ28
Registered User
well i thought he had the tools, i just think some players cant handle the pressure & expectations of being #1. he is a speedy , creative player but he looks lost & by himself when trying to make a play. i feel bad for the guy , hard not to call him a complete bust.
sr edler
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Yakupov didn't even have that impressive WJC stats, in a broader context. 17 points in 14 games is good, but Kuznetsov looked much better on the ice and on the stat sheet.
Bure? Yeah he was voted best WJC forward as a 17-year old in Anchorage, Alaska in front of older guys like Fedorov, Mogilny, Roenick and Modano....
Luigi Lemieux
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Would like the pens to take a chance on him if he's available. Pittsburgh has resuscitated Schultz, Daley, and Niskanen's careers over the past few years. Perhaps they can do the same for Yakupov. There would be almost zero pressure on him in Pittsburgh.
sr edler
gold is not reality
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Apparently he idolized Bure growing up.
That shouldn't say much though. Peter Forsberg, for example, idolized HÃ¥kan Loob while growing up, and he turned out quite a different player than Loob stylistically.
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
Hard to believe this kid is going to be 24 going into next season. The window of time for late-blooming is going to start closing.
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As many posters have mentioned, his hockey IQ is low by NHL standards. He has some plus skills, but even that area is cause for some concern. For example, he has tremendous speed, and while it can be disruptive it is rarely dangerous. He has difficulty handling the puck at speed, so the speed doesn't really help much carrying the puck to create offense. His low IQ makes it difficult for him to process how plays are developing, so he is often quick to an area that takes him out of the play. He has really good hands when given time and space, but that is extremely rare at the NHL level, especially when the player is unable to create said time and space for themselves.
He is just too reliant on other players to utilize the skills he has, but his low hockey IQ makes it really difficult for anyone to develop chemistry with him because he lacks the ability to understand the game at a level that allows him to process and anticipate his linemate's next move.
He is just too reliant on other players to utilize the skills he has, but his low hockey IQ makes it really difficult for anyone to develop chemistry with him because he lacks the ability to understand the game at a level that allows him to process and anticipate his linemate's next move.
KevinRedkey
12/18/23 and beyond!
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He was more talented than other players, and never really had to use his hickey-IQ as a result. He was rushed in to the NHL and never given the chance to develop a strong mental game. His mind couldn't keep up with the speed of the NHL, and he would have benefited from playing in the AHL to develop that IQ against slower and less talented players, where he would have still held a skill advantage over most. This would have boosted his confidence and taught him how to use his skill at an NHL-level.
So it's one of 3 things....
1. His hockey-IQ was never high enough to be an NHL player
2. He was poorly developed and his brain was never given a chance to catch up to his skill level
3. 1 and 2
So it's one of 3 things....
1. His hockey-IQ was never high enough to be an NHL player
2. He was poorly developed and his brain was never given a chance to catch up to his skill level
3. 1 and 2
