Prospect Info: Yaroslav Askarov, #11 Overall Pick

[glenngineer]

Everyone else I heard last night compared him to Price and Brodeur. If our guys are viewing him like Rinne and Quick, then we have a problem assessing talent.

 

[King Weber]

Everyone else I heard last night compared him to Price and Brodeur. If our guys are viewing him like Rinne and Quick, then we have a problem assessing talent.

or the Price and Brodeur comparisons are about his talent and upside, while Quick and Rinne about his playstyle.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

I totally get wanting a top-6 talent, but based on the scouting, you don't pass up on this guy at 11. At that pick, we probably wouldn't see the prospect for a couple years anyway. Why not get your goalie of the future?

 

[Legionnaire11]

Watched a few complete game highlights, one thing that stands out to me right away is his passing ability. The kid isn't afraid to send a long pass into the neutral zone and he does so with accuracy.

Tall but not giant at 6'3, still has the ability to drop down and cover the lower portion of the net with his pads and use his upper body, stick and gloves to block shots up high.

I think for the NHL he'll need to play a little deeper in his crease to speed up his lateral movements. But really he already looks very good and technically solid.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

or the Price and Brodeur comparisons are about his talent and upside, while Quick and Rinne about his playstyle.

Pekka is a big positionally sound goalie, Quick is a "reflexes" goalie, so I'm guessing not?

 

[Legionnaire11]

Just like on these boards, the only argument against the pick seems to be "I don't like goalies in the 1st" but if you separate the player from the common saying, nobody has criticisms of Askarov as a massive talent.

I think the guy at the end of the video is right on, and I think with Saros/Ingram for the next 3-4 seasons, we're in a good position to be patient with Askarov, letting him develop at a good pace and then work up the ranks here. He's certainly not going to be rushed to take the starting job right way.

 

[Byrddog]

Just like on these boards, the only argument against the pick seems to be "I don't like goalies in the 1st" but if you separate the player from the common saying, nobody has criticisms of Askarov as a massive talent.

I think the guy at the end of the video is right on, and I think with Saros/Ingram for the next 3-4 seasons, we're in a good position to be patient with Askarov, letting him develop at a good pace and then work up the ranks here. He's certainly not going to be rushed to take the starting job right way.

I hope you are right about not being rushed this was the mistake made with Saro's. If somehow they can allow him to get at least a full season in before bringing him up it is in the best interest, and honestly 150 games and hit age 20 would be even better but who knows. The issue in net right now is as bad as the Mason, Ellis years.

 

[JustaFinnishGuy]

I hope you are right about not being rushed this was the mistake made with Saro's. If somehow they can allow him to get at least a full season in before bringing him up it is in the best interest, and honestly 150 games and hit age 20 would be even better but who knows. The issue in net right now is as bad as the Mason, Ellis years.

Saros was anything but rushed, I have no idea what you're on about. He's been better than Rinne for a while now, and that's to be expected next year as well.

 

[Soundgarden]

Saros was anything but rushed, I have no idea what you're on about. He's been better than Rinne for a while now, and that's to be expected next year as well.

Forget it Jake, it's Byrddogtown.

 

[Byrddog]

Saros was anything but rushed, I have no idea what you're on about. He's been better than Rinne for a while now, and that's to be expected next year as well.

Last year Saro's was 31st in wins in the league among goalies with 30 or more starts Rinne was 28th neither acceptable as a starter. The year prior Rinne was 10th in wins and Saro's 35th so that does not support the narrative. Of course one can cherry pick advanced stats and prove any point you wish but the bottom line is wins and which player gives the team the best chance. Last year Saro's was 30th in GAA and Rinne 67th neither supportive of a team competing for the playoffs. At 3.07 GF per game places the team 16th in the league while the GA per game 3.10 12th in the league in the regular season pretty much settles out to what the team did over the regular season as a .500 hockey team that was on the bubble. 17 teams allowed more than 3 goals per game and 17 teams scored more than 3 per game.

Now it is hard to imagine team scoring increasing above last years 3.07 so the obvious place to focus improvement on would be dropping the goals allowed. The current goaltending does not support this happening. There is a lot of emotion back and forth about Saro's many think he has upside due to not enough games this is emotional. Another group argues that he has had plenty of experience to excel i think you may be in that corner. Then there are some that straddle the fence that point out both those are confusing and emotion driven opinion.

Askarov may well be the best pick in franchise history for Poile. He has the scouting that puts him in the potential elite range. And for the first time in a long time Poile drafted from need and it just happened to be the best player available. For example the Jones pick was clear best player available but it was far from drafting for a need of the team at that point. Now if they can wait until the guy is really ready is the question. It is hard to resist rushing him when he has been compared to Price and Vasilevskiy at his age.
The bottom line it was a great pick at 11. All the forwards that could make the team out of camp were gone the best two defensemen were gone as well. Picks after 15 were described last night as they are in most every draft guys that need multiple years before being ready to make the jump and risky ones who have holes in there game that need major work just to have a shot at making a roster. There will be a couple gems in round two and beyond but catching that lightning in a bottle is difficult for top 6 guys or top pairing defense, yes Weber was one and Hornqvist another but Poiles history is slim here beyond that.

 

[Pr0fet]

Can we atleast bring Korn back to go with Askarov?

 

[desmondtootoo]

For the 23rd straight draft, avoid offense at all costs ! Yeah, I know all about best talent available. We still manage to go home with no offense upgrade, as we do every year. Another year of hoping our one or two best D will provide our O.
When your only attempt to pick big O in the first round was Legwand and Radulov, I guess you try to avoid it after that.

 

[LCPreds]

For the 23rd straight draft, avoid offense at all costs ! Yeah, I know all about best talent available. We still manage to go home with no offense upgrade, as we do every year. Another year of hoping our one or two best D will provide our O.
When your only attempt to pick big O in the first round was Legwand and Radulov, I guess you try to avoid it after that.

I mean that Fiala guy seems to be pretty good. Maybe we are just terrible at identifying good o talent even when it's right under our nose.

Colin Wilson was also a top 10 pick.

 

[desmondtootoo]

I mean that Fiala guy seems to be pretty good. Maybe we are just terrible at identifying good o talent even when it's right under our nose.

Colin Wilson was also a top 10 pick.

Lol, as were Snotty Fartsmell, Snotty Upchuck, Pompous Ahole, and Jonathan Bum.
Feely Tolvanen was later. Grant Mismatch was taken right after him.
Colon Wilson is a veritable Gretzky compared to some of them.
Actually I always liked the scotties - Hartnell, Upshall, Walker, and Nichol. Good guys. Still not good first rounders for the first 2. Hartnell had a decent career. Glad to see him finish it here.

 

[LCPreds]

Lol, as were Snotty Fartsmell, Snotty Upchuck, Pompous Ahole, and Jonathan Bum.
Feely Tolvanen was later. Grant Mismatch was taken right after him.
Colon Wilson is a veritable Gretzky compared to some of them.
Actually I always liked the scotties - Hartnell, Upshall, Walker, and Nichol. Good guys. Still not good first rounders for the first 2. Hartnell had a decent career. Glad to see him finish it here.

I can tell you have some feelings going on here...

 

[sparkle twin]

Saw on Twitter some Hawks fans upset that the Preds took Askarov. Makes me like the pick a bit more!

 

[Atas2000]

For the 23rd straight draft, avoid offense at all costs ! Yeah, I know all about best talent available. We still manage to go home with no offense upgrade, as we do every year. Another year of hoping our one or two best D will provide our O.
When your only attempt to pick big O in the first round was Legwand and Radulov, I guess you try to avoid it after that.

Are Nashville fans still not able to admit they lost a gem in Radulov and it was the Preds' fault? I mean Dallas does enjoy the outcome.

For all the yearning for O, Askarov is a no-brainer pick. And for the time when he is starting for the Preds you can get a whole lot of O still.

 

[Atas2000]

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

What other lies did they tell you?

What Putin's team? Wake up.

 

[Atas2000]

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.

Knight is a top notch prospect who will be great.
Samsonov is at least a good starter already and he will get better.
Lehtonen was a solid starter(that's more than you get out of a lot of 1st round forwards)

You purposedly shorten your list to prove your point. Also first round pick is not a good measuring stick. Of that list only Price is in the same tier as Askarov as far as pre-draft evaluations go.

Askarov is praised to be the best, most complete and ready goalie prospect in a long time. That's not what many of those others ever were.

 

[Armourboy]

Knight is a top notch prospect who will be great.
Samsonov is at least a good starter already and he will get better.
Lehtonen was a solid starter(that's more than you get out of a lot of 1st round forwards)

You purposedly shorten your list to prove your point. Also first round pick is not a good measuring stick. Of that list only Price is in the same tier as Askarov as far as pre-draft evaluations go.

Askarov is praised to be the best, most complete and ready goalie prospect in a long time. That's not what many of those others ever were.

So you've got one that is ok, another that may be ok, and one that hasn't done a thing.

I don't think your additions did a whole lot to change anyone's mind.

 

[Atas2000]

So you've got one that is ok, another that may be ok, and one that hasn't done a thing.

I don't think your additions did a whole lot to change anyone's mind.

Did you read my post? Let's compare McDavid to some 30th-31st picks. Does that make sense at all? Askarov was hands down the best goalie in this draft class. He was also considered the best on SOME recent goalie classes. That's quite a different tier than "just" all goalie first rounders since 2000.

If he wasn't in that tier, we would not have this whole controversy around his pick. It's the whole dilemma. Take a goalie who is considered a future franchize goalie early or not. I he was "just" a Samsonov-like prospect noone would ever argue he should go top10 or even top5.

Will there be pressure put on him because of those expectations and evaliations? Hell, yes!

But as of now he has responded well to pressure too. And that's another aspect of why he is considered such a highly praised prospect.

He will go into the WJC as Russia's undisputed starter. And the D will not look solid on paper. Not by a long shot. He will be relied upon to hold the fort a lot.

 

[Armourboy]

Did you read my post? Let's compare McDavid to some 30th-31st picks. Does that make sense at all? Askarov was hands down the best goalie in this draft class. He was also considered the best on SOME recent goalie classes. That's quite a different tier than "just" all goalie first rounders since 2000.

If he wasn't in that tier, we would not have this whole controversy around his pick. It's the whole dilemma. Take a goalie who is considered a future franchize goalie early or not. I he was "just" a Samsonov-like prospect noone would ever argue he should go top10 or even top5.

Will there be pressure put on him because of those expectations and evaliations? Hell, yes!

But as of now he has responded well to pressure too. And that's another aspect of why he is considered such a highly praised prospect.

He will go into the WJC as Russia's undisputed starter. And the D will not look solid on paper. Not by a long shot. He will be relied upon to hold the fort a lot.

Last I looked McDavid wasn't drafted at #11. If he was that level we wouldn't be having this conversation because he would have been drafted long before he got to us.

But whatever it's done. I guess I can enjoy watching him in 4 years when we are looking to rebuild and it won't really matter if he is good or not. Well assuming he doesn't decide he wouldn't just be better off staying in Russia at that point.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

Knight is a top notch prospect who will be great.
Samsonov is at least a good starter already and he will get better.
Lehtonen was a solid starter(that's more than you get out of a lot of 1st round forwards)

You purposedly shorten your list to prove your point. Also first round pick is not a good measuring stick. Of that list only Price is in the same tier as Askarov as far as pre-draft evaluations go.

Askarov is praised to be the best, most complete and ready goalie prospect in a long time. That's not what many of those others ever were.

You're right, I forgot to add Cam Ward and Hannu Toivonen to the list.

Knight is tbd. Samsonov as well.

And no, your argument is very, very false. Lehtonen, Price, Fluery, Bernier, Campbell, Leclaire and DiPietro were all taken either before pick 11 or at pick 11.

 

[Legionnaire11]

It's still a stupid argument. It's saying "I'm not going to look at this individual and what he can actually do, nor am I going to seriously compare him to other cases to see how each one differs. Instead, i'm going to simply add up the successes and failures as a whole and judge this individual player on that total without context"

And then add in a splash of baseless "rUsSiAn ThO!" on top of that.

 

[jfc64]

Will he save this shot? - Ask Arov!