Yakupov still can be NHL star?

[klozge]

He has his own thread, he’s a star...

Good point actually.

 

[TheBluePenguin]

I will always root for him, you can never say his short comings were a lack of effort. I hope he can be a top 6 player and stick in a city, seemed like a great guy

 

[Daximus]

The Sedins were pretty underwhelming at 24.

Considering that was the lockout year. Everyone was underwhelming that year. Nobody even scored a goal in the NHL!

 

[Ncit3]

After watching him all season on the Blues, I can tell you that Yakupov will never be a star player in the NHL. I don't think he'll be in this league in 2 years.

He just doesn't have it. It's never going to happen. He started off last year looking pretty good as well. It cooled off very quickly.

I've seen absolutely nothing in his game that makes me think he's going to turn it around.

As far as I remember the Blues did him no favors. They gave him nowhere near top 6 minutes. They shat on his confidence every step of the way. How do you expect a guy to regain his form if you just plop him down as a 3rd or 4th line grinder and expect him to return to form.

He's been mishandled a lot. He's showing excitement and upside now. While I'll pump the breaks on him being a star, I think with the right supporting group he can regain a form which made him a #1 overall pick in the NHL draft. I'm excited to have him on the Avalanche.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I don't know about star but he can definetly carve out a career still. It seems to be outside factors that affect his play. He seems to have jelled well with a few guys off the ice already which I think is huge for Nails as he didn't have that previously.

 

[JFHockey]

*Goes to hockeydb*

Nail Yakupov 4gp 3g 2a 5pt +6

*spits out coffee all over laptop, gets electrocuted, am dead*

 

[falconski]

*Goes to hockeydb*

Nail Yakupov 4gp 3g 2a 5pt +6

*spits out coffee all over laptop, gets electrocuted, am dead*

You’ll be even more confused by the fact that the avs have only given up two even strength goals so far...both last night

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Could prove to be a serviceable player; 70 something more games of his current level of play, or something close would cement that.

And besides; I hear he's a real good human being.........

70 more games at his current level of play means he's becoming a star(He'd be at 85 points if he did this through 75 games). I dont expect that to happen but I do think he can become a solid 45-55 point player for a team when he's used properly. The guy has a rocket of a shot, is very effective on the PP and good smarts in the offensive zone while not a liability in the Defensive zone.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Idk if he can be a star player... but I think he can be a good to great player.

 

[Oberyn]

As far as I remember the Blues did him no favors. They gave him nowhere near top 6 minutes. They shat on his confidence every step of the way. How do you expect a guy to regain his form if you just plop him down as a 3rd or 4th line grinder and expect him to return to form.

He's been mishandled a lot. He's showing excitement and upside now. While I'll pump the breaks on him being a star, I think with the right supporting group he can regain a form which made him a #1 overall pick in the NHL draft. I'm excited to have him on the Avalanche.

The Blues played Yakupov on various lines and he even had stints on a line with Schwartz/Stastny. He did nothing with those opportunities and was a liability more often than not. Yakupov's demise on the Blues was that he had zero idea on how to support his linemates in both the offensive and defensive zone. He would always be a second too late when it came to being in the right spot and would lead to the Blues losing possession of the puck. I'm guessing you hardly watched any Blues games and are just making assumptions on how the Blues handled Yakupov.

I want the guy to do well, I thought he had a great attitude with the Blues and seemed to be a well liked teammate. While he was frustrating to watch at times, it was obvious that he loved the game and was giving it his all out there on the ice. I hope he does well and is able to get his career back on track with the Avs.

 

[Henkka]

3rd most points of his draft class, and seems enjoying of his early days at Colorado.

I hate the Avs but wish only well for Yaks.

 

[Henkka]

The Blues played Yakupov on various lines and he even had stints on a line with Schwartz/Stastny. He did nothing with those opportunities and was a liability more often than not. Yakupov's demise on the Blues was that he had zero idea on how to support his linemates in both the offensive and defensive zone. He would always be a second too late when it came to being in the right spot and would lead to the Blues losing possession of the puck. I'm guessing you hardly watched any Blues games and are just making assumptions on how the Blues handled Yakupov.

Thanks for the info. Of all Blues forwards which did play +40 games, how could Yakupov be 2nd best forward in Scoring Chances For/Against -ratio and the best Blues forward in High-Danders For/Against if he was totally worthless?

Easy matchups proably, but still, I'm quite sure he did something right.

 

[RebuildTheRebuild]

The Blues played Yakupov on various lines and he even had stints on a line with Schwartz/Stastny. He did nothing with those opportunities and was a liability more often than not. Yakupov's demise on the Blues was that he had zero idea on how to support his linemates in both the offensive and defensive zone. He would always be a second too late when it came to being in the right spot and would lead to the Blues losing possession of the puck. I'm guessing you hardly watched any Blues games and are just making assumptions on how the Blues handled Yakupov.

I want the guy to do well, I thought he had a great attitude with the Blues and seemed to be a well liked teammate. While he was frustrating to watch at times, it was obvious that he loved the game and was giving it his all out there on the ice. I hope he does well and is able to get his career back on track with the Avs.

Just like to add to this as an Oilers fan as i didn't watch any Blues games. With Edmonton it was clear Yak had the skill but he didn't necessarily have the hockey iq. One thing I did feel though is that he was okay at being the support player to the offensive driver in Edmonton. He is not the kind of player that is able to create quality offence on his own like some drafted at his position. He still had his frustrating moments of the same thing not being able to support or help sustain puck possession with Edmonton.

Watching the Avs game (my brother is a Colorado fan) I see a different Yak. Not one that skates with his head down and losing the puck or not being able to sustain possession. He looks like he slowed himself down a lot and is not skating everywhere (like a chicken with his head cut off). It looks like he has learned how to support a line in sustaining possession and is much better at getting open and getting his shot off. I am happy for Yakupov to see him finally put it together and I hope that he can keep it up.

 

[Oberyn]

Thanks for the info. Of all Blues forwards which did play +40 games, how could Yakupov be 2nd best forward in Scoring Chances For/Against -ratio and the best Blues forward in High-Danders For/Against if he was totally worthless?

Easy matchups proably, but still, I'm quite sure he did something right.

Never cared much for advanced stats, personally, so can't really comment on that. I watched every Blues game last season and those are my thoughts. If you disagree, then that's completely fine. I don't have any ill will toward Yakupov at all, I was excited when the Blues acquired him and really wanted him to do well. He just couldn't put it together in St. Louis.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Most oiler fans hope the best for him

unlike some players we ran out of town

Yak was a stand up guy. I personally blame the oilers for his troubles

 

[fsanford]

Lots of players take awhile to develop, Yakupov has the misfortune of being drafted so high and playing on an Oiler team that had no direction or leadership.

He probably will never achieve the kind of numbers people expect from a player drafted that high, but he most certainly can develop into a solid NHL player, that contributes decent points to any club he plays on.

 

[seafoam]

20-25g 15-20a type guy if it all goes right.

Wicked shot, loves the game.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

The Blues did play Yakupov with skilled linemates for multiple stints. Later in the year he played more bottom 6 situations, but doesn't really have the game for that. The problem was that he was dragging down a skilled line. He didn't seem to know how to support puck possession in the zone. He was skating around like crazy, exerting effort and intensity, but rarely in the right place to keep possession or to help generate a scoring chance. The Blues played him in protected minutes most of the time.

Then the team went into its horrific slump when the goaltending went to hell (although it was more than goaltending). The Yakupov project couldn't get a high enough priority to go much further. That was about when his minutes started to dry up. I had hopes that after Hitchcock was fired, Yeo might have a new/better relationship or see a better way to use Yakupov. But that never really developed. And when the team chose not to qualify him, I knew for sure that Yeo didn't see a salvageable player worth a roster spot, not with the youth the Blues already have coming up.

My suspicions are that this streak doesn't last and Colorado will start to see some of the same struggles. It seems like there is a fundamental lack of thought process in big parts of the game. Defense is lacking. Offensive support is lacking. But if you put Yakupov on a line making rushes, I think he can help convert some chances. Colorado seems to have the youth and speed to make that a bigger part of their game than the structure St Louis uses/used. I just don't see that style as being a sustainable playoff caliber. And in a game where you have to grind it out more, Yakupov will be a liability.

He was very well liked, and I wish him nothing but the best. I hope I'm wrong and that he sticks with Colorado and manages to carve out an NHL career for himself. But I would not bet my own money on that likelihood.

 

[BKarchitect]

The biggest kink down the road, if he can keep this up, is the eventual resolution of the Duchene debacle. If this line continues to play well and produce, it puts Sakic in an even more awkward position regarding Duchene. Truth be told, he needs to make a deal, if the right one comes along, no matter what the Avs' record is or how hot this line is.

But that'll leave Yak and the rookie Kerfoot without the lynchpin of that line in Duchene. It's really the Avs' #3 line in terms of ES ice time and it works a lot on the strength that it is more a sheltered offensive line; not a 1A scoring line (MacK+Rant) or the 1B shutdown line (quickly becoming Landeskog+Compher). In theory - if Duchene gets dealt at the deadline, hopefully Jost will have shown enough to slot into that pivot role between Kerfoot and Yakupov but I'm pretty sure that line would get eaten alive physically if you tried to ice it right now.

Anyways - that is probably a long ways off and Yakupov himself, this line and this entire team has a lot to prove before we can really start talking in grandiose terms like "can Yak still be a star". All skepticism is perfectly warranted at this point.

 

[ort]

As far as I remember the Blues did him no favors. They gave him nowhere near top 6 minutes. They shat on his confidence every step of the way. How do you expect a guy to regain his form if you just plop him down as a 3rd or 4th line grinder and expect him to return to form.

He's been mishandled a lot. He's showing excitement and upside now. While I'll pump the breaks on him being a star, I think with the right supporting group he can regain a form which made him a #1 overall pick in the NHL draft. I'm excited to have him on the Avalanche.

When they traded for him, I was super excited. I loved the move. But after a few good games where he showed some flashes of real talent, he dropped off fast. He did get a chance to play on the top lines. He bungled those chances. He was like a boat anchor on every line he was on. Constantly making dumb passes, being in the wrong place, going offsides... just bone-headed plays all the time. He was an intensely frustrating player to watch. Every time there was any offensive pressure and he was on the ice, the play would die when the puck got to him. Every single time. He was a total offense killer. He also is really really bad on defense.

He looked like a wide-eyed overwhelmed prospect playing in his first NHL game every single game he played.

I don't wish him any ill will, but I am glad he's not on the Blues anymore. I will be stunned if he's able to turn it around. Maybe he can be a third liner on a bad team, but that's his current ceiling as far as I am concerned.

 

[Agent Zub]

It would be yaks luck to finally play with a number 1 c regularly only to see him traded. :/

 

[JLo217]

I was happy when Yakupov ended up on the Avalanche (not a MacKinnon fan). I figured it was risky on the Avs part, because people would realize that MacKinnon isn't any better than Yakupov when it comes to results -- he simply had a bigger role and more ice time. I figured the lowering of Mackinnon's value was slightly more likely than Yakupov being viewed how MacKinnon was.

As someone who watched him play every game last year, no. He's a spaz who, somehow, by the graces of god, spazzes his way into some goals here and there. Anyone who celebrates THAT much after scoring is someone with little confidence. When you're planning on scoring a lot or routinely do it... scoring is just another day. Ho hum. When that kid acts like he has scored before, then I'll start to wonder if something changed. Until then, no way.

Whats the point of this post?

You are wrong on so many levels.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

For his sake I hope he has a serviceable NHL career. Being a #1 overall pick who busts out is probably a miserable burden to bear for the remainder of your life.

 

[KCC]

Glad he's having some success right now. If anyone needed a confidence boost it was him. We will see how the Avs are doing in a few months or when they start losing.

 

[Satoru Gojo]

It's interesting to watch for sure

Yakupov had a really good rookie season, led the Oilers in goals, and was a Calder finalist I believe

Then along came Dallas.........