Yak was as close to a consensus as there had been in several years.
yeah, there was a consensus that Yak was a teeny weenie, smidgeon of a CH better than everyone else; he was not a landslide consensus. Lost by everyone was that he was a smallish winger, a position of need/importance that comes in at about number 6 on most team's, and was the last player-type that the Oilers needed.
We didn't need a 20 - 25 goal scorer (which is still a pretty good player) nearly as bad as we needed almost everything else. And that's the point; not how good he is or isn't, it's how little we needed him.
If he ends up being a regular 35 goal scorer, I'll be happy.
Even if the Oilers picked based on need, which rarely is the optimum choice, would they be better off with the injury prone Murray or another struggling winger in Galchenyuk? The best picks in hindsight would have been Lindholm or Trouba, and that would have took a crystal ball on draft day. Overall, it was just a very weak draft class.
yeah, there was a consensus that Yak was a teeny weenie, smidgeon of a CH better than everyone else; he was not a landslide consensus. Lost by everyone was that he was a smallish winger, a position of need/importance that comes in at about number 6 on most team's, and was the last player-type that the Oilers needed.
We didn't need a 20 - 25 goal scorer (which is still a pretty good player) nearly as bad as we needed almost everything else. And that's the point; not how good he is or isn't, it's how little we needed him.
If he ends up being a regular 35 goal scorer, I'll be happy.
yeah, there was a consensus that Yak was a teeny weenie, smidgeon of a CH better than everyone else; he was not a landslide consensus. Lost by everyone was that he was a smallish winger, a position of need/importance that comes in at about number 6 on most team's, and was the last player-type that the Oilers needed.
We didn't need a 20 - 25 goal scorer (which is still a pretty good player) nearly as bad as we needed almost everything else. And that's the point; not how good he is or isn't, it's how little we needed him.
If he ends up being a regular 35 goal scorer, I'll be happy.
...
It's hard to see it now but I don't think Yaks 40 goal potential is gone.
If Yakupov puts up 20-25-45 this year, while the line he's on is not bleeding shots and scoring chances against at EVS, then that would qualify as a significant step forward in my book.
The talk of him scoring 35 is crazy at this point. A 35 goal scorer is a top 10 scorer in the league, and he's miles away from that. A more realistic long term target for Yakupov is 25 goals a season, which would put him top 50 in the NHL.
28th in league as a rookie:
http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?reportType=season&gameType=2&report=goals
With a real coach and a true #1 C... seems like 35 is possible.
Anyone see the video of him and talbot delivering tickets? Yak is a funny guy hahaha
Yakupov's goal per 60 since he got into the league is 0.89. If he plays 15 minutes a night for 82 games, he will need to up his G/60 to 1.7. How many players have scored 1.7 or more since 12/13? Stamkos and Ovechkin. Lets say he plays 17 minutes a night, then he will have to score 1.5 G/60 to reach 35. How many players have scored that since 12/13? Ovechkin, Stamkos, Nash, Perry and Pacioretty.28th in league as a rookie:
http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?reportType=season&gameType=2&report=goals
With a real coach and a true #1 C... seems like 35 is possible.
The problem with a "real" coach is that if Yakupov can't pick up what he's teaching, he's going to be in trouble, there'll be no more excuses for him. I'm a little nervous for him going into this season to be honest.
I'm actually excited for it, because I have paid alot of attention to Maclellan's coaching style over the last 10 years or so. I am expecting him to start the year on a wing with McDavid and one of Pouliout or Hall. It's the way Todd runs his teams. Nuge/Eberle will stay together because they have the most chemistry on the team, and he knows the kind of numbers a great passer like McDavid can put up with a pure shooter like Yakupov.
He also treats his players with the same kind of respect that Kreuger is known for. He lets players work through their issues, not pull reactionary knee jerk changes, just for the sake of change.
I'm actually excited for it, because I have paid alot of attention to Maclellan's coaching style over the last 10 years or so. I am expecting him to start the year on a wing with McDavid and one of Pouliout or Hall. It's the way Todd runs his teams. Nuge/Eberle will stay together because they have the most chemistry on the team, and he knows the kind of numbers a great passer like McDavid can put up with a pure shooter like Yakupov.
He also treats his players with the same kind of respect that Kreuger is known for. He lets players work through their issues, not pull reactionary knee jerk changes, just for the sake of change.
So if Yak starts on the 3rd line this year, does that make TM a idiot coach?
Nice revisionist history there. He was the landslide consensus.
No, it means they're valuing team success over increasing the value of an outbound asset.
It kind of makes Chiarelli's summer a mess since the discussion should have been: "Are we giving this guy a big opportunity or should we just broom him out now".
Let's also not forget here that it's been rumored since that draft day that Katz made that pick himself and not Tambellini or the scouting staff. If true, and I certainly believe it is, then there's no point in blaming anybody for missed opportunities anymore. If Katz wouldn't let Tambellini pick Murray, who was being touted as the best defenseman in the draft, he sure wasn't going to allow him to take anybody else. Doubtful they would let him trade the pick either. Yakupov was the consensus #1 pick and it's hard to argue he was chosen to sell jerseys that off season. That's how the organization was thinking at that point.yes. which makes it tough to pick. But, they, the experts, the paid professionals, didn't recognize that it was a weak draft. That was THE year to trade the first overall pick. they could have hosed someone.
Yes, I know, hindsight. I can forgive them for not trading it as it wasn't obvious that the draft was so weak at the time, but history is showing that trading the pick would have been the best move.
Just one more example in a long list of tough decisions that they got wrong. Did they fluke any off?
So if Yak starts on the 3rd line this year, does that make TM a idiot coach?