Hello I have decided to compare the statlines of the last ten forwards who were drafted 1st overall and jumped straight into the NHL, playing at least 3 straight NHL seasons (uninterupted by the 04-05 lockout). Here it goes
Sidney Crosby (2005) - 213 GP, 99-195-294 [1.38 pts avg/g]
Steven Stamkos (2008) - 243 GP, 119-127-246 [1.01 pts avg/g]
Patrick Kane (2007) - 244 GP, 76-154-230 [0.94 pts avg/g]
Ilya Kovalchuk (2001) - 227 GP, 108-97-205 [0.90 pts avg/g]
Taylor Hall (2010) - 171 GP, 65-80-145 [0.85 pts avg/g]
John Tavares (2009) - 243 GP, 84-118-202 [0.83 pts avg/g]
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011) - 182 GP, 41-91-132 [0.73 pts avg/g]
Vincent Lecavalier (1998) - 230 GP, 61-85-146 [0.64 pts avg/g]
Nail Yakupov (2012) - 155 GP, 33-33-66 [0.43 pts avg/g]
Patrik Stefan (1999) - 197 GP, 22-57-79 [0.40 pts avg/g]
I think we can all agree that anything over .70 is extremely good for such young players entering the league. Even someone under .70 like Lecavalier ended having one heck of a career and was considered the top player in the league at one point around the time he won the cup with Tampa.
Not all hope is lost if you're under .70. But Yakupov is way down at .43, in Patrik Stefan territory, who lasted this long in the NHL because of his two-way game. Yakupov doesn't have that two-way game.
We've seen the NHL lately, it has changed. It's a young man's game. Players peak early. Look at Ovechkin. Every year, rookies take the league by storm. But not Yakupov. He has yet to produce at all. ''But his team suck''. Except Hall and RNH have done very well for themselves with less supporting cast. Hall even has a higher average than Tavares. RNH has a higher average than Lecavalier. Yakupov is very, very far down the chart.
Now, this is just stats and for all we know, Yakupov could break out and post 1.00 avg in the next three seasons. This is very possible. This chart doesn't prove much except that most top forwards taken in the draft have done very well for themselves (like above .70 for most) in their first three years in the league (that means 18, 19 and 20 years olds). Even Thornton, Nash and Ovechkin, not included in this chart, have very high average.
Even EJ, who's a dman and got injured following his draft year, has a similar average to that of Yak and Stefan. And he's not an offensive dman per say...
So, will Yakupov have a similar career path as Stefan? ......
Sidney Crosby (2005) - 213 GP, 99-195-294 [1.38 pts avg/g]
Steven Stamkos (2008) - 243 GP, 119-127-246 [1.01 pts avg/g]
Patrick Kane (2007) - 244 GP, 76-154-230 [0.94 pts avg/g]
Ilya Kovalchuk (2001) - 227 GP, 108-97-205 [0.90 pts avg/g]
Taylor Hall (2010) - 171 GP, 65-80-145 [0.85 pts avg/g]
John Tavares (2009) - 243 GP, 84-118-202 [0.83 pts avg/g]
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011) - 182 GP, 41-91-132 [0.73 pts avg/g]
Vincent Lecavalier (1998) - 230 GP, 61-85-146 [0.64 pts avg/g]
Nail Yakupov (2012) - 155 GP, 33-33-66 [0.43 pts avg/g]
Patrik Stefan (1999) - 197 GP, 22-57-79 [0.40 pts avg/g]
I think we can all agree that anything over .70 is extremely good for such young players entering the league. Even someone under .70 like Lecavalier ended having one heck of a career and was considered the top player in the league at one point around the time he won the cup with Tampa.
Not all hope is lost if you're under .70. But Yakupov is way down at .43, in Patrik Stefan territory, who lasted this long in the NHL because of his two-way game. Yakupov doesn't have that two-way game.
We've seen the NHL lately, it has changed. It's a young man's game. Players peak early. Look at Ovechkin. Every year, rookies take the league by storm. But not Yakupov. He has yet to produce at all. ''But his team suck''. Except Hall and RNH have done very well for themselves with less supporting cast. Hall even has a higher average than Tavares. RNH has a higher average than Lecavalier. Yakupov is very, very far down the chart.
Now, this is just stats and for all we know, Yakupov could break out and post 1.00 avg in the next three seasons. This is very possible. This chart doesn't prove much except that most top forwards taken in the draft have done very well for themselves (like above .70 for most) in their first three years in the league (that means 18, 19 and 20 years olds). Even Thornton, Nash and Ovechkin, not included in this chart, have very high average.
Even EJ, who's a dman and got injured following his draft year, has a similar average to that of Yak and Stefan. And he's not an offensive dman per say...
So, will Yakupov have a similar career path as Stefan? ......
