Below is one of my scouting reports on Yakupov as I have seen him three times this season already.
Sept 24 Sarnia vs. Windsor
RW Nail Yakupov #10 Sarnia Sting 5’-10†170 Lbs – 2012 Eligible
Stats Line: Finished the night with 1 goal and a plus -1.
Notes: Absolutely pure offense…has great speed and two-step acceleration…his cuts and change of direction threw off defenders all night…possesses an absolute rocket of a shot…hug around the redline most of the night looking for breakaway passes and ventured into his own end only on occasion…has the awareness of where to be on the ice and consistently get open for his teammates…was all over the ice and dangerous on each shift…physical despite his lack of strength…was involved in a couple after whistle skirmishes…tried to lay the body a couple times and did not pick smaller opponents to do so against…attacked the net every time he had the puck…a pure finisher…high energy level.
Projection: Top five selection in 2012.
To answer the comparable question think of a Datsyuk/Kovalchuk mix type player as he has the moves and slick skill of Datsyuk along with Pavels size and strength concerns when he was younger but with less impressive vision and he has Kovalchuk’s shot with more his feistiness than both his countrymen.
He also lacks in the defensive game as he rarely comes back but instead is constantly looking for that quick strike offense by staying shallow in his own end when the play is deep in his zone and quickly evacuating to the redline when the puck changes possession.
Below is one of my scouting reports on Yakupov as I have seen him three times this season already.
Sept 24 Sarnia vs. Windsor
RW Nail Yakupov #10 Sarnia Sting 5’-10” 170 Lbs – 2012 Eligible
Stats Line: Finished the night with 1 goal and a plus -1.
Notes: Absolutely pure offense…has great speed and two-step acceleration…his cuts and change of direction threw off defenders all night…possesses an absolute rocket of a shot…hug around the redline most of the night looking for breakaway passes and ventured into his own end only on occasion…has the awareness of where to be on the ice and consistently get open for his teammates…was all over the ice and dangerous on each shift…physical despite his lack of strength…was involved in a couple after whistle skirmishes…tried to lay the body a couple times and did not pick smaller opponents to do so against…attacked the net every time he had the puck…a pure finisher…high energy level.
Projection: Top five selection in 2012.
To answer the comparable question think of a Datsyuk/Kovalchuk mix type player as he has the moves and slick skill of Datsyuk along with Pavels size and strength concerns when he was younger but with less impressive vision and he has Kovalchuk’s shot with more his feistiness than both his countrymen.
He also lacks in the defensive game as he rarely comes back but instead is constantly looking for that quick strike offense by staying shallow in his own end when the play is deep in his zone and quickly evacuating to the redline when the puck changes possession.
my comparison is Nikolai Zherdev with more consistancy...Zherdev has the ability to dominate on the ice if he wanted to but just does not show up every night...to me Yakupov looks just like Zherdev did att the same age but he shows up every shift and is smarter on using his teammates than Zherdev was.
Can anyone give an assessment of his play so far this year? Just by looking at stats, it looks like he's dominating. Second in OHL scoring, and since he's a late '93, not draft eligible until 2012.
He does have two 20 year-olds playing with him on the Sting that have similar high point totals, but it appears as though he's adjusted to the North American give very well.
now has 27points in 15 games along with 13 goals. pretty amazing for a european coming over to NA at 17 years old
This is pretty much what would go down if a guy like Kovalchuk were to have played in the OHL back in the day. Kid is elite russian talent. Best as a 16 yo since Tavares so far.
only.. Yakupov is 9 months younger than Seguin was.He's a 17 year old in the CHL as he's a late birthday. He's having an excellent season, similar to the one Seguin had as a 17 year old, last year.