We are going through the list that I consider to be the Oilers’ top 10 most important prospects. This is not strictly a list of the most skilled young or unestablished players in the organization. In the first installment I explained my thought process and I’ll be including that paragraph in each one of these posts just so I don’t have to figure out 10 different ways of saying the same thing.
I plan on going over the top 10 most important prospects in the Oilers’ organization. This is a little different (though not by much) than going through what I consider are the 10 best prospects in the organization. The key difference is that their ranking is determined both by their potential as well as how much the NHL club needs them to succeed. For example, I believe Iiro Pakarinen is a better prospect than several players on this list but as another winger in an organization flush with them I don’t have him in my top 10 most important prospects.
We are now rounding out the bottom half of the Oilers’ 10 most important prospects. The number 6 player on this list should be spending a significant amount of time in the American Hockey League this year and maybe even into the next but he is a part of Edmonton’s long term plans. This season in the AHL he should be due for a larger role on his AHL club. Given his hulking frame, I think he can shoulder the load. The number 6 player on this list is Bogdan Yakimov.
10)
Jujhar Khaira
9)
Kyle Platzer
8)
Greg Chase
7)
Anton Slepyshev
6
Bogdan Yakimov is tied to the previous entry in this series in terms of the way he became an Oiler in the 2013 Draft. Big Yak was the first of the two Russian players the Oilers took when they traded backwards at the Draft table. Because of this we can probably safely assume that he was indeed their primary target. Like with Slepyshev, I also believe that if Yakimov was born in Moose Jaw instead of Nizhnekamsk he wouldn’t have been on the board at 83rd Overall.
Yakimov is the hulking giant in Edmonton’s prospect pool. He stands an imposing 6’5” and weighs in at 231 pounds and he won’t turn 21 until October. One would think given his size that maybe the Oilers were out chasing coke machines but they weren’t with Yakimov. Big Yak wasn’t drafted to be a bruiser or a fighter, he was drafted because he has actual puck skills.
Side Note: One of the best pairings in the Oilers rookie tournament last year was massive Bogdan Yakimov and teeny tiny Vlad Tkachev. This was not just because the two had instant on ice chemistry, but just seeing them next to each other gave the impression that it was “Bring You Kid To Work” day.
So far in this series I have been providing HockeyDB’s scoring summaries so I’ll do it again but we’ll have to supplement it with those from EliteProspects.com to get a glimpse into Yakimov’s draft year.
2013-14 Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik KHL 33GP, 7G-5A-12P, 2 PIM
2014-15 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 57GP, 12G-16A-28P, 18 PIM
2014-15 Edmonton Oilers NHL 1GP, 0G-0A-0P, 0 PIM
From Elite Prospects we can see Yakimov during the 2012-2013 season.
Dizel Penza VHL 21GP, 3G-6A-9P, 12 PIM
Izhstal Izhevsk VHL 16GP, 5G-8A-13P, 4 PIM
Reaktor Nizhnekamsk MHL 11GP, 6G-7A-13P, 2 PIM
Yakimov played in the VHL and the MHL in his draft year. The VHL is Russia’s 2nd highest level of professional Hockey and the MHL is the KHL sponsored junior league in Russia. At both levels Yakimov showed an ability to produce offensively. Beyond passport, what was holding Yakimov back on his draft day was his footspeed, a common issue for men his size.
Big Yak stayed in Russia the year after he was drafted and posted solid numbers for a teenager in the KHL. Last season was his first ever in North America. Here’s his coach Gerry Fleming
via the Edmonton Sun:
You have to understand Bo’s coming from a different country with a different language, with a different culture and a different type of food. And there’s an adjustment period. But I think he’s starting to adjust, starting to feel more comfortable, starting to understand the language a little bit more and feeling more comfortable with his teammates. So as a result, I think his play has benefitted from all of those things.
Yakimov found himself on a Barons team that had Lander, Miller, and Jason Williams all capable of taking on offensive roles down the middle. Yakimov certainly got more of a push in the 2nd half of the year. Maybe that’s a result of becoming more familiar with North American life or maybe it has to do with Miller and Lander spending more time in the NHL over that period. Maybe it’s a confluence of those things all together.
Yakimov was really heating up between February and March. He finished his season with 11 points in his final 13 games before injury ended his campaign a month early. Hopefully all healed up, Yakimov will enter the 2015-2016 season with significantly more confidence than what he started with a year ago. If he can improve upon his rookie numbers as he’s expected to then the Oilers will have a player with a great deal of size and decent skill who didn’t require a lottery pick to obtain. That’s a huge win for the franchise.
What makes Yakimov more important than the players who came before him in this series is that he has a combination of physical tools and skill that the Oilers don’t have in centermen of his draft pedigree. He is a 6’5” center with enough offensive ability to contribute in a top 6 role at the American Hockey league level. Or at least that’s the way he was tracking. Give this list a year and he might be near the top because several of the names ahead of him will be full-time NHL players and Yakimov will be the most talented centerman in his age group the Oilers will have outside of the NHL.
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