As of this moment I would have to favor Grigorenko. Decent sized for a center and very skilled. He could be a good first line center in the NHL for a very long time.
I could change my opinion quickly if Yakupov can show some leadership and position Sarnia for a long playoff run but for Yakupov's game to translate to the NHL hes going to have to get alot bigger and more shifty, hopefully both.
I guess Grigorenko is the safer bet and Yakupov has a shot at being the better player.
Again I will repeat that I haven't seen Grigorenko enough to make an intelligent comment - having said that I have read your's and some other people comment about Yakupov's size. I disagree that there is even a slight issue here - while Grigorenko may be bigger, I can tell you Yakupov is more that big enough to be an excellent pro. He is bigger than Stamkos at that age and is a hard worker off ice.
Watching him play, I don't find out where people are commenting on his size - especially since he is continuously playing against the other teams best older players. As for being shifty, I really don't understand that comment either - he is excellent at creating space, both with skating ability and puck handling - the skills he uses to do this should transfer to the pro game. Having said the above, size and skill is such a rare commodity I don't disagree with giving Grigorenko the nod right now - guys like this do not come every year.
Galenchuk is also the real deal - especially when you consider his improvement the last half of the season. He should be fun to watch this year.
I do fully agree with your assessment regarding Yakupov's leadership. If there is one piece of his game that he could improve it would be this. Of course the transition here isn't easy and I am not offering this as a critcism given his situation - really he has exceeded expectations even though the expectations are low. Should he make huge strides this year and show leadership, it would only help him.
Having said the above, I hope this thread doesn't turn into a personalize pissing contest. How fortunate we are to have the ability to watch these players live at fantastic prices. I think few people fully realized what was in front of them when Drew Doughty and Steve Stamkos (and John Tavares) were battling it out on the same ice. Only a few years ago these Russian players wouldn't be available to watch live in Junior because they were playing in Russia. Celebrate it, discuss it, enjoy it - it doesn't come along every year, who knows how long it will be before it happens again.