The Fall of Nail Yakupov

[CycloneSweep]

I feel like that was just a bad draft overall, especially the top5
1. Yakupov-Bust
2. Murray-3rd pairing
3. Galchenyuk-2nd Liner
4. Reinhart-Bust
5. Rielly-Top Pairing

 

[Acallabeth]

The interesting part is the total miss by scouting. Was there any team that wouldn't have picked him in the top 5 if they had the pick? Shouldn't it be obvious if he was dumb as a box of rocks or his OHL game wouldn't translate?

When a player skates like crazy and dangles circles around the OHL defensemen, it's reasonable for the scouts and experts to suppose that he's both very talented and works very hard, not that he has no other game at all. Yakupov is more interesting to analyze as a development failure, not a scouting failure.

 

[Nothingbutglass]

When a player skates like crazy and dangles circles around the OHL defensemen, it's reasonable for the scouts and experts to suppose that he's both very talented and works very hard, not that he has no other game at all. Yakupov is more interesting to analyze as a development failure, not a scouting failure.

Really? seems like pro scouts should go deeper than that. What do you think his potential was if he was developed properly?

 

[Romang67]

I feel like that was just a bad draft overall, especially the top5
1. Yakupov-Bust
2. Murray-3rd pairing
3. Galchenyuk-2nd Liner
4. Reinhart-Bust
5. Rielly-Top Pairing

Great goalie draft, alright D-man draft, horrible forward draft.

 

[DitchMarner]

Assuming he hasn't suffered an injury that has affected him physically, the only likely explanation(s) I can think of for his severe decline in production in the KHL is that he's lost confidence, he's lost motivation or he has altered his approach to the game to the point that he no longer plays instinctively and naturally or two or more of the aforementioned.

 

[belair]

Really? seems like pro scouts should go deeper than that. What do you think his potential was if he was developed properly?

Maxim Afinogenov. If he was given opportunity in organizations who could give him the ice time. IMO there was no developing him 'properly' after he went 1st overall. He was likely convinced that it was the organization failing him if he didn't succeed.

 

[playasRus]

Are there other examples of young stars busting under Dallas Eakins? I see he's HCing in Anaheim now but their young guys (Comtois, Steel, Terry, Jones) seem to be doing as expected from late 1st rounders in their rookie/sophomore years on a superficial look.

 

[Fixxer]

I'm not a pro at the TOI but I'm sure that he's not getting the offensive opportunities he was given before. He was a very proud and driven guy. He had everything going for him.
Now, I can imagine his confidence is very modest and he's just one guy on the team.
He's not seen as a leader or an elite talent anymore. Crazy eh?

As for his NHL struggles, I remember reading that he skated as if he was being chased by bees. So, I guess he developped very bad habits which he,s still a "victim" of. I know he had a good one-timer on his first season but I think he tried too hard afterward..

Ray Ferraro expanded on his original quote about Bee's, where he said he had no idea when to take his foot off the gas pedal, and just take a breath to observe the ice and let plays or coverages develop.
Essentially saying do you think Good Players jump on the ice and start skating 110% max right away for the entire shift. Well Yakupov did.

That explains a lot!

Yakupov’s on ice IQ is very disappointing for a top pick. People mentioned his physics being a problem. I don’t see that at all. Just like Yak does not see his linemates on ice.

From what I remember of his Sarnia's highlights, he was mostly overpowering other guys or working his way to the net. It looked impressive in a way, but he it's a very hard thing to do at the NHL level and you need to play a team game in the pros. He might have a bit of a tunnel vision, in terms of hockey IQ.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

The kid is a douche.

Brian Burke said Yakupov was insulted that they requested an interview with him when they held the 5th overall pick.

With that kind of arrogance it is no surprise he became a dud.

 

[Fixxer]

once he gets to toronto or nyc he will be fine.

Back when there were rumors wanting him in MTL with his good ol' pal Galchenyuk...

 

[Fixxer]

The kid is a douche.

Brian Burke said Yakupov was insulted that they requested an interview with him when they held the 5th overall pick.

With that kind of arrogance it is no surprise he became a dud.

Burke said that Vanek had a bit of an attitude too but he told him something like "ok kid, if we want you, we'll move up the draft to pick you, so smarten up". Then he said the interview was great. -- Some mentioned Nikita Filatov and it was like Yakupov in terms of attitude.

 

[McShogun99]

The kid is a douche.

Brian Burke said Yakupov was insulted that they requested an interview with him when they held the 5th overall pick.

With that kind of arrogance it is no surprise he became a dud.

People that met him around Edmonton said that he was a nice, humble guy. I’ve met numerous hockey players due to my past work and he was always friendly.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I remember some vague rumour I can't seem to find any source for.

The rumor was that Yakupov and Grigorenko were not 18, but had some bogus Russian DOB and were actually closer to 20/21 when drafted.

Grigorenko rumor caught, so he dropped from consensus #2.

I mean Yaks numbers didn't really improve much since his rookie junior year (some chalked that up to the Galchenyuk injury).

He was a finished player his first year in Sarnia, and hadn't really improved since.

Sorry I can't find the source of that rumour. But it would make a LOT of sense if he was older.

 

[El Cohiba]

I remember some vague rumour I can't seem to find any source for.

The rumor was that Yakupov and Grigorenko were not 18, but had some bogus Russian DOB and were actually closer to 20/21 when drafted.

Grigorenko rumor caught, so he dropped from consensus #2.

I mean Yaks numbers didn't really improve much since his rookie junior year (some chalked that up to the Galchenyuk injury).

He was a finished player his first year in Sarnia, and hadn't really improved since.

Sorry I can't find the source of that rumour. But it would make a LOT of sense if he was older.

This is interesting and would explain a lot regarding his recent drop off-- if he is nearing 30, it makes sense that he is slowing down a tad.

 

[dahrougem2]

Blows my mind how a dude that worked almost exclusively on his one-timer in practices his entire NHL tenure couldn't connect on a one-timer in an actual game to save his life.

 

[Dan Kelly]

Blows my mind how a dude that worked almost exclusively on his one-timer in practices his entire NHL tenure couldn't connect on a one-timer in an actual game to save his life.

Oiler fans are too quick to give Nail a pass because they still think there is something there and it's all the coaches fault anyways. a bit of truth there as changing head coaches every year didn't help things but Nail just isn't quick enough physically to keep up with the NHL game, plain and simple !

 

[The Nuge]

I remember some vague rumour I can't seem to find any source for.

The rumor was that Yakupov and Grigorenko were not 18, but had some bogus Russian DOB and were actually closer to 20/21 when drafted.

Grigorenko rumor caught, so he dropped from consensus #2.

I mean Yaks numbers didn't really improve much since his rookie junior year (some chalked that up to the Galchenyuk injury).

He was a finished player his first year in Sarnia, and hadn't really improved since.

Sorry I can't find the source of that rumour. But it would make a LOT of sense if he was older.

That was never a rumour. There was a BS rumour about Grigorenko, but that wasn’t even why he fell. He fell because he got deemed lazy and hadn’t looked as good as expected, but then it ended up coming out that he’d been playing with mono

Blows my mind how a dude that worked almost exclusively on his one-timer in practices his entire NHL tenure couldn't connect on a one-timer in an actual game to save his life.

He could only get a one timer off on a perfect pass. He worked on it all the time, but he clearly never worked on it in realistic scenarios

 

[Atas2000]

It doesn't explain how be got worse.

Imo the oilers just messed up his development and psychology. Now even his instincts as a scorer are inferior to when he was in juniors.

The Oiers and he and his dad. He is a mild case of the Kabanov-syndrome. At some point he(and his dad) started looking for excuses elewhere instead of making things happen. Being drafted by the Oilers did not help and that guy who cared more about his suit than the game did his part too, but at least after coming back to Russia he very quickly got complacent. He never tried to become a 1st liner on his own and just settled for less.

 

[LeafChief]

The Oiers and he and his dad. He is a mild case of the Kabanov-syndrome. At some point he(and his dad) started looking for excuses elewhere instead of making things happen. Being drafted by the Oilers did not help and that guy who cared more about his suit than the game did his part too, but at least after coming back to Russia he very quickly got complacent. He never tried to become a 1st liner on his own and just settled for less.

You mean the OHL didn't ruin this player as well?

 

[Atas2000]

You mean the OHL didn't ruin this player as well?

As you can clearly see, it did. Even a 1OA ends ap a bust after the OHL.

 

[Mr Positive]

Oiler fans are too quick to give Nail a pass because they still think there is something there and it's all the coaches fault anyways. a bit of truth there as changing head coaches every year didn't help things but Nail just isn't quick enough physically to keep up with the NHL game, plain and simple !

I agree. The Oilers didn't give Nail the perfect environment, but that is common for a lot of 1st overall picks, who usually go to bad teams (except Lafreniere I guess lol). Fans always hated Eakins for not using Nail correctly, and just like Puljujarvi they point to how little opportunity he was given on the top lines compared to other players who got a lot more slack. What they don't see is all the behind the scenes work in practices and off ice work that goes into those players getting those opportunities.

And even with Nail, he had a very good rookie season, leading all rookies in scoring, and I doubt any GM would have sent down this player but instead focus on coaches working with him and getting NHL time to supplement. AHL game time is extremely limited anyway, with a developmental focus, so JP and Yak's time on the team was about as valuable even if they didn't get a large amount of minutes.

Ultimately, throughout this whole period where the Oilers were supposedly awful at developing players, there were players who had it tough but prevailed in the end. RNH, Hall, Eberle, Klefbom, Nurse, and then eventually Drai, McDavid, Yamamoto, Bear, Jones and others.

It's just a way better explanation that it is on the players. Maybe scouting and drafting an 18 year old out of a lower league isn't a 100% translation to the NHL. Busts later in the first round are even common. Busts early in the first will be less common, but still happen

 

[LeafChief]

As you can clearly see, it did. Even a 1OA ends ap a bust after the OHL.

Or maybe, just maybe - he wasn't very good to begin with.

 

[Atas2000]

Or maybe, just maybe - he wasn't very good to begin with.

You mean all the NHL scouts and GMs are idiots and rate a guy who is not very good as 1OA?

 

[Passchendaele]

You mean all the NHL scouts and GMs are idiots and rate a guy who is not very good as 1OA?

Radulov and Kucherov are doing fine, despite playing in the QJMHL. Svechnikov is on is way to be a franchise forward.

Europeans who come over to play Jr. hockey are usually behind in development/skill. Not surprisingly, there is some sort of correlation between playing in the CHL and lack of NHL success.

The really good stay in Russia/Sweden/whatever because they're playing on the 1st division team.

 

[Atas2000]

Radulov and Kucherov are doing fine, despite playing in the QJMHL. Svechnikov is on is way to be a franchise forward.

Europeans who come over to play Jr. hockey are usually behind in development/skill. Not surprisingly, there is some sort of correlation between playing in the CHL and lack of NHL success.

The really good stay in Russia/Sweden/whatever because they're playing on the 1st division team.

LOL there they are again the same false examples. You have no other? Svechnikov was under PPG before the pause. Franchise forwad? Sure, that was the projection BEFORE he went to CHL.

What Europeans do you mean?