Can We Now Call Yakupov the Worst Forward Ever Drafted First Overall?

[Terry Yake]

yes

i think it's safe to say he's worse than stefan at this point

 

[NoMessi]

Interesting that Stefan and Yak (as of today) both have the exact same points-per-game percentage of 0.41. I thought Stefan would for sure be higher, even if not by a ton. After all, Stefan played at a time where they was more offense, I believe (someone correct that if it's wrong). Compared to most 1st rounders, Yak and Stefan (from what I remember) didn't get as much hype, either, and I guess for good reason. Sure there was still SOME hype, but not nearly as much as most: think of the hype when Stamkos, Crosby, Ovechkin, McDavid, Hall, MacKinnon, Matthews, etc. were drafted and compare; it's not close. Hell, people weren't even sure if the Oilers would take Yak or Ryan Murray. Turns out neither will be even an All-Star, let alone superstar of some sort, so it might not even matter. That was a pretty awful draft for picking obvious star talent; the top 4 picks were maybe the worst in a LONG time. In fact, I really wonder if any of the top 10 would ever make an All-Star team. Hampus Lindholm seems to me to be the best player taken in the top 10 in that draft, but I don't remember a single soul saying he should go #1 leading up to the draft, and up to when the draft took place. Tons of teams were taking Dmen that they saw with potential because there were just no forwards that seemed like sure things to be top line talent. Forsberg may be the exception, yet he still dropped farther than he should've. If Gally hadn't of gotten hurt in his draft year, I'm pretty confident he would've had a better season than Yak and he would've been taken first. But I'm also happy it didn't work out that way. Oilers eventually did end up with McDavid (maybe karma for having the 1st OVA in this horrible draft, and another VERY average one in Nuge's draft year). So I think either Yak or Stefan are the worst forwards to be taken 1st OVA -- at least in the modern era -- but I also wouldn't change a thing for the Oilers. Things look to be progressing nicely without Yak, and for the first time in over 10 years there's finally reason to have hope and optimism as an Oiler fan. Thank god he busted for us, lol.

However, I DO think Yak can still be a very useful NHLer if he can adapt and change his game. I can see him being a very tenacious 3rd line winger; he's not afraid to get physical at all, and a 0.41 PPG is good enough for 3rd line duties. He just really needs to learn to play defense; that's the biggest thing holding him back from being successful in the NHL -- even as a 3rd liner.

Stefan played 1,5 season when the scoring was up after the lockout, but other than that he played in an even lower scoring era.

 

[Pyrophorus]

The Draft class, seems to be underwhelming, some spectacularly, sometimes moderately.

 

[Johnnybegood13]

The Draft class, seems to be underwhelming, some spectacularly, sometimes moderately.

As crazy as it sounded then, Jankowski could still end up being the best player from that draft

 

[Paralyzer]

As crazy as it sounded then, Jankowski could still end up being the best player from that draft

Yeah, I still put Forsberg, Galchenyuk, Ghostbear, Parayko, Slavin and Trouba ahead of him. Nice try though.

 

[ottawah]

Worst forward, not the worst use of a #1 pick on a forward.

Take Daigle, who went second? Pronger. Then Gratton (very good player), then Kariya.
Take Stefan, who went second? Sedin. Then Sedin. Then Brendl (whiff).
Take Lawton. who went second? Turgeron. Then Lafointaine. Then Yzerman.
Take Wickenheiser, then who went second? Babych. Then Savard then Murphy.
Take Yap, who went second? Murray. Then Galchenyuk. Then Reinhart.


In all the other drafts you have two hall of famers chosen right after (if you assume Sedins make it). And only one whiff out of 12.

Yaks year? Terrible.

Much sooner make a mistake on Yakapov in that year than make a mistake on the other number 1s.

 

[Halla]

Can we call this this the worst thread title ever?

Dipietro ended up bringing negative value to his team due to that horrendous contact. Stefan, Daigle, Lawton... There have been lots of awful #1 overall picks through the years.

Diagle ended up having three 50+ pt seasons. I doubt Yak even ends up with one.

toss up between yak and stefan as the worst #1 forward of all time. I'm gonna go with Yak just because Stefan was hurt a lot and wasnt a complete one way player like yak

 

[Halla]

Worst forward, not the worst use of a #1 pick on a forward.

Take Daigle, who went second? Pronger. Then Gratton (very good player), then Kariya.
Take Stefan, who went second? Sedin. Then Sedin. Then Brendl (whiff).
Take Lawton. who went second? Turgeron. Then Lafointaine. Then Yzerman.
Take Wickenheiser, then who went second? Babych. Then Savard then Murphy.
Take Yap, who went second? Murray. Then Galchenyuk. Then Reinhart.


In all the other drafts you have two hall of famers chosen right after (if you assume Sedins make it). And only one whiff out of 12.

Yaks year? Terrible.

Much sooner make a mistake on Yakapov in that year than make a mistake on the other number 1s.

yeah, but the oilers desperately needed a dman and wasted the chance to get a good one.

I'm guessing you stopped at pick 4 to not have to include Rielly,Lindholm,Dumba,Trouba who were all top 10 picks.

If the oil take one of those guys, not only is it a massive upgrade on busted yak, but they also keep Hall and not move him for a solid 2nd pairing dman.

Mcdavid, Drai, Hall, RNH, Lucic, Maroon, Strome, Poolparty, Jokinen top 9

Klefbom,Lindholm,Sekera,Nurse top 4

Talbot in net

probably the best team in the west

 

[McShogun99]

yeah, but the oilers desperately needed a dman and wasted the chance to get a good one.

I'm guessing you stopped at pick 4 to not have to include Rielly,Lindholm,Dumba,Trouba who were all top 10 picks.

If the oil take one of those guys, not only is it a massive upgrade on busted yak, but they also keep Hall and not move him for a solid 2nd pairing dman.

Mcdavid, Drai, Hall, RNH, Lucic, Maroon, Strome, Poolparty, Jokinen top 9

Klefbom,Lindholm,Sekera,Nurse top 4

Talbot in net

probably the best team in the west

You don't go off the board that much when you draft 1st OA. It was either Yak or Murray.

 

[sandysan]

This is pretty much his last chance with the Avs. Its now or never for Yak before the KHL.

I have a funny feeling that I have heard this before.

He is still a tweener, not good enough to play top six, lacks the skills to play bottom six.

 

[BruinDust]

You don't go off the board that much when you draft 1st OA. It was either Yak or Murray.

This is true, it's rare (almost non-existent) for the team picking No.1 to go off the board at all.

Yakupov's draft is unique in a sense that not just one but two of the consensus Top 5 guys missed large portions of the season. Reilly only played 18 games, Galchenyuk just 2.

I'd have to believe, especially given what we know now, that had either of these guys gotten to play full seasons in 2011-12, one of them, particular Galchenyuk, would of been the concensus No.1 guy.

 

[Jarey Curry]

I could bet my money on it atm yes. However he's getting a bigger shot/role on the avs than he has had in years. If he delivers who knows but right now there's not many young studs competing for his spot and making him lose it right away. Which means more time and that's exactly what he needs IF he's ever gonna fantasize about continuing his career in the nhl.

 

[ottawah]

yeah, but the oilers desperately needed a dman and wasted the chance to get a good one.

I'm guessing you stopped at pick 4 to not have to include Rielly,Lindholm,Dumba,Trouba who were all top 10 picks.

If the oil take one of those guys, not only is it a massive upgrade on busted yak, but they also keep Hall and not move him for a solid 2nd pairing dman.

Mcdavid, Drai, Hall, RNH, Lucic, Maroon, Strome, Poolparty, Jokinen top 9

Klefbom,Lindholm,Sekera,Nurse top 4

Talbot in net

probably the best team in the west

Took 4 to keep it within reason, you have to get players who were not too far a stretch.

But even then with the players you mentioned, they are in no way close to comparable to other drafts. Good players, but Rielly, Lindholm, Dumba and Trouba are not hall of fame material.

So far there is not a single choice in the 2012 draft that comes close to those other drafts.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I still have to put A Daigle at the top. Perhaps Brian Lawton considering the players that were picked behind them. 2012 was just a weak draft year.

 

[Unspecified]

Patrik Stefan

 

[The Winter Soldier]

In 2012 it was Yakupov, Murray, or Gally that were most talked about going #1OA. I am not sure any would be great #1's. Forsberg is the best player from this draft. He went #11.

 

[Hennessy]

As an Avs fan, of course I hope he finds some redemption. It's not out of the realm of possibility. But as a reality-based person, I have a hard time believing he can turn it around. That said, it's premature to make a definitive statement on his career at this point, even if it does look pretty woeful.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

1983 - Brian Lawton - 483gp, 266 points
1980 - Doug Wickenheiser - 556gp, 276 points

These numbers need to be era adjusted for a better comparison.

 

[deckercky]

This is true, it's rare (almost non-existent) for the team picking No.1 to go off the board at all.

Yakupov's draft is unique in a sense that not just one but two of the consensus Top 5 guys missed large portions of the season. Reilly only played 18 games, Galchenyuk just 2.

I'd have to believe, especially given what we know now, that had either of these guys gotten to play full seasons in 2011-12, one of them, particular Galchenyuk, would of been the concensus No.1 guy.

Wasn't there some weird controversy over Galchenyuk's age?

 

[Whiston532]

We can debate the order, but we'd all agree he's up there with the Wickenheisers and Daigles, and that on its own even without specifying the order is a pretty damning summary of him.
Pending a miracle season his Colorado chance isn't even looking like a "is he a bust or not" year, but more of a "is this guy an NHL caliber player at all (ignoring draft position)"

 

[DaveG]

http://thehockeywriters.com/the-worst-nhl-draft-picks/

3 #1 overall players within 4 years played a total of 0 games! And they would have been born just after WW2, you know when we actually had a boom in babies. Were scouts throwing darts at a random list? Were there any scouts at the time?

Completely different era. Anything even resembling the modern draft as we know it didn't take place until 1969, after those selections were made.

 

[Sniper99]

The Yakupov draft was a very weak one anyway. It will look much worse when Puljujarvi busts since they could of had Tkachuk.

The mouthguard assassin Slewfootin Matt Tkachuk? nah I think the Oilers did good with Puljujarvi, he hasn't played a full season in the league yet and you're ******** on him. Weak! but hey, you do you.
Really you're making us Leafs fans look foolish when you mock other teams draft picks. Take a look at Luke Schenn and how poor he turned out

 

[Brian McDavid]

Oiler fans are going to hate me for saying this, but RNH isn't too far ahead of Yak, particularly given what he's being paid.....maybe the answer to another triva question: Who were the two worst first overall picks in consecutive years?

I don't hate you. But I strongly disagree with this statement

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Patty Stefan. Talk about foreshadowing....ouch.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Although, one player has played significantly less than the rest.

Yeah, but if he doesn't turn it around fast it's going to stay that way.