So the entire NHL fuct up on the assessment of Yakupov? All the scouts etc? Kruger gets him for the half ish season he gets points and confidence... Next season Eakins comes in and the kid lays off and is complete garbage???
- saskoil21

Yes, happens all the time. How can this even be questioned?
Scouting is anything but an exact science.
Even at the top they regularly make errors. Beyond that it's pretty much a total crapshoot.

And yaks still had a lull in the middle of that shortened season.
He got hot for some stretches in the front and the end.
but people have to stop using that season as the rule rather than what it was- a lucky exception.
Watching him play isn't great. So much effort, so little accomplished. He just has no head for the game.

Dude. Yak is a poor mans Grigs. He's got pure puck handling skills and speed. But he can't translate. Should've been taken 4th or 5th and kept in the minors for 2-4 years.
- RafiDRW

I think most see that NOW... But how or why was it missed prior to and at the draft... I mean every team on Yak is a gianormous miss...

Yes, happens all the time. How can this even be questioned?
Scouting is anything but an exact science.
Even at the top they regularly make errors. Beyond that it's pretty much a total crapshoot.

And yaks still had a lull in the middle of that shortened season.
He got hot for some stretches in the front and the end.
but people have to stop using that season as the rule rather than what it was- a luck exception
- HB77

I know- but it still baffles me how everyone missed this... shouldnt happen today... not with all the tech and intel... IMHO....

I think most see that NOW... But how or why was it missed prior to and at the draft... I mean every team on Yak is a gianormous miss...
- saskoil21

I blame HA

I know- but it still baffles me how everyone missed this... shouldnt happen today... not with all the tech and intel... IMHO....
- saskoil21

To be fair- it happens far lesser in the top 5 than it used to. BUt yeah, there's still error even there.
Tough to gauge what a kid is gonna do against men I guess.
The scrubs in the NHL are better than the vast majority of the very best players he plays against on a nightly basis in junior. Bigger, stronger, faster, smarter

Yeah, you certainly NEVER broadly painted anyone who had an opinion different to yours with the same brush of being a moron, mongoloid sheep that was too blinded by a modicum of success to realize your reality where you believe most of his moves have been a negative was the only true path. Not even once.

Whether you intentionally did this or not, you actively and regularly implied that anyone not of your mindset was all those things and more- myself included. Your methods (along with those of rutts, oilhorse and a few non-regular posters) have been a catalyst for morphing these boards into the garbage fire they are now. Complain all you want about their methods but your complaints will fall on deaf ears when you're guilty of the exact same act as the one you're bemoaning. Be better.

I think you people actually enjoy this perpetual back and forth.
- MaximumBone

I'm done with it... Iggy can spew his garbage all he wants

100% Eakins ruined Yak... Eakins was by far one of the worst Oiler coaches ever... (frank)ing terrible... Same goes for the signing of Ference but we were desperate AF back then... Here is a solid question-at the time both signed- who would you rather have Ference or Russell??
- saskoil21

Russell

Yes, happens all the time. How can this even be questioned?
Scouting is anything but an exact science.
Even at the top they regularly make errors. Beyond that it's pretty much a total crapshoot.

And yaks still had a lull in the middle of that shortened season.
He got hot for some stretches in the front and the end.
but people have to stop using that season as the rule rather than what it was- a lucky exception.
Watching him play isn't great. So much effort, so little accomplished. He just has no head for the game.
- HB77

I wanted Ryan Murray

I blame HA
- RafiDRW

This one reeks of Schwein

Not at all trying to imply he's anywhere near a bust- but along the Lines of the convo; remember puljujarvi in the juniors??!
Nutty.
Absolutely ran roughshod over everyone. Pretty much unstoppable.

Last year against the men? Totally different story. Had a promising stint in the ahl, but he struggled mightily in the world championships

I wanted Ryan Murray
- Reveen.

I remember.
So did I


I wanted Larsson in nuges year and nichushkin in nurses too

Was on board for Leon (u weren't ), hall and puju

100% Eakins ruined Yak... Eakins was by far one of the worst Oiler coaches ever... (frank)ing terrible... Same goes for the signing of Ference but we were desperate AF back then... Here is a solid question-at the time both signed- who would you rather have Ference or Russell??
- saskoil21

Hard to say....Russel is probably better, but cap implications make it more questionable signing....and tho Eakins didn't help Yak, I don't think Yak ever had it in him to Be a responsible NHL player....at the very best he possibly could have been a one dimensional scorer, but even that seems like a stretch given what he's shown. He's just a dumb guy, and you can't fix stupid.

I wanted Ryan Murray
- Reveen.

Meh...he isn't very good either.

I remember.
So did I


I wanted Larsson in nuges year and nichushkin in nurses too

Was on board for Leon (u weren't ), hall and puju
- HB77

I wanted Landeskog over Nuge
I wanted Bennett over Drai
I wanted Murray over Yak
I wanted Monohan but Calgary snagged him one pick before my second choice was Ristolainen over Nurse

Meh...he isn't very good either.
- Larsson_fan

Better than Yak

I'm done with it... Iggy can spew his garbage all he wants
- Reveen.

Bet you 1 million dollars you most certainly are not over it and will go full IHBB on him again....I give you a week , 2 max.

Better than Yak
- Reveen.

Sure. Wouldn't have impacted the Oil much really tho.

Not at all trying to imply he's anywhere near a bust- but along the Lines of the convo; remember puljujarvi in the juniors??!
Nutty.
Absolutely ran roughshod over everyone. Pretty much unstoppable.

Last year against the men? Totally different story. Had a promising stint in the ago, but he struggled mightily in the world championships
- HB77

There is a very real possibility he won't amount to poop in this s league....but we're not supposed to say things like that here.

This one reeks of Schwein
- Reveen.

Yup. Totally does. Slimy (frank)ing manbearpigs.

I wanted Landeskog over Nuge
I wanted Bennett over Drai
I wanted Murray over Yak
I wanted Monohan but Calgary snagged him one pick before my second choice was Ristolainen over Nurse
- Reveen.

I wanted Larsson.
Hall.
Draisaitl.
Had no clue in the Yak draft.
Nurse. Finns are great but I felt BBC would trump all. Kinda regretting that one.

Sure. Wouldn't have impacted the Oil much really tho.
- Larsson_fan

Aside from injuries he's been a pretty underrated player, sure he didn't live up to the hype but he's a capable 2nd pairing player.

I think most see that NOW... But how or why was it missed prior to and at the draft... I mean every team on Yak is a gianormous miss...
- saskoil21

Because it's FAR more difficult to gauge someone's mental faculties for both the game when they play in a junior league outside of their home country. First off, communication can be a bit wonky due to language differences and that can obscure what might otherwise be more obvious issues with mindset.

Secondly, junior leagues are at a low enough level overall that they can still be dominated by raw physical tools (see undrafted, big-bodied overagers) and sometimes the mental gaps slip through the cracks. When the raw physical tools are as extensive and explosive as Yak's were, it's not hard to see why most scouts thought "we can teach him the things that he's missing".

I don't think it's ALL on him and Eakins taking every chance to shatter the kids confidence (the only strength in his mental arsenal) didn't help, but Yak had chances otherwise and simply didn't do enough with them. He had ample PP time, he had adequate opportunity on soft minute lines (Gagner, Roy, etc) and he wasn't even able to perform at 5-on5.

If I were his agent, I'd have advised him to head back to the KHL for a few years to rebuild his swagger and then give it another go ala Radulov.

There is a very real possibility he won't amount to poop in this s league....but we're not supposed to say things like that here.
- Larsson_fan

As long as Iggy and the rest of the "darkside" agrees you should be fine.

I wanted Ryan Murray
- Reveen.

F I L I P F O R S B E R G

Because it's FAR more difficult to gauge someone's mental faculties for both the game when they play in a junior league outside of their home country. First off, communication can be a bit wonky due to language differences and that can obscure what might otherwise be more obvious issues with mindset.

Secondly, junior leagues are at a low enough level overall that they can still be dominated by raw physical tools (see undrafted, big-bodied overagers) and sometimes the mental gaps slip through the cracks. When the raw physical tools are as extensive and explosive as Yak's were, it's not hard to see why most scouts thought "we can teach him the things that he's missing".

I don't think it's ALL on him and Eakins taking every chance to shatter the kids confidence (the only strength in his mental arsenal) didn't help, but Yak had chances otherwise and simply didn't do enough with them. He had ample PP time, he had adequate opportunity on soft minute lines (Gagner, Roy, etc) and he wasn't even able to perform at 5-on5.

If I were his agent, I'd have advised him to head back to the KHL for a few years to rebuild his swagger and then give it another go ala Radulov.
- MaximumBone

Nail's rookie year was solid... then they hired Eakins and it went down hill from there. Having three coaches in four years didn't help either.