G Yaroslav Askarov - SKA-Neva St.Petersburg, VHL (2020, 11th, NSH)

[Rabid Ranger]

You can't teach athleticism....at least thats the glass half full approach. Hes going to take some considerable seasoning and refinement before he becomes a NHL starter. That's okay though. By that point the Preds hope they have another Jonathan Quick on their hands.

 

[Whiston532]

Isn’t he like 3-4 years away from even sniffing the NHL ? I think we can relax about the last few weeks. It’s not nothing but gloom and doom seems overkill.

 

[4Twenty]

Nice cherry pick. Now how about the goalies who also struggled at this tournament and did NOT make it in NHL.

Cherry pick lol. I picked a highly rated Russian goalie. How’s that cherry picking. If you need to tear some kid down for a single tournament performance have at it.

 

[Melkor]

Lol people here need to relax. Not every elite goalie has a good WJC and as a fan that had a goalie put up a ridiculous WJC (Pogge) not every goalie that has a good wjc is elite. Askarov might not be having the best tournament but he still has the best resume and skillset of any goalie since Price before entering the league.

Absolute lie through and through. Keep repeating it though.

 

[Melkor]

People need to stop saying Vasilevski had some bad showings at WJC. Vasilevski's had a WJC to remember as a 17 year old. If not for those last 10 minutes of the 3rd period in the semifinal I'd say he had a close to perfect tournament. He was #1 for that team. Not to mention a couple of championships after that where he looked like an absolute rock. It is insulting to mention Askarov's performances in the same sentence as Vasilevski's. You can guess whom is that insulting for. Vasi is the true best goalie prospect of this century.

 

[57special]

Askarov has been mediocre or worse at 2 WJC's in a row. His inability to catch the puck in the last game was strange, as was his repeated losing of his stick. I have never seen anything like it. I was critical of some of the Russian defensive play, till on the replay I saw them have to repeatedly chase after his stick, or give him theirs. IMO, Larionov and his goalie coach should've gotten their heads together early on and pulled him from the game. Something clearly wasn't right.
Oh, and he wasn't bad because of TSN. Their coverage of his difficulties was spot on, and interesting for a viewer, but obviously, Askarov had no idea what the broadcast was saying while he was playing. I am not a big goalie blamer, but at this point I find myself saying the same thing that I did last year, which is, " if he isn't going to play well in big games, then how can he be a great goalie prospect?"

All goalies have to deal with pressure since they were young. It's in the job description. If he can't, then... All I can think of otherwise is that he wasn't right physically( sick, injured).

 

[Caser]

If we look at his stick losses, the majority of those came at the moments, when he tries to cover up the rebound (somehow his style there reminds of a leaping frog), so it's a rebound control thing, imo, multiplied by nerves. Possibly lack of GK coach nearby also had it's impact.

As for his glove, there have always been issues, but it's also not hard to fix with the right kind of coaching (you can remember Varlamov before Allaire got his hands on him).

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

The losing the stick thing wouldn’t concern me if I were a Preds fan. That’s easily cleaned up.

He just needs to play a more calm game in the crease. He’s too active in net. The tools are there, he needs to refine his game and hopefully that comes with more experience.

 

[Gnashville]

As I mentioned previously, the ones who expose themselves with this tournament are fans, not players. This is a two week snapshot in the careers of players. Their career is not made or finished due to how they play in this tournament. However, fans have a tendency to expose how their team biases effect their ability to analyze the game, their pettiness towards teenager athletes, their inability to control their emotions, and their lack of perspective about the importance of performances in this tournament.

If you find yourself wondering if this applies to you, it probably does.

In reality, Askarov had a weak game in a game where his team was completely outclassed. The rest of the tournament he played adequately. Besides this game, he has more than proved he's a very good goalie prospect. Given prior precedent, he's more than earned his draft slot. He's also by any objective measure showing good improvement this season from last season. If you find yourself with all these negative things to say about this guy, the problem is probably you, not the player.

This was not some Weekend Beer league Tournament but the best on best under 20 teams. A lot of these kids will play in the NHL this year and some will never play at all. He looked completely out of his league vs Canada and was not impressive at any time during this Tournament. I don’t expect a 18 year old to step into a NHL game and play well but I do think he should play in this Tournament at a much higher level. Everyone was playing their best and he didn’t look competent vs these teams, so it is apparent he was way overrated from the beginning.

I was already concerned when the Predators drafted now it is crystal clear it was a mistake. Either he clears up his multitude of issues or the Predators should consider trading him soon.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

The losing the stick thing wouldn’t concern me if I were a Preds fan. That’s easily cleaned up.

He just needs to play a more calm game in the crease. He’s too active in net. The tools are there, he needs to refine his game and hopefully that comes with more experience.

Another thing he needs to work on his using his size to stay big in the net. He is excellent at shutting down the lower portion but can make himself vulnerable to high shots. I don't doubt with his hockey sense and athleticism that he will get things cleaned up. None of his difficulties mean he won't make it in the NHL, but perhaps the hype train should slow down and wait for him to hone his game.

 

[Soundgarden]

I was already concerned when the Predators drafted now it is crystal clear it was a mistake. Either he clears up his multitude of issues or the Predators should consider trading him soon.

You seriously have to stop with this. Nashville has no reason to even think about considering trading him for several years.

 

[GoldOnGold]

I thought people were getting worked up on the Preds board, then I read this thread, lol.

Judging the long-term success of any prospect off of the WJC is entirely pointless and people only do it because the WJC is the only time they've ever actually watched most of these guys. Please just use it as a datapoint and not the end-all and be-all.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I was already concerned when the Predators drafted now it is crystal clear it was a mistake. Either he clears up his multitude of issues or the Predators should consider trading him soon.

I firmly believe you are overreacting here.

 

[LeafChief]

He's played incredibly well at all levels. He had a bit of a shaky tournament. He's still an A+ prospect. He's young enough to play in this tournament next year as well.

Askarov will be fine.

 

[GaryU]

He's played incredibly well at all levels. He had a bit of a shaky tournament. He's still an A+ prospect. He's young enough to play in this tournament next year as well.

Askarov will be fine.

Maybe he'll get better, but 2 lousy WJC's consecutively...

 

[Soundgarden]

Maybe he'll get better, but 2 lousy WJC's consecutively...

Means nothing. He was 17 his first WJC, he's young enough to play next year.

 

[Gnashville]

You seriously have to stop with this. Nashville has no reason to even think about considering trading him for several years.

So if Columbus offers PLD for him plus a second you would not do it?

 

[JustaFinnishGuy]

So if Columbus offers PLD for him plus a second you would not do it?

Who says columbus (or any other team) would offer that kind of a price?
If he's bad he's bad and no one would trade for him

 

[Raymand]

He had a brutal end of tourney game and a second lackluster tournament overall. But like other people have said, the hype was there for a reason. This - in my opinion - is going to be good for his career overall. If this doesn't light a fire under his ass and motivate him to show the world why he was as highly touted as he was going into the draft, then I'll be ready to call him a disappointment. But I'd bet good money on him getting right back in the gym and on the ice and busting his ass the second he gets back to Russia.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Ray Ferraro telling him to hold onto his stick

 

[Gnashville]

Who says columbus (or any other team) would offer that kind of a price?
If he's bad he's bad and no one would trade for him

maybe Dubious wants out bad enough that this deal gets done!

 

[Zaddy]

Another thing he needs to work on his using his size to stay big in the net. He is excellent at shutting down the lower portion but can make himself vulnerable to high shots. I don't doubt with his hockey sense and athleticism that he will get things cleaned up. None of his difficulties mean he won't make it in the NHL, but perhaps the hype train should slow down and wait for him to hone his game.

Yep, this was one of my primary concerns about him last year as well. Even though he's almost 6'4 he plays like he's 5'11. Honestly don't understand what kind of goalie coaching he has gotten in his career because he has so many weird flaws in his game that should've been corrected a long time ago. Or maybe it's just Askarov who is stubborn because his athleticism has always worked in his favor in the past and he thinks he can rely on it over good fundamentals, I don't know.

 

[Soundgarden]

So if Columbus offers PLD for him plus a second you would not do it?

That's not going to happen.

 

[Caser]

 

[BlackEye from Xhekaj]

Played a really good game today.. a tip and a screen had goals get by him, but otherwise came up big when needed.