The Sedins were pretty underwhelming at 24.
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.
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*Goes to hockeydb*
Nail Yakupov 4gp 3g 2a 5pt +6
*spits out coffee all over laptop, gets electrocuted, am dead*
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.........
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.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.
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.
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.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.
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.
Whats the point of this post?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.