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

[Teufelsdreck]

The Oilers have had so many extremely high picks that they've been able to move on from their Yakupov misjudgment.

 

[eddiefromirwin]

Yaks will wash out in COL in a year or two and be on those long, low flying road trips through the Urals in no time.

 

[Hockeyholic]

The guy is an unbelievable human being. That's what hurts to see him struggling so much. My prayers are with him.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

This was not a great draft. Again I don't know who of the players that were in true consideration for 1st overall that year would have been considered a good number 1 pick had they been picked. Yakupov being the poster child of this draft may be symbolic of 2012 however. Sure there are some useful players in here. But this was not the best draft by any measurement.

 

[tarheelhockey]

This was not a great draft. Again I don't know who of the players that were in true consideration for 1st overall that year would have been considered a good number 1 pick had they been picked.

It was a fantastic draft for defensemen... we all just had our eye off the ball leading up to it.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

It was a fantastic draft for defensemen... we all just had our eye off the ball leading up to it.

Yeah there are some good ones there, some not so. Lindhlom and Trouba the best. Some useful D's in Dumba, Ceci, Maata, Murray and Rielly. And some not so good ones thus far. G Reinhart, Koekkoek, Pouliot. The latter I really expected more from. Quite the mixed bag.

 

[jebs]

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

Yes. RNH may not have become a star, but he is a positive addition to any team. RNH is a legit NHLer, which makes him a far better of a pick than Yakupov.

 

[Cawz]

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

Yeah, luckily its not my (Oiler's fan) problem anymore. Its too bad. He seemed like a genuinely likeable kid, unlike many other star players.

 

[madinsomniac]

I mean the draft is still ultimately a crapshoot... if angelo espisito has a little better year in jrs the year he is drafted he probably ends up being a #1oa and he was a bigger mess than yak...

You are dealing with projections on teenagers who aren't physically mature playing vs other young guys and its all extremely subjective....

 

[voxel]

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.

A draft with Gally as the No.1 guy is damming weak.

 

[BruinDust]

A draft with Gally as the No.1 guy is damming weak.

I wouldn't take Galchenyuk 1st overall in a redraft. Just saying if he had gotten in a full-season in 2011-12 and not just two games, he would of shown enough to jump ahead of Yak and Murray and be the concensus No. 1 ranked guy.

Still a weak draft overall like you said.

 

[Jejune]

I wonder who Columbus would have taken if they had kept the 1st overall pick that year. Rumours were they preferred Murray regardless, but then again so did the Oilers scouts until they were overruled by Tambellini/Katz/Lowe (can't remember which one, don't think it was Lowe though).

I remember hearing that Galchenyuk was a contender but he just hadn't played enough games. Grigorenko was also up there for consideration.

 

[oobga]

Yak could probably seal it with an epic miss of an open net from a few feet away uncontested.

If he doesn't do that quick though, he has a couple more years to try to salvage his career to beat out Stefan.

 

[Brian McDavid]

The guy is an unbelievable human being. That's what hurts to see him struggling so much. My prayers are with him.

This is so true. I would love to see him bounce back. I mentioned this in another thread not long ago. He's an all around good person.

 

[belair]

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

He has a better chance at still being worse than Yakupov.

 

[Price is Wright]

yes he did , he was given all the top 6 minutes that the coach could, to make him succeed... God back with the Nordiques, he even played with Joe Sakic

Yeah, I remember watching Lawton and wondering why the heck he was playing so many minutes and then having to have a friend remind me who he was. He will always be the biggest first overall bust. He never had a season as good as Nail's first.

 

[LeHab]

The Oilers have had so many extremely high picks that they've been able to move on from their Yakupov misjudgment.

You can look at it this way. Had Yakupov turned somehow decent, chances are Oilers would not have McDavid today.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Yak could probably seal it with an epic miss of an open net from a few feet away uncontested.

If he doesn't do that quick though, he has a couple more years to try to salvage his career to beat out Stefan.

Stefan: 70 adjusted goals, 204 adjusted points in 455 NHL games, -36 career rating (only -16 after his first season) playing for **** teams.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/s/stefapa01.html

Yak: 73 adjusted goals (if his goal pace in 2013 is projected to an 82 game pace for that season), 158 adjusted points (if his point pace in 2013 is projected to an 82 game season) in 326 (projected total that gives him credit for 82 games in 2013 - actual total is 292) NHL games, -91 career rating playing for **** teams.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/y/yakupna01.html

It looks like Yak is much better at scoring goals and much, much worse defensively. If you away his peak (read: one good season), he's much of a damaging presence to his team than Stefan was.


But to Nail's credit, he did finish fifth in Calder voting in '13. At his best, he showed much more ability than Lawton or Stefan ever did.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Yeah, I remember watching Lawton and wondering why the heck he was playing so many minutes and then having to have a friend remind me who he was. He will always be the biggest first overall bust. He never had a season as good as Nail's first.

Better peak: Yakupov.

Longer/better prime: Lawton.


Lawton's four best seasons (his age 20 to 23 seasons):

1987: 18 adjusted goals, 19 adjusted assists, 37 adjusted points, +20 in 66 GP

1989: 14 adjusted goals, 21 adjusted assists, 35 adjusted points, -11 in 65 GP

1988: 14 adjusted goals, 20 adjusted assists, 34 adjusted points, -10 in 74 GP

1986: 14 adjusted goals, 13 adjusted assists, 27 adjusted points, +10 in 65 GP


Totals: 60 adjusted goals, 73 adjusted assists, 133 adjusted points, +9 in 269 games.


https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/lawtobr01.html


Yak's 2013 is better than any of Lawton's seasons, but his second to fourth best seasons (so far) are complete disasters:

2015: 16 adjusted goals, 21 adjusted assists, 37 adjusted points, -35 in 81 games

2014: 12 adjusted goals, 14 adjusted assists, 26 adjusted points, -33 in 63 games

2016: 9 adjusted goals, 17 adjusted assists, 26 adjusted points, -16 in 60 games

37 adjusted goals, 52 adjusted assists, 89 adjusted points, -84 in 204 games


https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/y/yakupna01.html

 

[Oddbob]

...Or does he get one last chance?

People have been hopeful he'll turn it around for years. I wish him well, but at this point, it looks like he just doesn't have it.

People say Daigle was a bigger bust because he was more hyped. He was certainly a better player than Yakupov, though. He wasn't any good defensively either (at least until late in his NHL career), but he was a lot better offensively.

Stefan, Wickenheiser and Lawton were mediocre-esque players who could play in a team's top six or nine without causing damage. None of them was ever close to being a top player, but they were all far from the worst players around as well.

Yakupov is basically one of the worst forwards in the NHL.

If he can produce in COL, maybe he'll manage to prolong his career. Perhaps a team like Vegas will pick him up and he can score 45 points for the Knights while they look for better players...

As of now, Yakupov has never scored 20 goals or 40 points in a season.

Daigle and Stefan were both worse than Yakupov. Neither of them amounted to anything, and in Daigle's case, he played in a higher offensive era, and struggled mightily.

 

[WeegarUnderwood]

I still have faith in Yak tbh. He works so hard that there's no way in my mind he could falter forever. I feel like he's been in two bad situations and it looks like he's going to be in another one this season but hopefully he can work out well for Colorado. I didn't watch him play in St. Louis but he did well in Edmonton with centres who carry the puck well (Roy, McDavid) so hopefully someone on the Avs can help with that. That said, if he doesn't improve then he's definitely looking like the worst 1st overall forward picked

Like others have said, he's such a likeable guy and I really want him to succeed. Go Yak go

 

[Oddbob]

I still have faith in Yak tbh. He works so hard that there's no way in my mind he could falter forever. I feel like he's been in two bad situations and it looks like he's going to be in another one this season but hopefully he can work out well for Colorado. I didn't watch him play in St. Louis but he did well in Edmonton with centres who carry the puck well (Roy, McDavid) so hopefully someone on the Avs can help with that. That said, if he doesn't improve then he's definitely looking like the worst 1st overall forward picked

Like others have said, he's such a likeable guy and I really want him to succeed. Go Yak go

I too, think he will turn it around yet, I mean he is only 23 or so, that is still very young. Being out of Canadian limelight will probably do him good. St. Louis really didn't give him that much chance, and I am sure Colorado will give him a decent amount of ice time.

All in all Alexandre Daigle was worse, he dominated junior and then completely faltered at the NHL level. Yak didn't dominate the same way coming in, and many consider that year a weak year anyways. Daigle put up a couple 50 point seasons, but that was in a very offensive time in the NHL, not like todays low offense era.

 

[dd91]

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

That was Mikhail Grigorenko I think.

 

[Passchendaele]

Daigle put up a couple 50 point seasons, but that was in a very offensive time in the NHL, not like todays low offense era.

You mean like when the Art Ross winner scored 94 points?

Daigle was a disappointment, but was a legit NHL player for at least a few seasons.

 

[beowulf]

Now that the title is fixed. No, Yakupov is not the worst forward drafted first overall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Gauthier_(ice_hockey)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_Veilleux
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Lawton

Hard to look at guys from the 60s drafts. The whole concept of the amateur draft was new, teams didn't have much in the way of scouting and for many of the early years few players ever played in the NHL. I mean you list Gauthier from the 64 draft but only one player from the first round ever played in the NHL and he played all of 3 games.