Yakupov was on pace for 53 pts as a rookie. So what happened?

[oXo Cube]

Apparently he was a complete asshat during the draft interviews.

Burke said he was insulted when the Leafs interviewed him holding the 5th pick and one of their scouts almost took him outside.

Yeah, and he wasn't alone. Pretty much nobody in a relevant position seemed to like this guy that much, except Daryl Katz.

I'm seriously unsure that Yakupov goes in the top 10 if Edmonton passes on him.

 

[96]

Yeah, and he wasn't alone. Pretty much nobody in a relevant position seemed to like this guy that much, except Daryl Katz.

I'm seriously unsure that Yakupov goes in the top 10 if Edmonton passes on him.

Get your brain checked out then man. If Edmonton takes Murray at #1 (still a bust), there is literally no way Yakupov doesn't go 2nd.

IIRC the Islanders offered every single pick in the draft to Columbus for the #2 pick and Lumbus rejected because they wanted Murray. If Murray is off the board, they would likely have moved down and accepted that over-payment.

 

[Stuzchuk]

Coaching
IQ
Ethic

 

[tfwnogf]

I don't know much about KHL, but he's 4 points outside the top 50 in scoring with 26 points in 43 games. Not earth shattering, but not as bad as I thought considering this thread. Definitely a huge letdown for a 1st overall pick though.

 

[paul9kariya]

Yakupov just wasn't a smart player. He had skills but didn't know how to play hockey the North American way. The guy often just looked lost out there. Had the IQ of a cabbage.

a cabbage lmfao.

 

[nafrelio]

As an Oiler fan, I was pretty excited after his rookie season. He was not seen as a bust at all. People here forget that. He was playing at a 30 goal pace in a shortened season in his rookie year. He led the team in goals with Hall, Nuge Gagner, Hemsky and Eberle on the team! His passing and stick handling were also very underrated - very skilled player.

Then inexplicably Ralph Kruger was replaced by Dallas Eakins. Most of the Oilers young skill players digressed offensively under Eakins. Yak lost his confidence, and with it, his desire to keep improving. Of course this isn't all the coach's fault, but what could he have been without Eakins?

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

a cabbage lmfao.

That's too generous, Yakupov had the IQ of a raisin.

 

[TaLoN]

That's too generous, Yakupov had the IQ of a raisin.

Maybe he just failed the raisin test?

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[WarriorofTime]

This is true except for relative to NHL players he wasn't fast(not slow though either) and couldn't shoot.

Yeah not fast enough to get away with it, I think his shot is pretty decent, just rarely in the right position to get a good clean rip off and a bit of a braindead shooter.

Typical Edmonton senility.

These are the same hicks that were in every thread/website mocking Leafs fans, saying we got Dallas Eakins the best coaching prospect of all time, etc.

Lol, dont believe me? Remember when they were calling Chia the best GM in hockey, and Todd McLellen a top 3 coach in the league then changed their tune saying they're both the worst at their jobs? Edmonton fans are the strangest in the entire NHL and its not even close.

Well Leaf fans hyped up Eakins a lot because I think he had a good AHL team or something

I'm seriously unsure that Yakupov goes in the top 10 if Edmonton passes on him.

This is revisionist history, it was a dogshit draft, especially for Forwards which is why a bunch of "meh" Defensemen went Top 10 and Yakupov was a consensus Number 1 all year. Someone would have taken him or traded up, teams are desperate for forward prospects.

FWIW, when a prospect busts HARD it is not at all uncommon for "anonymous" and not-so-anonymous "scouts" and "front office" people to come out of the woodwork to talk shit about how they knew the kid was always going to suck.

Certainly, in the first year following the draft there was nothing to suggest Yakupov wouldn't at least be a serviceable top 6 winger. He had a good KHL stint, played well at the World Juniors and then showed some life towards the end of the Lockout shortened season.

 

[Turin]

There are many players who can put up 50 points if you give them enough opportunity, they’ll just cancel it out with their overall game and bad effect on linemates. The coaches then cut their opportunity down and they fade away because there’s nowhere in the lineup where they are a net positive. Yakupov was one of those guys.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

I wonder what would have happened if he had turned pro after the 10-11 season. Probably would have helped him in multiple ways as a player, even if it hurt his draft position.

Still, classic example of why Katz or his kid shouldn't be trusted with important hockey decisions.

 

[oXo Cube]

Yeah not fast enough to get away with it, I think his shot is pretty decent, just rarely in the right position to get a good clean rip off and a bit of a braindead shooter.

He did have a good release, but he couldn't hit an empty net with it. The accuracy just wasn't there.

This is revisionist history, it was a dogshit draft, especially for Forwards which is why a bunch of "meh" Defensemen went Top 10 and Yakupov was a consensus Number 1 all year. Someone would have taken him or traded up, teams are desperate for forward prospects.

FWIW, when a prospect busts HARD it is not at all uncommon for "anonymous" and not-so-anonymous "scouts" and "front office" people to come out of the woodwork to talk shit about how they knew the kid was always going to suck.

Certainly, in the first year following the draft there was nothing to suggest Yakupov wouldn't at least be a serviceable top 6 winger. He had a good KHL stint, played well at the World Juniors and then showed some life towards the end of the Lockout shortened season.

Thing is, these aren't people coming out of the woodwork years later. This is things that people in decisions of power were saying at the time with the exception of Edmonton. The story about them leaked later for sure but given that it directly blames the owner of the franchise for the decision I kinda believe it.

I'll agree that 10 is an ambitiously high number though. Some team in the teens that didn't do as much research as they should due to not thinking they had a chance probably trades up if he's still around after 5.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Yakupov is a weird guy, he didn't speak a word of english, went to a place that was notoriously awful at developing young players, and there were all these reports about him being a prima donna who only wanted to score goals, but idk we never got a full story. I remember the oldheads got mad he celebrated a goal too hard and too "individual-y" and then his next goal he very consciously made an effort to make sure that his celebration was completely team-oriented with all five players together. And it also came out that he would apparently just take random homeless people out to dinner, like not just buy them dinner but sit there and spend the length of an entire plated dinner with them. It's always tough to say what is real versus what is just old white North American dudes who have a natural inkling to dislike any player from Russia and add in the fact that he is Muslim and a Tatar as well, so who knows to what extent stuff played in a factor. I honestly think he is just kinda dumb not necessarily a bad guy.

 

[96]

Well Leaf fans hyped up Eakins a lot because I think he had a good AHL team or something

what bout the others?

Yea, that was one of the deepest Marlies team I've seen. Better than the championship squad

 

[elmaco]

He seemed dumb as a rock, i guess there's a connection.

 

[Bank Shot]

Yakupov is a weird guy, he didn't speak a word of english, went to a place that was notoriously awful at developing young players, and there were all these reports about him being a prima donna who only wanted to score goals, but idk we never got a full story. I remember the oldheads got mad he celebrated a goal too hard and too "individual-y" and then his next goal he very consciously made an effort to make sure that his celebration was completely team-oriented with all five players together. And it also came out that he would apparently just take random homeless people out to dinner, like not just buy them dinner but sit there and spend the length of an entire plated dinner with them. It's always tough to say what is real versus what is just old white North American dudes who have a natural inkling to dislike any player from Russia and add in the fact that he is Muslim and a Tatar as well, so who knows to what extent stuff played in a factor. I honestly think he is just kinda dumb not necessarily a bad guy.

I don't think anyone should imply that Yakupov was a bad guy. He just didn't get it when it came to playing hockey.

This play sums up his career pretty well.