Master Lok
Registered User
You don't typically turn from a high caliber prospect with an excellent junior resume to a string pile of poo on your own. That kind of regression requires seriously bad trainers who try to change the player outright rather than developing them and working on bad habits.
Example of Yakupov. From great rookie season under Krueger and his system to practically worthless under Eakins. Krueger wanted to develop Yak; play to his strengths which is scoring and work on the defensive responsibility in time. Eakins demanded a natural scorer become a two way player immediately to earn time. Yak could have been something special with his work ethic...now he needs a lot of work to get his confidence, skills, and playing style back on part with where it started.
I disagree that it was a great rookie season from Yakupov. I thought he was very fortunate to score at a higher rate in the last several games of the lockout shortened season. It was a small sample size that inflated his stats, making him look better than he actually was.