Prospect Info: Yaroslav Askarov, #11 Overall Pick

[Porter Stoutheart]

...
With that said, the Preds were targeting him. I wonder where he was at on their board. I think he was top 5-6. I really believe the best way to maneuvar the draft is to go up and get the guy you want at forward, rather than waiting. Poile has never taken that approach. It appears they got their guy.

Poile might be half zombie... but you get a sense of his body language over the years despite that... he looked like the cat that swallowed the canary to me... albeit Poile-zombie version... I agree that he was banking on Askarov all along, and that they probably had him ranked very much higher. Welp. The time it will tell.

 

[bdub24]

Hey...we have a solid track record with Russians. I’m not worried.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Poile might be half zombie... but you get a sense of his body language over the years despite that... he looked like the cat that swallowed the canary to me... albeit Poile-zombie version... I agree that he was banking on Askarov all along, and that they probably had him ranked very much higher. Welp. The time it will tell.

Or was it just the jacket...

 

[NoNecksCurse]

In short... at best, he's playing for us in the 22-23 season. 23-24 more likely and well... we will have had to rebuild by then unless saros or what's more likely is Ingram becoming our #1. Would also require our overpaid hacks to actually put in the work in the offseason even after those fat checks clear.

 

[Scoresberg]

Saros and Ingram should be fine as a transitory tandem while we wait for Askarov..

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Best goalie prospect since Carey Price. I'm very excited about this great pick.

 

[Osprey]

Unsurprisingly, Khabibulin (the first Russian goalie to win the Cup and the current goalie coach for the Russian national junior team) really likes him:

Nikolai Khabibulin confident Yaroslav Askarov will be franchise goalie: 'He's got all the tools' - TSN.ca

 

[Soundgarden]

Reading the thread on him in the prospect forum should put anybody's mind at ease.

 

[triggrman]

Finley and Pickard have soured us.

I don’t like this pick, this shit is why we never get good forwards

 

[GoldOnGold]

A few more random thoughts to look at for everyone about to jump off a bridge:

1. Askarov might be a part of our current core (Josi/Ekholm/Ellis , Johansen/Duchene, Forsberg/Arvidsson), but this move is for the future. Our U25 core is now Askarov, Fabbro, Tomasino, Afasynev amongst others. That really helps out prospect pool.

2. Look at the risk of Askarov vs. who was available. Let's say Lundell and Jarvis each have a 50-80% chance at becoming a top 6 semi-star, in the grand scheme of things do you pick someone with a chance at becoming a Price-esque franchise changing player? Especially if his chance at "Just" being an all-star is equally as high as Jarvis and Lundell becoming stars.

Saros is barely 25 and Ingram is 23. Did we really need to add another goaltender to our U25 core when we could really use skilled skaters?

 

[BigFatCat999]

Yaroslav Askarov at eliteprospects.com

Truth, the position sucks but as an 18 in a grown assed men's league, in 3 games: GAA 0.74 SV% .974

 

[GoldOnGold]

I see all the Saros comments, and it is curious to me. He isn't the answer guys. He hasn't been. This is very clear. He has to take a large leap to become a true elite goaltender. His rebound control, size, and penchant for letting in below average goals are hampering this team. With that said, if he corrects any of those areas, he could take the next step. I just do not think it will happen.

I said in the other thread: I hate drafting goalies. I hate first round goalies. I lost my mind when we took Chet Pickard.

With that said, the Preds were targeting him. I wonder where he was at on their board. I think he was top 5-6. I really believe the best way to maneuvar the draft is to go up and get the guy you want at forward, rather than waiting. Poile has never taken that approach. It appears they got their guy.

Saros started 34 games last year and finished the season with a .914 save percentage, the 18th best of the 45 goalies who started 30+ games. And that was with a horrendous start; at the end of the year he was the single biggest reason for us winning games under Hynes. Right now, we have a 25 year old goaltender who looks like he's poised to take over the starting job next season. Rinne wasn't a starter in the NHL until he was 26.

Even if you think Saros is far from being an elite goaltender, he is way, way closer to being one than Askarov, who at this point is magic beans (albeit highly rated magic beans).

 

[Predsanddead24]

It just occurred to me that Askarov is on the same team as Trenin. May have to figure out how to watch some of their games. Especially when they play Jokerit.

 

[Soundgarden]

Saros is barely 25 and Ingram is 23. Did we really need to add another goaltender to our U25 core when we could really use skilled skaters?

Did we need to? Maybe, not necessarily, but was he the best player available? Probably.

What we don't have to worry about for the next 5 years, and hopefully longer, is drafting a goalie. We are locked in now. If all three hit and become above averages starters well that's beautiful, but if Saros flames out or Ingram is just an average guy then we'll have a back up.

Think about this in terms of prospect pools, before this draft let's say that we're in the bottom half, yes we have Tomasino and maybe some diamonds in the rough, but after tonight we have one of the best group of 25 and under players at a position. I'll take that.

I think there will be players tomorrow that will be there that would not have raised eyebrows had they gone today.

 

[Gnashville]

Yaroslav Askarov at eliteprospects.com

Truth, the position sucks but as an 18 in a grown assed men's league, in 3 games: GAA 0.74 SV% .974

Sample size

 

[GoldOnGold]

Did we need to? Maybe, not necessarily, but was he the best player available? Probably.

What we don't have to worry about for the next 5 years, and hopefully longer, is drafting a goalie. We are locked in now. If all three hit and become above averages starters well that's beautiful, but if Saros flames out or Ingram is just an average guy then we'll have a back up.

Think about this in terms of prospect pools, before this draft let's say that we're in the bottom half, yes we have Tomasino and maybe some diamonds in the rough, but after tonight we have one of the best group of 25 and under players at a position. I'll take that.

I think there will be players tomorrow that will be there that would not have raised eyebrows had they gone today.

I hope you're right.

To be honest, based on my track-record of reacting to past moves Askarov will probably be the next Hasek. I liked the Hartman trade, hated the Subban-to-NJ trade, really liked the Granlund trade, and so on

 

[Soundgarden]

I hope you're right.

To be honest, based on my track-record of reacting to past moves Askarov will probably be the next Hasek. I liked the Hartman trade, hated the Subban-to-NJ trade, really liked the Granlund trade, and so on

Just goes to show you that you never know. Especially when it comes to goalies.

 

[BigFatCat999]

Sample size

agreed this season is young and he's playing for Putin's team, SKA

 

[GoldOnGold]

 

[Scoresberg]

Saros is barely 25 and Ingram is 23. Did we really need to add another goaltender to our U25 core when we could really use skilled skaters?

You have to remember, there's still probably 3 years before Askarov starts a game for us. That's plenty of time to see if Saros has what it takes and what we have in Ingram. This team is still in contention mode, even though it may not look that way right now and I'm confident in our goalie situation for the time being as well as for the future.

 

[Armourboy]

Well if you're Saros or Ingram that has to make you feel real good. You've got 2 years guys and then you will be looking for another gig.

Guess it saves money on purchasing their gear.

 

[jfc64]

First there is the Junior World Championships in 2023.

 

[triggrman]

Slept on it. Still hate it.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

Goalies picked in the first round since 2000.

Spencer Knight
Jake Oettinger
Ilya Samsonov
Andre Vasilevskiy
Jack Campbell
Chet Pickard
Jonathan Bernier
Carey Price
Al Montoya
Marc-Andre Fleury
Kari Lehtonen
Pascal Leclaire
Rick DiPietro

You really have only 3 guys that stand out on that list in Vasilevskiy, Price and MAF. Everything else... not so good. Basically a 25% success rate.

I still don't like the pick after waking up this AM, especially with Lundell still on the board. What I'm trying to comfort myself into, however, is this means Poile is going to blow it up and start the rebuild so we will be hitting our stride (in theory) in 4 years time.

There is too much smoke around us trying to move some key pieces on the team for there not to be fire.

 

[LCPreds]

By the time he gets over here we will have had an opportunity to take at least 2 more top 10 Picks. So still plenty of time to get those forwards to go along with him.

To me this pick is more of an indictment on Saros. For all of the talk of him being the future I think the org has come to the realization that he is basically just average. Above average on his best days. He’ll never be elite.