Player Discussion Nail Yakupov Talk II - Say something, I'm giving up on you....

[Replacement*]

Fantastic game from him tonight.

Definitely earned a promotion to the top 6 tonight IMO. Drop Purcell down, or find a way to get him with Mcdavid, and see if he can build off tonight.

Like that's ever happening. Yak played a hell of a game his game back from injury. Then saw that he keeps getting buried in the lineup anyway. Doesn't matter what he does.

 

[McDeepika]

He was great tonight. Not sure why the team is so hell bent on keeping McDavid/Eberle together. Yakupov should be given a chance with McDavid as well.

Eberle is a good finisher but I don't think he is the perfect fit for McDavid. He is too weak on the boards and too slow to be a secondary puck carrier when teams are determined to deny McDavid the puck.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

If he used his brain he'd tell his agent to get him out of this ****show.

Toby effing Letestu. All the ****ing time.

Better call up some beer leaguers for Nail to toil with.

Like countless people have said. It's not all about production. No matter your linemates good players look good. If Yak played even played 50% as good as he did tonight on a regular basis no one would hate him.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Yeah, bring it Yak. Get rewarded with more 10mins of toi games pair bonded with Toby Letestu. Fun times.

Yak loves it here. Yes he do.

He should play with Hall and Drai so they can all suck together. Boy what a terrible line that's been for the last month.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Like that's ever happening. Yak played a hell of a game his game back from injury. Then saw that he keeps getting buried in the lineup anyway. Doesn't matter what he does.

He came back from an ankle injury so they eased him into the lineup. He played one good game and vanished.

 

[oil Leaks]

If he used his brain he'd tell his agent to get him out of this ****show.

Toby effing Letestu. All the ****ing time.

Better call up some beer leaguers for Nail to toil with.

Letestu looked off Yakupov so many times tonight, all I can do is just laugh now. I think I've just accepted that Letestu is hot garbage and has no business centering our third line what so ever.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

He was great tonight. Not sure why the team is so hell bent on keeping McDavid/Eberle together. Yakupov should be given a chance with McDavid as well.

Eberle is a good finisher but I don't think he is the perfect fit for McDavid. He is too weak on the boards and too slow to be a secondary puck carrier when teams are determined to deny McDavid the puck.

Eberle has -seven- goals in the amount of games he's been with McDavid. Yak had 2 in 10. Not hard to figure out.

 

[Replacement*]

Like countless people have said. It's not all about production. No matter your linemates good players look good. If Yak played even played 50% as good as he did tonight on a regular basis no one would hate him.

Well obviously that's incorrect. One look at any Yak thread reveals the hate is constant.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Well obviously that's incorrect. One look at any Yak thread reveals the hate is constant.

Because he hasn't looked good in a long time. He looked good tonight and deserves praise for such. If he keeps up that level of play people will change their minds on him. If he goes back to playing like crap then the "constant hate" will continue.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Well obviously that's incorrect. One look at any Yak thread reveals the hate is constant.

Because Yak has **** games for 3/4 of the season and games like this maybe 2-3 times a year.

I forgot what media guy was saying but apparently Yak loves to work hard at his one timers but never works at the things he actually needs to improve on.

 

[Replacement*]

Letestu looked off Yakupov so many times tonight, all I can do is just laugh now. I think I've just accepted that Letestu is hot garbage and has no business centering our third line what so ever.

I swear the guy has no peripheral vision and he's a center playing in the NHL.

people said this guy had talent and could support offense. oh my lord, Letestu is horrible.

 

[Hopelesslucicfan]

Like that's ever happening. Yak played a hell of a game his game back from injury. Then saw that he keeps getting buried in the lineup anyway. Doesn't matter what he does.

Unfortunately, I'm starting to think the org has something against him.

I have absolutely no evidence about anything, and I'm not going to speculate, but the fact that he has has to work so hard, to get even a whiff of what these other players are getting handed to them on a silver platter is strange.

Yak got 1 shift with Mcdavid and Eberle last game, and yes he turned it over, and unfortunately it led to a goal, but he was then banished from that line. Pouliot kills us with 2 penalties and lazy play all around, and is put right back into his spot with Ebs and Mcdavid.

Purcell has been playing like trash, and that line has slowed down as a whole, and yet instead of injecting someone with some energy like Yak, they just keep forcing something that isn't working at the moment.

I don't think Yak will ever become anything here, and I just can't figure out why. He just has such a short leash compared to everyone else, and nights like this make me realize what we could have had.

Instead we've got a kid who's had his confidence shattered, and has to fight for every second of icetime on a team that can't score to save their life.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

Unfortunately, I'm starting to think the org has something against him.

I have absolutely no evidence about anything, and I'm not going to speculate, but the fact that he has has to work so hard, to get even a whiff of what these other players are getting handed to them on a silver platter is strange.

Yak got 1 shift with Mcdavid and Eberle last game, and yes he turned it over, and unfortunately it led to a goal, but he was then banished from that line. Pouliot kills us with 2 penalties and lazy play all around, and is put right back into his spot with Ebs and Mcdavid.

Purcell has been playing like trash, and that line has slowed down as a whole, and yet instead of injecting someone with some energy like Yak, they just keep forcing something that isn't working at the moment.

I don't think Yak will ever become anything here, and I just can't figure out why. He just has such a short leash compared to everyone else, and nights like this make me realize what we could have had.

Instead we've got a kid who's had his confidence shattered, and has to fight for every second of icetime on a team that can't score to save their life.

I don't think it's a conspiracy like that.

McLellan said something to the effect of. "Yak is getting a lot of conflicting information". I have also heard that Yak works his ass off working on his one timer but isn't working on what the coaches are asking him to work on.

I think what goes on in practices and partially on the ice is what is keeping him down in the lineup.

 

[Hopelesslucicfan]

I don't think it's a conspiracy like that.

McLellan said something to the effect of. "Yak is getting a lot of conflicting information". I have also heard that Yak works his ass off working on his one timer but isn't working on what the coaches are asking him to work on.

I think what goes on in practices and partially on the ice is what is keeping him down in the lineup.

That could be it too, It's just so odd to me that every single coach he's had, ends up playing him in the same way. Bottom 6.

Perhaps it is awful practice habits or some other on ice issue that we can't see, but if that's the case, then the Kid has to be dense as hell to not change whatever he's doing that keeps him down in the lineup.

 

[McDeepika]

Eberle has -seven- goals in the amount of games he's been with McDavid. Yak had 2 in 10. Not hard to figure out.

Yak might only have had 2 goals but he had like 9 or 10 points IIRC.

I agree Eberle is the superior finisher but Yak does other things that might compliment McDavids game better. He is much better along the boards which can help get McDavid the puck more. He is also much faster and can function as a secondary puck carrier.

It is worth giving him another shot.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

That could be it too, It's just so odd to me that every single coach he's had, ends up playing him in the same way. Bottom 6.

Perhaps it is awful practice habits or some other on ice issue that we can't see, but if that's the case, then the Kid has to be dense as hell to not change whatever he's doing that keeps him down in the lineup.

I honestly think it's the practice habits as McLellan alluded to.

It's the only thing that makes sense.

I do not believe the whole big bad oilers are out to get him

 

[Suxnet]

He has a bad shot.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

He has a bad shot.

So just cause he scored he has a good shot? I've seen Letestu score a goal like that before.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

He has a bad shot.

If his shot was good it would find target much more often.

 

[McWeber]

I honestly think it's the practice habits as McLellan alluded to.

It's the only thing that makes sense.

I do not believe the whole big bad oilers are out to get him

On Oilersnow today Bob mentioned that Yakupov doesn't work on his area's of weakness enough. Said that he loves to work on his one timer but doesn't focus on what he needs to improve the most.

 

[DerpMorg]

Like keeping his stick on the ice when in the offensive zone?

 

[Suxnet]

So just cause he scored he has a good shot? I've seen Letestu score a goal like that before.

Yah. He has a good shot now just because he scored. Yakupov was never known for his shot before ever. When Schultz scores, he'll have a good shot too.

Thanks for your contribution to this thread.

 

[oobga]

I swear the guy has no peripheral vision and he's a center playing in the NHL.

people said this guy had talent and could support offense. oh my lord, Letestu is horrible.

Yeah, Letestu has zero offensive instincts. He has no clue where to go in the offensive zone. He's lucky to touch the puck 1 time on the offensive side of center per shift. We need to do much better for a 3rd line C. Letestu is a 4th liner at best and PKer. Letestu's offensive contributions this year were of the Boyd Gordon variety, basically a surprise that the puck landed near him in the offensive zone, whack at it, seeing eye shot goes in. Gordon went on a little run a couple years ago for us like Letestu did this season where everything he whacked at went in. There is no playmaking at all that he is involved with.

 

[oil Leaks]

Yeah, Letestu has zero offensive instincts. He has no clue where to go in the offensive zone. He's lucky to touch the puck 1 time on the offensive side of center per shift. We need to do much better for a 3rd line C. Letestu is a 4th liner at best and PKer. Letestu's offensive contributions this year were of the Boyd Gordon variety, basically a surprise that the puck landed near him in the offensive zone, whack at it, seeing eye shot goes in.

Letestu : good 4th liner, terrible to god awful 3rd Liner.

Boyd Gordon could actually sometimes cycle the puck and is way more consistent on the draws.

 

[Replacement*]

So just cause he scored he has a good shot? I've seen Letestu score a goal like that before.

Youtube it.

Every Letestu goal I've seen is into an empty net. On perfect feeds only a complete tool would miss. Although Letestu has squandered plenty of those as well.

The worst Center I've seen here since Belanger. That bad. Just a complete mess offensively. The kind of idiot that hopes nobody notices he doesn't have a skillset to even remotely be good enough to play in the NHL.

Unfortunately a capped league results in a hundred garbage players like this being in a lineup.

of course the Oil marry him to yakupov. Never saw that one coming....