Confirmed with Link: Blues acquire Yakupov for Pochiro & cond. 3rd

[ElysiumAB]

Like flies on fresh ****. Any sign of a setback and they'll swarm.

You just had to use a bee reference...

 

[LetsGoBooze]

Everytime i see him play im like damn his stick is short, this picture only confirms this more... lol

 

[Old Blueser]

had a chance to watch a devils game last weekend, and i have to say taylor hall has some bad habits that look a lot like what i have seen from yak.

the main one is a tendency to panic pass to an area instead of trying to make an intentional play, hall did this over and over when he didn't have a chance at a one on one move with the puck. a lot of possession died with him.

there's also some obvious cluelessness about about basic defensive instincts. he's a bit quicker and more confident with his shot than yak, which will take him farther, but it seemed like they both suffered with some poor coaching in EDM (i guess we knew that).

not sure why any prospects are groomed with an offense first attitude in the nhl given what needs to happen to win a cup. i guess if you're the hawks you can afford to have kane be a floater, but man i wish they had stressed two-way to tarasenko right from the start

 

[simon IC]

had a chance to watch a devils game last weekend, and i have to say taylor hall has some bad habits that look a lot like what i have seen from yak.

the main one is a tendency to panic pass to an area instead of trying to make an intentional play, hall did this over and over when he didn't have a chance at a one on one move with the puck. a lot of possession died with him.

there's also some obvious cluelessness about about basic defensive instincts. he's a bit quicker and more confident with his shot than yak, which will take him farther, but it seemed like they both suffered with some poor coaching in EDM (i guess we knew that).

not sure why any prospects are groomed with an offense first attitude in the nhl given what needs to happen to win a cup. i guess if you're the hawks you can afford to have kane be a floater, but man i wish they had stressed two-way to tarasenko right from the start

I could not agree with you more, good sir! If I had my way, every player on the team would be a 2-way player. Defense 1st wins championships. I think as Blues fans, we have been offense- starved to such an extent in recent years that most fans over-value offense. It is understandable, but in my mind short-sighted.

 

[Alawishis]

had a chance to watch a devils game last weekend, and i have to say taylor hall has some bad habits that look a lot like what i have seen from yak.

the main one is a tendency to panic pass to an area instead of trying to make an intentional play, hall did this over and over when he didn't have a chance at a one on one move with the puck. a lot of possession died with him.

there's also some obvious cluelessness about about basic defensive instincts. he's a bit quicker and more confident with his shot than yak, which will take him farther, but it seemed like they both suffered with some poor coaching in EDM (i guess we knew that).

not sure why any prospects are groomed with an offense first attitude in the nhl given what needs to happen to win a cup. i guess if you're the hawks you can afford to have kane be a floater, but man i wish they had stressed two-way to tarasenko right from the start

I gotta say I've watched a lot of Yak and Hall playing. I can say with a fair bit of confidence that the coaches are not teaching them that. What you're seeing is fairly common with players new to the league but some never lose the habit. It depends on how teachable the player is both. I don't have an inside track on what goes on in the dressing room but both Hall and Yak have been rumoured to be difficult to teach. Most of the fans in Edmonton feel it was the tenure of Dallas Eakins that did the damage to Yak. He was developing nicely before then but never was the same after.

I like Yak a lot. I'm concerned to see him scratched for so many games in a row. It's going to shake the confidence of a player that has struggled with confidence. I still believe there is a good possibly great player there and the right coach can get it out of him. Not sure if Hitch is that coach, the way things are going I have my doubts. I hope he rounds out for you guys.

 

[TheNumber4]

Is Yak still scratched??? If so when is he due back???

 

[Alklha]

It's likely going to take injuries for him to get back into the lineup. His initial grace period is over, and I suspect that he is about level with Rattie in battle to get in the lineup going forward.

It isn't going to work; his limited skillset combined with our centres just isn't a match.

 

[HolyJumpin]

Biggest problem for Yak right now is that the Blues really want to play with size and weight. Jaskin is showing up right now. the 4th line is hot, too. And Rattie just took one for the team really hard last night so I imagine that he's staying in the lineup. Yak's looked uninspired for a bit. Might just be a bad fit with the game the Blues are trying to play right now. Yak also has the problem of being put on a line with Berglund.

 

[Stealth JD]

anyone willing to trade him for a 2nd or 3rd? it's nice to have depth at forward in the case of injuries...but this guy is a fringe scoring-winger if ever there was one. A poor-man's Matt D'Agostini at this rate. Part of me feels as though he hasn't been given a fair chance...but I also realize he hasn't earned it, and he's been having people make excuses for him for the better part of 3-years now. He's simply got to show more than he has to stick in the lineup.

 

[Oberyn]

Biggest problem for Yak right now is that the Blues really want to play with size and weight. Jaskin is showing up right now. the 4th line is hot, too. And Rattie just took one for the team really hard last night so I imagine that he's staying in the lineup. Yak's looked uninspired for a bit. Might just be a bad fit with the game the Blues are trying to play right now. Yak also has the problem of being put on a line with Berglund.

I don't think the Blues want him to play with size and weight, they just want him to play with some semblance of hockey IQ. So far, he's displayed practically none. His positioning in both zones is awful. The only time he's really effective with the puck is when he's rushing it up the ice.

 

[Brian39]

had a chance to watch a devils game last weekend, and i have to say taylor hall has some bad habits that look a lot like what i have seen from yak.

the main one is a tendency to panic pass to an area instead of trying to make an intentional play, hall did this over and over when he didn't have a chance at a one on one move with the puck. a lot of possession died with him.

there's also some obvious cluelessness about about basic defensive instincts. he's a bit quicker and more confident with his shot than yak, which will take him farther, but it seemed like they both suffered with some poor coaching in EDM (i guess we knew that).

not sure why any prospects are groomed with an offense first attitude in the nhl given what needs to happen to win a cup. i guess if you're the hawks you can afford to have kane be a floater, but man i wish they had stressed two-way to tarasenko right from the start

I don't think it is that they were coached offense-first in Edmonton. I think it was much more due to the rotating door of coaches. Every coach is going to teach different systems/structure and asks for different positioning defensively. Yak had 4 head coaches in 4 years with Edmonton and Hall had 5 coaches in 6 years there. Being asked to play a new system every year in your most formative developmental years is just absolutely going to destroy your instincts.

I would also argue that 2 way play was stressed to Tarasenko from the start. Hitch consistently sheltered him, gave him limited minutes, and rewarded him more for 2 way play than offensive output. Tons of Blues fans have criticized Hitch for not giving him free reign out there and I haven't seen anything to suggest Hitch is OK with him ignoring defense.

 

[Old Blueser]

I don't think it is that they were coached offense-first in Edmonton. I think it was much more due to the rotating door of coaches. Every coach is going to teach different systems/structure and asks for different positioning defensively. Yak had 4 head coaches in 4 years with Edmonton and Hall had 5 coaches in 6 years there. Being asked to play a new system every year in your most formative developmental years is just absolutely going to destroy your instincts.

I would also argue that 2 way play was stressed to Tarasenko from the start. Hitch consistently sheltered him, gave him limited minutes, and rewarded him more for 2 way play than offensive output. Tons of Blues fans have criticized Hitch for not giving him free reign out there and I haven't seen anything to suggest Hitch is OK with him ignoring defense.

Well, I see it differently. I think for the last two years he did a lot of cherry picking and got a free pass. This year they seem to be pushing him a little harder and it shows. I am still concerned about his play against SJ in the WCF because that player was not someone I want to see our team continue to pay a lot of money and play a lot of minutes. (or he really was secretly injured which was my assumption until they denied it)

My point about yak and hall is that they seem to have been allowed to focus on their one on one play with little thought to team structure. I am sure you're right about the revolving door of coaches.

 

[TheNumber4]

I don't think it is that they were coached offense-first in Edmonton. I think it was much more due to the rotating door of coaches. Every coach is going to teach different systems/structure and asks for different positioning defensively. Yak had 4 head coaches in 4 years with Edmonton and Hall had 5 coaches in 6 years there. Being asked to play a new system every year in your most formative developmental years is just absolutely going to destroy your instincts.

I would also argue that 2 way play was stressed to Tarasenko from the start. Hitch consistently sheltered him, gave him limited minutes, and rewarded him more for 2 way play than offensive output. Tons of Blues fans have criticized Hitch for not giving him free reign out there and I haven't seen anything to suggest Hitch is OK with him ignoring defense.

Hall, Eberle, and Nuge experienced the revolving door of coaches and they turned out just fine. They were all producing where as expected even with different coaches.

I was a huge Yak fan in Edmonton. When the Blues acquired him I predicted he would show up in a huge way and prove everyone wrong. And of course burn the Oilers in the process. Now that I've seen him play for the Blues and read some reviews of him. He really sounds like the same old Yak. I mean, Hitch is one of the best coaches of all time, and Mclellan is not too bad either. If these coaches can't get anything out of him, I think it's time we stop making excuses for Yak. I think Yak's problem might be Yak.

I read somewhere that when Yak was in junior, his coach pretty much allowed him to go wild. Like cherry pick and be a selfish for offense. His obvious skill, speed, and power at the junior level let him dominate. But he never learned the North American game it seems like, and for whatever reason still hasn't learned it.

 

[Spektre]

Yakupov could very well turn into a good player. I don't think he'll ever live up to the #1 OA but who cares. The fact is he's been forced to play with Berglund for most of the games he's played in. Before last night Berglund had 4 pts in 19 games. He's hardly going to compliment Yakupov.

There has to be a little learning time for new line mates. Yak got to play some with Fabbri and Lehtera last night. Leave that line together for a minimum of 15-20 games and then we could all probably make a more informed judgement on Yak. It's not like Lehtera is exactly lighting it up this year but he's a lot better setup guy than Berglund.

 

[Brian39]

Hall, Eberle, and Nuge experienced the revolving door of coaches and they turned out just fine. They were all producing where as expected even with different coaches.

I was a huge Yak fan in Edmonton. When the Blues acquired him I predicted he would show up in a huge way and prove everyone wrong. And of course burn the Oilers in the process. Now that I've seen him play for the Blues and read some reviews of him. He really sounds like the same old Yak. I mean, Hitch is one of the best coaches of all time, and Mclellan is not too bad either. If these coaches can't get anything out of him, I think it's time we stop making excuses for Yak. I think Yak's problem might be Yak.

I read somewhere that when Yak was in junior, his coach pretty much allowed him to go wild. Like cherry pick and be a selfish for offense. His obvious skill, speed, and power at the junior level let him dominate. But he never learned the North American game it seems like, and for whatever reason still hasn't learned it.

My comment was in response to Hall's defensive/hockey IQ deficiencies. The very assumption was that Hall was not fine after his time in Edmonton. I'm not trying to make excuses for Yak. He has a lot to improve and it is on him to do that. I think Edmonton did him (and all their young players) no favors, but STL is a fresh start. He can't blame Edmonton any more and his NHL career trajectory will be largely determined in the next 5 months. With that said, I don't think it is fair to expect him to completely turn the page on Edmonton by late November. He was always going to be a full-year project. I'm discouraged by the last three weeks, but he has another 4 months to get it figured out.

My point was that Edmonton's defensive gong show the last few years was based on a revolving door of coaches, not that they were preaching a run and gun style offense that encouraged players to be defensively irresponsible. I'd also argue that Eberle is below average defensively and that RNH has fallen way short of expectations. Outside of Yak and maybe EJ, RNH is probably the worst first overall pick since DiPietro.

 

[Splatter]

Armstrong stands by trade for Yakupov: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hock...cle_ec20d37a-e014-5062-874b-f6ca3aff333e.html

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Armstrong stands by trade for Yakupov: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hock...cle_ec20d37a-e014-5062-874b-f6ca3aff333e.html

Not saying much here, but Armstrong is right that Jaskin's good play has more to do with the scratches than Yakupov playing poorly.

I think the real question will be when it comes times to qualify him for his next contract. That's when we'll really know what the team think of Yakupov.

 

[bleedblue1223]

It still was a gamble that was worth it, time will tell if it actually works out. Even if Yak fails, I still think it was a good gamble to take.

 

[TruBlu]

Not saying much here, but Armstrong is right that Jaskin's good play has more to do with the scratches than Yakupov playing poorly.

I think the real question will be when it comes times to qualify him for his next contract. That's when we'll really know what the team think of Yakupov.

I'm guessing yak is gone next season.

 

[EastonBlues22]

Not saying much here, but Armstrong is right that Jaskin's good play has more to do with the scratches than Yakupov playing poorly.

I think the real question will be when it comes times to qualify him for his next contract. That's when we'll really know what the team think of Yakupov.

Rattie has played 3 games over Yakupov lately, so not really.

They can dress it up however they want for the media, but I'm pretty confident that Yakupov would be in the lineup over both those guys if the coaches actually thought he was playing well. Jaskin's on pace for 0 goals and 20 points for heaven's sake. That's poor even for a 3rd liner. He's just not embarrassing himself when it comes to playing within the structure of the team.

There's really no mystery here as to what the team currently thinks of Yakupov.

 

[Spektre]

Yaskin??

I'd agree that he looks better this year than last but he has 5 assists in 21 games and 0 goals. I don't really care that he's playing slightly better than last year if it leads to 0 goals all year. That's his pace currently, 20 assists & 0 goals,, yay for Yaskin.

Yaskin played his way out of the top 9 last year and was given every opportunity to succeed. He was slotted in game after game and sucked game after game till they finally had to pull the plug. He doesn't suck this year but he's still not producing. He's been given a lot bigger chance to succeed than Yakupov.

Yakupov's last 5 games ice times are this: 6:29, 9:17, 8:03, 7:28, & & 14:51 against Nashville. Must have been someone hurt that Nashville game. That's not even 4th line minutes. It's a joke.


Perron has stuck with Stastny & Schwartz now and produced. Yak's not getting that slot. The best he can hope for is playing with Steen & Berglund. Berglund can't setup a ball for T-Ball let alone act as a legitimate assist guy for Yakupov.


Blah... it figures this was screwed up from the beginning.


I don't care if Yakupov is out of position once in a while if he's producing. I get being defensively sound but c'mon, forwards get paid to score & defensemen get paid to defend. We don't need every nhl player to be a robot. Just let them play hockey.


Hitch and Army both are probably caught up in Jaskin's size. That's the only thing I can think of because at the end of the day 0 goals in 21 games sucks donkey balls.

 

[EastonBlues22]

In today's NHL, you're usually not going to get much ice time (much less have a long career) if you are a defenseman who can't defend at least adequately.

The defensemen who get paid are the guys who can defend at least adequately and who put up points.

 

[Ranksu]

Jaskin is playing his best perform this year. Really like his possession play.
Bertta and Jaskin will cycle in the end of the world puck on the corners before they score, but at least they don't give up goals. Yeah its winning strategy. If Rattie hasn't get real change to play with right linemates or even get the real change with icetime then I don't think Yakupov ever get change until Hitch is dead or fired up. Looks like Yeo has been brainwashed these last couple months and they still have time to make him to Hitch 2.0 so Hitch's legacy will be the Blues molar tooth after he's gone.