Yakupov was on pace for 53 pts as a rookie. So what happened?
- Thread starter illpucks
- Start date
Yakupov wanted to play like Ovechkin ... but had no where near the shot accuracy. He could shot the puck very hard but in a game situation with limited time and space lacked the ability to place the shot.
Even if in "good rookie season" look at his goals ... none are really of the highlight reel variety, they're mostly just tap ins or tips, he was not able to really beat NHL defenders 1 on 1 and he couldn't beat goalies with his shot straight up either.
NHL goalies are not OHL goalies it turns out.
sr edler
gold is not reality
- Mar 20, 2010
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I think his dad had a pretty strong presence around on him, and if we're allowed to speculate freely here it could be he saw his dad as his actual coach and therefore took a hit in development because he mainly just listened to him. Also the class was pretty weak in top end talent and someone had to go first.
viceroy
Registered User
I once tried to explain the hiring of Dallas Eakins to a friend of mine that loves sports but doesn't follow hockey. He was perplexed and didn't seem to fully believe me.
I think it's the fact that he didn't know where to be so when he did realize where he needed to be he was always late on the play. Which made him look slow.
Yeah, I always thought he was overrated and not worthy of a #1 Overall pick but thought he would develop into a Sergei Samsonov-type talent. A guy that could score 20-30 goals per season simply due to raw talent.
I thought that was Pierre Maguire that described him as such.
Wow. Just like Alex Galchenyuk then. Chucky sure had some bad habits off the ice but I've heard that he would often ignore coaches' directives and instead just follow his dad's directives.
me2
Go ahead foot
People just blame failure on the team coach, even though it's the player. Good players find their way through bad coaching. Yak failed under many coaches and teams.
Poor vision, bad defense, selfish-entitled attitude to team play. He got away with it at junior level, not at pro. Junior level play just didn't translate. He's struggling to be noticeable at KHL level where AHL stars and NHL cast offs like Corbin Knight, Marcus Granlund and Taylor Beck are scoring well.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option, at least early. But in hindsight, he definitely could have gone back to the OHL in his rookie season ( like Hemsky, Eberle, Yamamoto, even Draisaitl after playing half a season).
It’s a tough situation with the way CHL rules go. Many players have little left to learn going back to juniors, but are barred entry from heading to the American League. I kinda wish there was an exemption rule (maybe one roster spot per team), but I definitely understand why the CHL wants to hold onto their high-end talent.
One thing I think people forget with Yakapov is he was having a really pedestrian rookie season until the last two games of the season where he scored a combined 5 goals. These were in games that really didn’t matter and he was played more TOI than he was given all year due to the unimportant nature of the games. 12 goals in 46 looks a lot worse than 17 in 48.
In retrospect he paced for 29 goals but I really think he was fortunate to have the stat line that he did, he did not look the part of a 30 goal scorer in his rookie season at all. He also got a really high 2:39 of PP TOI/G which resulted in 6 of his 17 goals. Lafreniere for example gets only 1/2 of that.
In retrospect he paced for 29 goals but I really think he was fortunate to have the stat line that he did, he did not look the part of a 30 goal scorer in his rookie season at all. He also got a really high 2:39 of PP TOI/G which resulted in 6 of his 17 goals. Lafreniere for example gets only 1/2 of that.
BlueBaron
Registered User
He reminds me a lot of Daigle. You could see skill and speed were in abundance.
From some of things I have read here it almost feels like if he had an extra year before entering the league, and his body got that extra weight and strength, he would have been better prepared for the league.
Seems like he could have been a lot like Kapanen but maybe closer to a 30 goal guy.
It wasn't a great draft at the top anyway. Vas was probably the best player and then Lindholm/Rielly.
Oilers sure would look different today with any of those 3 guys were there now.
Every team has a tragic draft pick or two.
From some of things I have read here it almost feels like if he had an extra year before entering the league, and his body got that extra weight and strength, he would have been better prepared for the league.
Seems like he could have been a lot like Kapanen but maybe closer to a 30 goal guy.
It wasn't a great draft at the top anyway. Vas was probably the best player and then Lindholm/Rielly.
Oilers sure would look different today with any of those 3 guys were there now.
Every team has a tragic draft pick or two.
The game was too easy for Daigle, and Daigle was to uninterested in hockey overall. He did it because he was good at it and made him money, but he'd have been much happier as an actor or something in Hollywood rather than playing in the NHL.
Daigle wasn't bad at it... he had great vision and IQ. He just didn't give enough of a damn to be the superstar he should've been.
He could sleepwalk to 50-60 points in the dead puck era, so he did.
BenningHurtsMySoul
Unfair Huggy Bear
Most of the above comments make sense to a degree - but even so, his career has been surprisingly awful. He's a half-point per game player in the KHL at the age of 28. Should be in his prime. No language barrier. Should be getting good minutes. Plenty of time to overcome whatever Eakins and Krueger may have done to him. This is one of the biggest drafting fails of all time. Even Daigle managed to play over 600 NHL games and score more than 300 points. Disappointing, but at least it was a full NHL career with reasonable production.
Don't downplay the impact Eakins had on ruining this player. Eakins treated him like the stereotypical lazy Russian trope. Yakupov wasn't lazy, he was just dumb. He needed the carrot to learn to play the right way not the stick. When Eakins treated him like it was an effort problem AND was teaching stupid ass stuff anyway Yakupov quit. Like Eakins wanted him to play like a grinder rather than encouraging him to still be skilled as well as adding some more elements.
Basically you had a player that you handled badly and completely killed any potential. Yes Yakupov owns the quitting on listening to coaches, but Eakins needed to recognize that his approach was the wrong one with this player. Maybe with better handling early in his career he would have developed into a useful player.
joestevens29
Registered User
- Apr 30, 2009
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Tools, no toolbox to an extreme degree. Sophomore slumps exist because, once your opponents have your game film, they know your favorite tricks. They learn to counter them. Good players adapt. But if you just lack the ability to think the game at a decent level, that's basically it.
I liked Yak in Colorado. He did seem to want it. It wasn't lack of effort that was holding him back. He just absolutely did not seem to understand the game of hockey.
I liked Yak in Colorado. He did seem to want it. It wasn't lack of effort that was holding him back. He just absolutely did not seem to understand the game of hockey.
Thats sounds alot like TJ Brennan. He almost a point per game with the Marlies as a defenseman, but it just didn't translate to the NHL.
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
Daigle is a player where I would have liked to see him come along in a different era.
He played on a historically bad expansion team with one of the most restrictive expansion drafts in history, only to have the dead puck era drop into existence two seasons into his career.
When they say hockey wasn't fun for him, it's easy to see why.
His outside speed was essentially nullified by water skiing levels of obstruction and he'd routinely be hammered into the post.
He never really evolved his game beyond trying to beat everyone, which was clearly his fault, but defending players also had carte blanche to do whatever they wanted to him without being penalized.
He played on a historically bad expansion team with one of the most restrictive expansion drafts in history, only to have the dead puck era drop into existence two seasons into his career.
When they say hockey wasn't fun for him, it's easy to see why.
His outside speed was essentially nullified by water skiing levels of obstruction and he'd routinely be hammered into the post.
He never really evolved his game beyond trying to beat everyone, which was clearly his fault, but defending players also had carte blanche to do whatever they wanted to him without being penalized.
JoeSakic13
Registered User
Yeah kinda shocked how many of these early posts are pointing at Eakins. The guy was arrogant and couldn’t adapt his game to the NHL level.
Lots of players face issues when they go from years being the best player on every team they’ve been on to facing the world’s best. Unfortunately Yaks couldn’t (or maybe didn’t want to) put in the work to get his game to the next level.
Eakins didn’t help this transition, but based what I’ve read about him (and my times when I met him personally) I can’t help but think he’d be a bust with any coach.
Lots of players face issues when they go from years being the best player on every team they’ve been on to facing the world’s best. Unfortunately Yaks couldn’t (or maybe didn’t want to) put in the work to get his game to the next level.
Eakins didn’t help this transition, but based what I’ve read about him (and my times when I met him personally) I can’t help but think he’d be a bust with any coach.
I mean he also seemed to not like hockey before then, he just did it because he was good at it. He didn't seem to have passion for the game. It's crazy that someone was able to get to the NHL with that attitude. Imagine if he had wanted it how good he migh have been.
Seeing how he also busted in other markets blaming Eakins seems unfair. It's not like he's tearing up the KHL either.
Eakins cratered the development of a lot of players in Edmonton. Seriously set thing back years and years. Yakupov is just the one who wasn't able to rebound from it.
- Apr 27, 2005
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I mean he had 10 goals 18 points in only 22 KHL games as a 19 year old. And then led a loaded SKA Petersburg in goals as a 24 year old despite missing like 15 games.
I think his confidence just got completely shattered.
dem
Registered User
- Mar 17, 2002
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He peaked early.
He looked like a man against boys in Jr. He would run guys over. He was fiesty. He looked like he could step into the league and play.
And then his game never grew one bit... and he wasn't quite good enough.
He looked like a man against boys in Jr. He would run guys over. He was fiesty. He looked like he could step into the league and play.
And then his game never grew one bit... and he wasn't quite good enough.
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GeeoffBrown
Registered User
- Jul 6, 2007
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Daigle had very good hockey IQ. His only problem was complete lack of motivation. He knew how to play and could sleepwalk to 50-60pt seasons in the dead puck era. Had he actually WANTED to play, he would've dominated as everyone predicted he would. He just didn't really have the desire.
Yak? He didn't have the IQ. He didn't know how to play the game properly. Once he reached a stage where his skills alone couldn't get the job done, he needed proper coaching to help overcome his poor hockey IQ. He filed to get it... thus he became a failure at the highest level. Lost his confidence in the process and now isn't that great even in lower levels.
Matty Sundin
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- Jul 18, 2006
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He was the 1st overall pick but in a very weak draft. Most drafts he might not even be in the top 5. He was more of a project prospect that probably never would of never been a star but maybe could still contribute and hang around in the league much longer and needed good development, and Dallas Eakins wasn’t the coach to do that for him. Eakins made him a scapegoat on a team that had so many holes as well and I think that really killed his confidence and why he got worse.
He is to blame for his short comings as well but getting drafted to Edmonton really wasn’t a good fit for him.
He is to blame for his short comings as well but getting drafted to Edmonton really wasn’t a good fit for him.
