Th way Yakupov plays makes him the definitive number one in my eyes..I am not a big fan of the Q. The only thing that comes out of there are some decent goalies.... I could be wrong, but I would prefer his linemate galchenyuk..
Vinny Lecavalier, Pat Lafontaine, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy, Ray Bourque and others say hello too, lol.
I was just bringing up recent guys who came through the 'Q' since the lockout and have emerged as elite offensive players. But yes, overall, the 'Q' has had its share of offensive studs over the years. Hence the ridiculousness of the poster's statement that I quoted.
Grigs and JT would make everyone look silly as a C-RW combo. They both will slow down the game and frustrate opponents. Plus if grigs is cut from the same cloth as Thornton which is what i heard, they could feed each other all day. A la sedins with grit and heart. They will never do the same thing once and confuse the hell out of the opposing d. Imagine a extremly skilled parenteau playing with Jt, Jt is a 80 guy with parenteau now...
Lastly, yakupov will develop a consistency with opposing teams like Ovi, drive to the net and try to score.
Grigs and JT would make everyone look silly as a C-RW combo. They both will slow down the game and frustrate opponents. Plus if grigs is cut from the same cloth as Thornton which is what i heard, they could feed each other all day. A la sedins with grit and heart. They will never do the same thing once and confuse the hell out of the opposing d. Imagine a extremly skilled parenteau playing with Jt, Jt is a 80 guy with parenteau now...
Lastly, yakupov will develop a consistency with opposing teams like Ovi, drive to the net and try to score.
Of course, this is assuming that these players would come here and mature optimally despite the circus that is the NY Islanders.
At this point, it's pretty safe to assume that we are going to have another top 5 pick, most likely top 3.
I won't talk about Yakupov and Grigorenko. Filip Forsberg is very intriguing, interested to actually see him play at the WJC. Those 3 are the cream of the crop when it comes to forwards. Galchenyuk is the 4th, but he tore his ACL and is out for the season.
I know we don't draft defenseman with such a high pick, but Murray and Dumba are two players that could really help us. Murray has been talked about for a while now. He's a two-way force. Slot him for 20+ minutes a night. Dumba though, I feel like I'm looking at a young Darius Kasparaitis. The kid flies on the ice and just nails people. Drops the gloves immediately after and always answers the bell. He would seriously energize the team.
At this point, it's pretty safe to assume that we are going to have another top 5 pick, most likely top 3.
I won't talk about Yakupov and Grigorenko. Filip Forsberg is very intriguing, interested to actually see him play at the WJC. Those 3 are the cream of the crop when it comes to forwards. Galchenyuk is the 4th, but he tore his ACL and is out for the season.
I know we don't draft defenseman with such a high pick, but Murray and Dumba are two players that could really help us. Murray has been talked about for a while now. He's a two-way force. Slot him for 20+ minutes a night. Dumba though, I feel like I'm looking at a young Darius Kasparaitis. The kid flies on the ice and just nails people. Drops the gloves immediately after and always answers the bell. He would seriously energize the team.
Good comparison with Darius and Dumba...he looks like he can really get a crowd in the game and after watching a few videos hes got some good hands and speed as well
Good comparison with Darius and Dumba...he looks like he can really get a crowd in the game and after watching a few videos hes got some good hands and speed as well
I really do love this kid. He's definitely my favorite defense prospect in the draft. He's just a little undersized, that's the only knock on him. ISS lists him at 5'11.75 183. He is young though, a late July '94 birthday and his upside is crazy. He was just invited to Team Canada's WJC selection camp. I think he's the only '94 invited?!?
If this kid gets a little bit bigger and stronger by next year, I think he seriously could step into the NHL right away. He probably would be best served playing another year in Junior, but that's a different discussion. His skating is supposed to be elite and the kid has some serious skill. I've heard a more physical PK Subban comparison. To me, he screams Kasparaitis with way more offensive upside.
I remember when Kaspar first came up, paired with Malakhov regularly if I remember correctly. He just nailed people and the fans would go nuts. He had an uncanny ability to nail people with hip checks along the boards. I remember against the Devils on an ESPN game, I think he took out 3 or 4 NJ Devils on one of his patented hip checks. Awesome! He wasn't a big guy either, 5'11. He could energize the crowd and the team with an open ice hit. He was just a pest and other players hated playing against him. Not much of an offensive contributor, but he made the team better.
This kid Dumba is even more fearless. Drops the gloves willingly. His hockey sense gets knocked a bit, but that could be a bit of an exuberance of youth type of thing. He may go out of his way to lay a big hit and get out of position. I think that's a maturity/experience type of thing so not a concern to me. He has demonstrated elite skating ability and surprisingly good hands. This kid has some serious skill. I've called Nail Yakupov, 'a little ball of hate', but Dumba has got to be 'a little ball of extreme prejudice'. If he pulls a Hamonic and sprouts 2 inches and puts on 20 pounds, then watch out!
Scott Stevens comes to mind more with Dumba because of the skating and scoring ability.
I likey too, this year might be a tough draft to choose the right guy.
Boy, i hope our forwards that we have start making it an easier decision to go "D" with the pick, if you know what I mean...
Scott Stevens comes to mind more with Dumba because of the skating and scoring ability.
I likey too, this year might be a tough draft to choose the right guy.
Boy, i hope our forwards that we have start making it an easier decision to go "D" with the pick, if you know what I mean...
He could be another Stevens, but that's total hyperbole.
Since the Isles are again looking like a lottery team, the top 5 prospects are very attractive. Any one of them would be some solace to a long season.
Yakupov - what else needs to be said about him?
Grigorenko - my personal favorite ahead of Yakupov. A C/RW combo player with size, skill, great vision and hockey sense.
Forsberg - the great unknown. Plays over the pond so we don't hear much about him. Size, skill, speed and relentless. Sundin/Shanahan comparisons. This kid is young, an August birthday. Playing against men in the SEL. A right handed shot which is something we lack. A serious candidate to pull a Nino at the WJC for Sweden. A lot of similarities between them the more I think about it. Forsberg is a much better skater and higher offensive ability though. Deemed NHL ready by his coach.
Murray - kid is solid. Nothing flashy, but a strong two-way force. Not one exceptional skill, but very complete. Have seen Niedermayer comparisons. NHL ready, pick and play.
Dumba - I've gone over him. We are one of the softest teams in the league. A Hamonic/Dumba top 2 RD's sounds pretty damn good to me. Opposing forwards will be wise to keep their heads up with Dumba on the ice. The first time he lays out (insert your hated player), he'd be worth the pick to me.
He could be another Stevens, but that's total hyperbole.
Since the Isles are again looking like a lottery team, the top 5 prospects are very attractive. Any one of them would be some solace to a long season.
Yakupov - what else needs to be said about him?
Grigorenko - my personal favorite ahead of Yakupov. A C/RW combo player with size, skill, great vision and hockey sense.
Forsberg - the great unknown. Plays over the pond so we don't hear much about him. Size, skill, speed and relentless. Sundin/Shanahan comparisons. This kid is young, an August birthday. Playing against men in the SEL. A right handed shot which is something we lack. A serious candidate to pull a Nino at the WJC for Sweden. A lot of similarities between them the more I think about it. Forsberg is a much better skater and higher offensive ability though. Deemed NHL ready by his coach.
Murray - kid is solid. Nothing flashy, but a strong two-way force. Not one exceptional skill, but very complete. Have seen Niedermayer comparisons. NHL ready, pick and play.
Dumba - I've gone over him. We are one of the softest teams in the league. A Hamonic/Dumba top 2 RD's sounds pretty damn good to me. Opposing forwards will be wise to keep their heads up with Dumba on the ice. The first time he lays out (insert your hated player), he'd be worth the pick to me.
All exciting kids. I suspect Forsberg is gonna enjoy the same attention as Landeskog did the last draft. He can be a bull in a china shop and would be getting big-time attention if he were in the CHL right now.
Saw lots of Murray at the U-18. He was already the captain (I believe) and was paired with Murphy.
He's not spectacular, but rather simply smooth and above-average in all facets of the game. A definite up-n-comer.
Again, whereever we're drafting, next spring will see our scouts take the guy they feel best about, i.e. their BPA. Other than Tavares, none of our first rounders in the Snowtime are anything other than 'promising'. We still have yet to find out if the boys we have will ever do anything to turn this team into a competitive, much less winning team.
At this point, it's pretty safe to assume that we are going to have another top 5 pick, most likely top 3.
I won't talk about Yakupov and Grigorenko. Filip Forsberg is very intriguing, interested to actually see him play at the WJC. Those 3 are the cream of the crop when it comes to forwards. Galchenyuk is the 4th, but he tore his ACL and is out for the season.
I know we don't draft defenseman with such a high pick, but Murray and Dumba are two players that could really help us. Murray has been talked about for a while now. He's a two-way force. Slot him for 20+ minutes a night. Dumba though, I feel like I'm looking at a young Darius Kasparaitis. The kid flies on the ice and just nails people. Drops the gloves immediately after and always answers the bell. He would seriously energize the team.
This may be a silly question but what are the chances of Murray or Dumba stepping day one? I know defenders usually take longer to develop but when you look at draft classes recently top 10 picks tend to be playing more and more from the get go.
Therefore, I guess when we are talking the likes of Doughty, Hedman, Larsson, where would Murray and Dumba fit in?
This is kind of OT, but I was wondering what kind of a name Nail is and what the proper pronounciation is. Taking into consideration that Yakupov is not Russian, but a Tatar (from a former Soviet region), his name should not be pronounced as nail that gets hammered. If I had to guess, I would pronounce it as Na'il. Think of the Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" song and the Na-Na-Na part and then add "IL" to it as in Illinois. Any other Russian speakers out there who'd want to add their 2 cents?
This is kind of OT, but I was wondering what kind of a name Nail is and what the proper pronounciation is. Taking into consideration that Yakupov is not Russian, but a Tatar (from a former Soviet region), his name should not be pronounced as nail that gets hammered. If I had to guess, I would pronounce it as Na'il. Think of the Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" song and the Na-Na-Na part and then add "IL" to it as in Illinois. Any other Russian speakers out there who'd want to add their 2 cents?
I don't have the answer for you but just think of all the ridiculous puns Howie can come up with if they draft Yakupov.
And that's the final nail in the coffin!!!
First time I ever saw a nail do the hammerin!
Yakupov is gonna Nail the blonde in the front row!
This is kind of OT, but I was wondering what kind of a name Nail is and what the proper pronounciation is. Taking into consideration that Yakupov is not Russian, but a Tatar (from a former Soviet region), his name should not be pronounced as nail that gets hammered. If I had to guess, I would pronounce it as Na'il. Think of the Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" song and the Na-Na-Na part and then add "IL" to it as in Illinois. Any other Russian speakers out there who'd want to add their 2 cents?
I think it is tech. KNEE-ale but the kid himself told everyone just to say it like it looks.. nail. Simplifies things and sounds cooler
This is kind of OT, but I was wondering what kind of a name Nail is and what the proper pronounciation is. Taking into consideration that Yakupov is not Russian, but a Tatar (from a former Soviet region), his name should not be pronounced as nail that gets hammered. If I had to guess, I would pronounce it as Na'il. Think of the Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" song and the Na-Na-Na part and then add "IL" to it as in Illinois. Any other Russian speakers out there who'd want to add their 2 cents?
I've heard Russians call him 'Nigh-eel'. That 'nigh' is pronounced like 'high', but with an 'n' at the beginning.
I went to an international school and we had a guy in the class below who was called wakaz bud. his fathers name was dikaz bud. We shoulda been cool about it, but we werent...
This is kind of OT, but I was wondering what kind of a name Nail is and what the proper pronounciation is. Taking into consideration that Yakupov is not Russian, but a Tatar (from a former Soviet region), his name should not be pronounced as nail that gets hammered. If I had to guess, I would pronounce it as Na'il. Think of the Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" song and the Na-Na-Na part and then add "IL" to it as in Illinois. Any other Russian speakers out there who'd want to add their 2 cents?
if the season ended today we would be picking 4th overall. At which point we have missed out on some top prospects but have a chance at guys like (in order I would want)
1) Forsberg
2) Galchenyuk
3) Trouba
