Why was Nail Yakupov a bust?

[SeanMoneyHands]

He had quite a bit of hype when he was drafted. He was hyped as the next Russian superstar. Someone with the skillset of Kovalev or Mogilny. He was decent in his rookie year but it all went downhill after that.

St. Louis gave up on him after 40 games played and Colorado gave up on him after 58 games.

Nail had the best goal celebrations, that was one thing he was really good at doing

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[crowi]

Dumb

 

[EpochLink]

He ass dawg

 

[DrDangles]

Probably the best case of tools but no toolbox to ever exist

 

[Alexei Yashvalev]

For whatever reason, he had zero hockey sense or understanding of the game at the NHL level.



Funny to look back though

 

[SirPaste]

He was very fast, that’s about all he had going for him. He was bad at everything else.

 

[Kennerback]

Played a crash power forward style like Ovechkin but was 5:10. Worked in the OHL, not in the NHL.

 

[awegrzyn]

He was not a bust. He was scouted wrong when at Sarina.

 

[Kennerback]

He was not a bust. He was scouted wrong when at Sarina.

There’s an inherent risk drafting these small crash and bang skilled forwards. Another older case was Gilbert Brule. When I saw Yakupov in Sarnia, I could tell this was risky but no one was talking about it. So I just followed the flow like everyone else. Probably many believed the same thing but no one spoke up.

 

[DitchMarner]

More like: Why was he hyped so much to begin with?

What was he great at? Maybe skating fast?

He didn't have the hockey IQ to be an NHL star when his tools weren't all that special.

 

[Kennerback]

More like: Why was he hyped so much to begin with?

What was he great at? Maybe skating fast?

He didn't have the hockey IQ to be an NHL star when his tools weren't all that special.

He was also pimped as running over people. Sport channels made compilations of his hits.

 

[Oilslick941611]

He had quite a bit of hype when he was drafted. He was hyped as the next Russian superstar. Someone with the skillset of Kovalev or Mogilny. He was decent in his rookie year but it all went downhill after that.

St. Louis gave up on him after 40 games played and Colorado gave up on him after 58 games.

Work ethic. Attitude and skating ability or lack thereof

 

[DitchMarner]

He was also pimped as running over people. Sport channels made compilations of his hits.

Even Lindros couldn't dominate the NHL playing that way for a full career. Why would people think someone like Yak would? lol.

 

[Oilslick941611]

There’s an inherent risk drafting these small crash and bang skilled forwards. Another older case was Gilbert Brule. When I saw Yakupov in Sarnia, I could tell this was risky but no one was talking about it. So I just followed the flow like everyone else. Probably many believed the same thing but no one spoke up.

The oilers scouts agree with you. They were overruled by ownership

 

[Kennerback]

Even Lindros couldn't dominate the NHL playing that way for a full career. Why would people think someone like Yak would? lol.

Idk. Collective insanity in the scouting world. He was being spun as a smaller Ovechkin that was shot out of a canon and either scored or destroyed people. When he became the smallest guy on the ice in the NHL, it didn’t work anymore.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

he couldn't escape the swarm of bees chasing him

 

[Kennerback]

The oilers scouts agree with you. They were overruled by ownership

There’s so much pressure to pick someone that rises to collective 1OA, that it’s hard to keep your head cool. I was reading an article about a hockey guy preferring Cooley to Wright but didn’t have the guts to go against the grain in his rankings.

 

[thrillhous]

He was a very good skater (especially on his edges) and he had a great shot. He also had an infectious hard work attitude. So that should tell you what he lacked - hockey IQ. You know how with some players it seems like the puck follows them? He had the opposite.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

He was a very good skater (especially on his edges) and he had a great shot. He also had an infectious hard work attitude. So that should tell you what he lacked - hockey IQ. You know how with some players it seems like the puck follows them? He had the opposite.

Damn bees.

Yakupov skated really fast to absolutely nowhere and when he had the puck he would pass it to nobody or shoot it incredibly hard 6 inches above the net.

 

[McPoyle]

He possessed good NHL level skills in skating and shot. But his hockey IQ was pretty low. Also he suffered some pretty bad injuries that derailed his career.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

i think he could have still carved out a daniel sprong type career if he had the right attitude.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Dumb as a post

Also had the misfortune of being drafted by the Oilers. There was no way he was NHL ready in 2012.

 

[542365]

He would've gone like 5th or 6th in the draft if he was a year younger, and would've been hard pressed to crack the top ten if he was a year older. It was a tremendously shit draft. It was known at the time that it was going to be a shit draft, but he and Galchenyuk(who got injured during his draft year) were the only guys that appeared to have star potential at all. Really only Forsberg and arguably Reilly can be called stars from that draft. Cody Ceci has played the second most games FFS. Nobody would remember him so poorly if he was a 6th overall pick. Those go sideways pretty regularly. He just had the misfortune of being the most exciting player in a dreadful year.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

The backlash over his celly broke him

 

[kingsholygrail]

Got figured out and never could adjust his game properly to the NHL.