I'm not overly worried about lack of production, since the talent and all is still there.
The talent is there, which is why I was shocked with the shoot out tonight. I expected some flashy Russian goals. Getting blanked was not what I expected at all.
I think it's fair to say Shalunov stood out all series long. Nichushkin and Kosov too, but one is too young and the other one hasn't found his finishing touch yet.
Nichushkin has impressed me, I will admit, but unfortunately the points aren't there.
My completely unscientific read on Yakupov is that he likely suffered some sort of injury in the first period when he got sandwiched and his skate went up and hit the glass, because he really wasn't on the ice very much after that. I mean, there were some long stretches where he wasn't on the ice.
BTW, Sportsnet coverage is awful. I understand Morgan Rielly is a good player, but the way they kept harping on him all night, the poor kid is gonna bust so bad if he isn't the next Brian Leetch. There were plays where he literally did nothing, and the announcers were so busy talking about how good he was, that they were neglecting the great play of some other players.
I really thought Hunter Shinkaruk was the best player in the game, taking the puck hard to the net, making great passes, hitting, coming back to help out. Then he scored that key first goal in the shoot-out that got the crowd out of their seats.
Also, who here is sick of that Shreddies commercial: "Honey, honey, you're so sweet, you know I love you head to feet!" I'm pretty sure it runs on an endless loop in hell. Good God!
compare the heights between the players. yakupov is a small forward if we're using NHL standards
lol easy there scout. Any one forward can get shut down by a team with good depth. In fact, 2 star forwards (Hint hint sedins) can get shut down but a good depth team.....say like the boston bruins.
Ohhh! what do u know, they did get shut down! Does that make either of them bad offensive players? Didnt think so. Take a seat
My completely unscientific read on Yakupov is that he likely suffered some sort of injury in the first period when he got sandwiched and his skate went up and hit the glass, because he really wasn't on the ice very much after that. I mean, there were some long stretches where he wasn't on the ice.
BTW, Sportsnet coverage is awful. I understand Morgan Rielly is a good player, but the way they kept harping on him all night, the poor kid is gonna bust so bad if he isn't the next Brian Leetch. There were plays where he literally did nothing, and the announcers were so busy talking about how good he was, that they were neglecting the great play of some other players.
I really thought Hunter Shinkaruk was the best player in the game, taking the puck hard to the net, making great passes, hitting, coming back to help out. Then he scored that key first goal in the shoot-out that got the crowd out of their seats.
Also, who here is sick of that Shreddies commercial: "Honey, honey, you're so sweet, you know I love you head to feet!" I'm pretty sure it runs on an endless loop in hell. Good God!
They pick a kid every game and do this. Seems to me they single out someone playing well in the first 10 minutes and use the rest of the game to pump his tires.
Game 1 it was Grigorenko, Game 2; MacKinnon, Game 3; Ritchie, Game 4; Wilson, Game 5; Rielly, Game 6; ???
compare the heights between the players. yakupov is a small forward if we're using NHL standards
5'11" and 190 pounds is bigger than Crosby when he was drafted. He is an inch or two below average, but he is no St. Louis. Besides, Yakupov's game isn't based on overpowering players with size or strength. It's about speed and finesse, with a great arsenal of shots, including a fantastic one timer.
He seems to be lighting it up pretty good against men in the KHL, so where is your argument on that? Let me guess...KHL ice is a larger surface and the style is less physical.
Shinkaruk is much better than he is advertised. He displays a lot of grit and wasn't shy of going into the corners.
It was one game, against Russians. That is not how he looks most nights in the whl. He is a gifted player for sure, and he displayed a lot of heart tonight, but most times he winds up sliding around on his butt because he is rather easily pushed over and dispossessed. If he can work on his strength and balance he will be a complete player. He isnt there yet.
I think a bit of Yakupovs problem is the smaller rink, its kind of like me when i was in highschool everyone expected me to be very good but its a lot harder when the area to play in is a lot smaller, more bodies and sticks in the way. Kind of weird explanation but I can identify with the guy
He tied Stamkos ppg playing in a small rink. That has nothing to do with it. Just stop already. Its embarrassing.
Or Crosby in the Memorial Cup finals. "Intelligent" people don't understand what a significant difference in depth can lead to.
Exactly. Look how many of Perry's London Knights have played in the NHL compared to Crosby's Oceanic teammates. Bolland, Girardi, Methot, Prust, Shremp, and Fritche all played a few NHL seasons. I think only Poulliot played any significant number of games from the team Crosby carried to the Memorial Cup. His line mate Dany Roussin who had 59 & 54 goals on his wing never played a single NHL game.
I disagree. He looked sluggish to say the least. He was behind on the breakouts and on more than one occasion when he had the puck, people were coasting trying to let him catch up
and they disappear in the playoffs, you know why? because they're soft and play a perimeter game
Good thing Yakupov isnt soft or afraid to go to the net.
He'll be ok.
The WHL played a very tight checking game and had some of the best dmen in the world back there tonight, and no shortage of physical forwards who gave the Russians no quarter.
How many times did Yakupov get the puck in a scoring position? The number of quality passes thrown his way could be counted on one hand. He cant do it all by himself. Even though he gets frustrated and tries on occasion. Dont worry about Yakupov. He will be filling Vancouver's net shortly.
looks like if you play yakupov hard he will disappear. this doesn't bode well for his NHL career
He honestly just looked uninspired to me. I'm pretty sure Yakupov is being played hard in the KHL, and I'm pretty sure that he was played hard in the OHL too.
my argument is that the KHL is a 2nd/3rd rate league compared to the NHL.
No league is as good as the NHL, so they are all 2nd rate aren't they? The KHL is arguably the second best out there though and this year they have pretty much all the big name home grown talent playing there. Yakupov is still putting up impressive numbers as an 18 year old against men. Your argument against him is flawed.
Good thing Yakupov isnt soft or afraid to go to the net.
He'll be ok.
The WHL played a very tight checking game and had some of the best dmen in the world back there tonight, and no shortage of physical forwards who gave the Russians no quarter.
How many times did Yakupov get the puck in a scoring position? The number of quality passes thrown his way could be counted on one hand. He cant do it all by himself. Even though he gets frustrated and tries on occasion. Dont worry about Yakupov. He will be filling Vancouver's net shortly.
he got shut down by a team that had pretty much no experience playing together. to think that the squad he played against tonight is better than the calibre he would play on any given night in the NHL is just wrong
any my point is that he will be playing against a lot tougher competition than he did tonight on a nightly basis
With much better teammates to support him and get him the puck in scoring position.
These are elite players he is playing against tonight. Murray#2, Siemens#12, Reinhart#4, Rielly#5, Dumba#7, Pulock-projected top ten pick in a deep draft.
These arent scrubs. They are the very best of his peers. Likely much better than a Strudwick or O'Brien.
Okay but Yak gets good ice time on a middle ground to poor KHL team on the big ice... Why is he the benchmark for Russian hockey in North America all of a sudden...
I think we've established this, he is no where near the game breaker that zhenya Kuznetsov, or Vlad Tarasenko is, he has skills but not in a way to break the game open like these guys have the ability to. If you think otherwise, please prove it with meaningfull stats.
Okay but Yak gets good ice time on a middle ground to poor KHL team on the big ice... Why is he the benchmark for Russian hockey in North America all of a sudden...
I think we've established this, he is no where near the game breaker that zhenya Kuznetsov, or Vlad Tarasenko is, he has skills but not in a way to break the game open like these guys have the ability to. If you think otherwise, please prove it with meaningfull stats.
No. He gets quite poor icetime over there actually. You want stats, look at their production at the same age. Yak is miles ahead
