How Bad Was Nail Yakupov Actually?

[@jerryrikki9466]

Most scouts said the same thing "he plays like a pack of bees is chasing him" "ten million dollar skills, ten cent head". He trained but only trained on things he was already good at. He didnt see the game well and refused to work on it. He simply has great physical attributes (matured early, excelled young) and beer leauge level hockey sense.

[@Thrashman-ye4cf]

And apparently he was very arrogant and cocky. Brian Burke was on Spittin Chiclets and he said they refused to draft him because of it, and that he almost fought one of their scouts during the draft interview lol.

[@PreMalone27]

Yakupov was so bad, An NHL scout wanted to fight him during the draft interviews

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@strahinjagov]

Wasn't that Brian Burke?

[@CS97660]

​@strahinjagov Brian just mad he failed his son I think

[@pepecopter]

@@CS97660 Yakupov will always be less of a failure than sodom and gomorrah's draft pick in Brian's son.

[@johnlawson181]

Brian Burke is not a reliable judge for character and attitude.

[@johnbrowne2170]

Skills without a heart.

[@beyond_thebench]

Yup, couldn’t put it all together

[@theramplocal]

I am the proud owner of a Yakupov St Louis Blues jersey which I bought at full price the day after we signed him. Not good lmao

[@beyond_thebench]

@@theramplocalhaha It’s a piece of history at least!

[@theramplocal]

@beyond_thebench haha oh yeah man, it's still in the rotation 🤘😀🤘

[@johnbrowne2170]

@@theramplocal Could be worth something for someone collecting jerseys of total flops.

[@powwowken2760]

It's honestly kind of insane how terrible that draft class turned out... There are certainly some decent players, I mean, it's Vasilevsky's draft class, so duh... But 2 of the top 5 were complete flops and 2 were meh at best with only Morgan Rielly being an undisputed success, meanwhile half the 2nd rounders never even played a single game in the NHL, which is absolutely NOT normal... It was truly a special kind of bad.

[@SherLock55]

Yeah terrible class, I had to double check and just looking at the top 10, yikes.

[@powwowken2760]

@@SherLock55 Yup, I haven't done any deep research, but if someone asked me what the worst draft in modern history was this would absolutely be my choice.

[@Iamtheskidoostig]

Galchenyuk would have been a star. Partly bad coaching and partly impulse issues stunted his development.

[@tymacdougall3140]

Filip forsberg is a top talent but yea bad year

[@scchrist]

I've always said if there isn't a defined #1 pick, then you should trade that pick because they probably aren't that good.

[@chrispswann6825]

Hypothetical situation: During the 2014-15 season (his third NHL season) Yakupov breaks out and scores 30 goals. The Oilers get a few extra wins and end up NOT getting the 1st pick in the 2015 draft. So instead of drafting McDavid they end up with Jack Eichel or Dylan Strome. (McDavid gets drafted 1st overall by Buffalo). So maybe it turned out to be a good thing that Yakupov was a bust.

[@CatMelon12]

LMAO

[@deeem2628]

Sports are rigged, simpleton

[@Goodrowd]

@@deeem2628 Sports are rigged, lmao. This has to be the worst taked I've ever read. Brother did you ever watch a hockey game? A simple bounce can end up in a turnover and a goal for the other team. EX: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5Oln6Zsj7qhZrc WTF is rigged there? There was someone who went and put a hole in the ice so the puck would bounce if by chance a player on the other team would get a breakaway with the empty net and somehow happened to pass by that hole in the ice? dude go to sleep

[@CatMelon12]

@Goodrowd I knew exactly what clip this would be before even clicking on it 😂

[@deeem2628]

@Goodrowd such a good boy 🫵😆

[@sportsfan_91]

I'm a Sarnia Sting season ticket holder. Watched every game he played here. He's one of the best players I've ever seen live to this day. Kid just loved to play & score. Still believe he should've been a good T6 F but I think his environment/coaching sucked, his work ethic dropped after going 1 & he lost all his confidence quickly in the NHL

[@ejdebenham3779]

@@sportsfan_91 too many signs with the sting that he wasn't going to be the same type of player in the NHL but man did he love to score! He was a great kid but just was missing something on the mental side of the game.

[@kellismith4329]

The game is about more than scoring

[@goincha3870]

As an oilers fan, another huge factor is we suck at developing players. Yak was thrown in the NHL way too early when he should have probably spent at least one more season in the AHL. The Oilers of that year were desperate, and to be fair that season was the closest we came to a playoff spot in years at that point. They really rushed his development. I also did hear that coach Eakins and him had some problems which led to him being benched a few times. That probably didn’t help either

[@stevehuntley3655]

@@kellismith4329 Ha Ha Ha! You must be a Columbus fan! 😃🏒

[@johnlawson181]

What would you think of the conspiracy theory that his date of birth documents were fudged and he was actually 2 years older than advertised?

[@blaisejones1053]

People always talk about his character but when I was a kid and at a Sarnia sting event one time my friend and I were sitting alone and yakupov came and sat with us and tried to talk hockey even though he couldn’t speak much English he made us have a great time. He was super nice and even remembered me at a public skate with the team after a game Months later. I really believe if he had better structure and people there for him to help him develop off ice. He could’ve been a elite top 6 guy

[@beyond_thebench]

That’s awesome!

[@johnlawson181]

I always wonder exactly how much support structure there is for a Russian prospect who comes from the other side of the planet with limited english skills. I notice at the OHL level they often go for a common nationality in their import draft choices, maybe they only consistently have a translator available for czech, or russian, or whatever.

[@alex__2265]

He lacked hockey IQ, but i hate ppl say he was a douche or entitled. He absolutely loves the game & was as excited to see his teammates score as he was himself.

[@tommcd8471]

he came off as being an entitled douche though. I don't blame an average 20 year old kid for that, if you're in the NHL at 20 you're not an average kid though. Ultimately what i think it was, was that he couldn't mentally take that final step to play at the highest level and what he was capable of so like many young people that are getting their talent and attitude checked for probably the first time in their lives. He retreated into himself, doubled down on things that made him unprofessional and a liability on the ice and ultimately became the bad guy of his own story.

[@hoskins666]

he was a goof

[@leoncchow]

He approached hockey like a skills competition. Unfortunately, so did the Oilers ownership team, so the toxicity was cultivated. Ultimately, Yak would find success only in the first 10 games of the season. That's when teams are still highly disorganized. Yak gets progressively less effective as the games accumulate and opponents get more organized. He won't work on his hockey sense, his defensive game, puck protection and management, and puck battles.

[@DadBooom]

a scout almost got in a fight with him during the draft interview ...

[@planetcaravan2925]

​@@hoskins666 is*

[@NhlHeroOfficial]

Most scouts had similar things to say about him: "He plays like a swarm of bees is chasing him" and "Ten million dollar skills, ten cent head." He put in the work, but it was mostly on the things he was already good at. He never really improved his hockey IQ or vision on the ice, and he refused to focus on that aspect of his game. In the end, he had great physical tools-matured early, excelled as a young player-but his hockey sense was more on par with a beer league player.

[@inducedcomics]

I watched a lot of his games. I was cheering for him, He actually seemed like a cool guy off the ice. He did a lot with helping the homeless in the area. I think it was his lack of size that hurt him the most in the NHL. Too often he was getting knocked off the puck in the offensive zone, which hindered him from getting to his prime scoring areas.

[@nbooi]

I went to the Oilers skills comp and he was so interactive with the young fans. It was awesome to watch.

[@petermills-c1h]

@@inducedcomics 5’11 and 194 lbs he was only small in hart. Many much smaller guys have excelled. Mitch Marner is 15 lb. lighter and does okay.

[@JohnDaubSuperfan369]

Yeah, buddy, ruskies are never "cool guys"

[@Maplicito]

I think he gets unfairly criticized. He may never have panned out anyway, but we need to not forget that he was part of the Dallas Eakins "I was sold a bill of goods, nothing is my fault" era. He actually did half decent on a line with Derek Roy, so of course, the Oilers didn't try to resign Roy at the end of the season. So, once again - Yakupov may never have panned out anyway, but the Oilers did everything they could to crater him.

[@frostythesasquatch]

I’d be curious to know Nuge’s take on what he was like as a teammate.

[@taters1123]

The thing is, RNH is such a gentleman that he might not have the heart to be honest 😅

[@alex__2265]

He desperately needed stability & a good coach/culture. EDM was an absolute disaster when he arrived & I think it really hurt him.

[@beyond_thebench]

Totally

[@neilpk70]

The Oilers didn't make him refuse to incorporate any sort of defence in his play. Yak did that on his own.

[@Cinerary]

@@neilpk70lmao. Oh right, the Oilers who are famous for their good D and goaltending couldn’t possibly have let that slide 😂 😂 To this day the Oilers are a leaguewide joke about not giving a crap about D, and they really don’t. They pay a pylon 9 mil a year to take penalties

[@893263007]

The fact that his rookie season was his best season seems to show that it was largely the Oilers who ruined him

[@chaost4544]

If he developed under the good NHL systems at the time he may have had a productive NHL career. Sure, a big problem with his career is himself but who knows what could have happened if a young player received mentorship from a great NHL veteran along with real foundational support from a team. He played for a short stint in St. Louis and it makes me wonder how he would have developed as a young player in the 2010's with David Backes as captain and Ken Hitchcock as coach.

[@seanwhalen6438]

Both the Blues and Avs coaches and GM said he was un-coachable and both went on the record saying it was not Edmontons systems that ruined him. He did it to himself, he wouldn't listen to anyone. The Oilers didn't even want to draft him, the owner told them they had to.

[@seanwhalen6438]

​@@chaost4544 Paul Bearer (Hitch) ripped him to shreds and said he was horrible to coach and said that nobody could coach him

[@ethanparker7900]

if he had been drafted by a better team then i think his career could've been better

[@sheabrockhoff2279]

I think he’s more a case of peaked at 18. We’ve all played with guys that looked incredibly good when they were younger but never got better than that.

[@mrfake675]

Yep. Played with a few kids who had bodies 5 years ahead of their actual age. Of course they dominated.

[@sportsfan_91]

IMO Yakupov returning to the KHL after being drafted cuz the lockout was a major mistake. Sarnia had been making progress in his all around game. When he went back to Russia it all went out the window.

[@beyond_thebench]

Solid point, never thought about that!

[@kirillzemskov1169]

Yakupov now even in KHL just a middle level player. Panarin moved to NHL when he was 23 and he is doing good.

[@LostInACornMaze]

what about the rumour that he’s actually 2 years older than he says? 🤔

[@beyond_thebench]

👀

[@parrydox.gaming]

NGL. Prior to that draft, I was HUGE on Nail becoming an absolute stud. Honestly He’s probably my biggest miss ever on predicting a newly drafted players career ever in any sport.

[@beyond_thebench]

You’re not alone haha

[@sportsfan_91]

Man you're telling me. Been going to Sarnia Sting games since 2008 & saw him play every game. I thought him & Galchenyuk were gonna be special. They are still 2 of the best I've ever seen live in the OHL.

[@eio4528]

The number of coaches he played was also a golden opportunity. He had many chances for a coach to figure out how to utilize him but Yak was his own worst enemy. Im sure he was terrible in the locker room and as others have said, he played like bees were after him. It's arguable he was ahead of his time. That kid had so much talent and I remember when he came to my Blues. Hitchcock was not a good fit for him AT ALL and neither was Yeo. Such a shame.

[@wintercrush554]

Edmonton Oilers seem to have a recent history of poor scouting in place. They drafted Jesse Puljujarvi with the 4th Overall pick in 2016. He was passed over by 3 other teams and the Oilers jumped on it like the 3 teams had made a mistake. This turned out to be a waste of a high draft pick as Jesse's production was minimal and dissapointing.

[@dalenesbitt]

Important to note that the 3 players drafted ahead of Puljujarvi were Matthews, Laine, and Dubois.

[@wintercrush554]

@@dalenesbitt Yes, that's true. But the Oilers could have drafted Matthew Tkachuk with their pick that year. He is the far superior player compared to Puljujarvi .

[@wilhoroshak6253]

@BobsUruncle-dl7csnope. Years of mediocrity means he was a bust at 4th overall. Yes he’s still playing, but has never shined.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

As an Oilers fan, I never wanted Yakupov selected that year. He was a weak draft year, but all I was concerned about was landing a defenceman, as that was the most glaring need in those days. A few friends of mine praised how great Yakupov would be. I said: “mark my words, this guy is a hot dog. He won’t play both sides of the puck, and his hockey IQ is terrible. We need defencemen and a goalie.” Hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. One blessing though, the Decade Of Darkness continued, and we ended up drafting Draisaitl and McDavid.

[@mikejessmax]

Bad the way he was chosen 1st overall by Edmonton. The Oilers scouting staff wanted Ryan Murray, Harrison Katz who is the owner 's son wanted Yak.

[@deannazaruk1106]

Both were the shits

[@Cinerary]

Oilers suck at scouting and drafting either way. They had to be handheld just to get McDavid

[@jamiesucie2685]

Yak wasn’t bad he just had zero team skills and an ego to match. Red flags were waved when Nail refused to go back to junior during the NHL lockout. A big knock on his character. He refused to work on his weaknesses and only thought his offensive game was all he needed. There are reports that in Edmonton he would usually just sit by himself for many things and not because no one wanted to hang with him. But after a stint in Colorado and St. Louis, it became clear that the weaknesses Nail had were not from a development issue but a lack of drive. In short, he was lazy. He hasn’t done really anything in the KHL and has bounced around a lot.

[@YesToPizzaNopetoDope]

LOL haven’t even watched this yet and already unreal video idea 😂👏

[@beyond_thebench]

😂 dive in!

[@Gopnik-wanderer]

I've heard that Edmonton scouts actually wanted to draft Ryan Murray 1st overall but the Oilers owner at the time demanded they take Yakupov. Regardless, unless they traded farther down, the top-3 picks were all busts.

[@leoncchow]

Understandable. Oil needed a stud defenseman. But Ryan Murray had a bad knee, so why select him. They might've selected Griffin Reinhart who played junior with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He was very good in junior, but his complacency stunted his growth.

[@CahtahHart]

I watched him play for the sarnia stings when I was younger, he lit it up that game for a hatty, everyone knew he was going to the show, but didn’t expect what happened

[@beyond_thebench]

He was electric with the sting!

[@Schnids1655]

I still have a couple of his warrior sticks (just the same pattern) I use for beer league.

[@beyond_thebench]

Niiiiice!

[@itswoz8401]

Watch his interview last year on the dropping the gloves podcast and you'll have a different perspective on why things went south.

[@beyond_thebench]

Oh really, will check that out!!

[@MBPlayz09-ro7wz]

Can you post a link?

[@ovechkin100]

i remember watching this guy, and feeling like i was the only one who didnt like him. i know its easy to say now, but i honestly never liked the guy. Everyone was so convinced he was the next big thing. even 10 years ago, in 2014, my supervisor talked like Yakupov was some great goal scorer seemingly on ovechkins level. I even remember people on social media hyping him up like he was the next best thing, and i was thinking they were all crazy. to see how everything went, im not shocked at all.

[@elquimico177]

Yakupov is a highly talented player but who's devoid of hockey sense and defensive skills, and never worked on his weaknesses. I don't agree with "the Oilers ruined him" narrative, Hall, RNH and Eberle were in the same situation and did fine. He had chances with St. Louis and Colorado, and didn't panned out. The guy just can't play in the NHL. He's now a barely average KHL player who's on his 5th team there.

[@theScotian24]

The Oilers are/were/will always be INCREDIBLY fortunate to have 4 #1 overall picks from 2010-2015. Unprecedented. And they almost blew it anyway. McFORTUNATE.

[@jp6614]

Also ten years in his career McMuffin's times running out.

[@youngandfree93]

I blame Dallas Eakins for his rough career start. Also the 2012 draft just was awful in general. Ryan Murray taken after him wasn't much better.

[@SandwichMan1764]

He used to come to my families sandwich shop in stl. He came up a few times and was always really nice to our staff. Not a great nhler but at least a great person.

[@beyond_thebench]

That’s awesome!

[@zebrasarenothorses]

6:40 - Edmonton has 0 responsibility for his lack of growth. Taylor Hall, Nugent Hopkins, McDavid (obviously) - all drafted by Edmonton, all of them still in the NHL being productive. Yakupov had chances with St Louis and Colorado; he was trash. He moved overseas - he's considered trash there. That's on him, he peaked with the Sarnia Stings unfortunately. Hockey's a sport where it's input/output; harder you work/train, better the results.

[@beyond_thebench]

Yup!

[@metalnuck3181]

God, I remember “Fail For Nail”. He even made Patrick Stefan look like less of a bust.

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@Kmoten10]

He was poorly managed by the oilers rushed to the league and then was givin 3rd line minutes with no powerplay time. Considering what kind of player he was when drafted he was not givin anywhere near the chances almost all 1st overall picks get.

[@J-y4u]

He was known in Edmonton as spending more time in the bars skirt chasing, than chasing the puck on the ice.

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@Cinerary]

That’s most players dude. At least the young unmarried ones

[@michaelb4833]

3:04 i'm sure professional hockey scouts did consider his cons....They know much more than any of us do about prospects. He would have still went top 3 in that draft regardless.

[@beyond_thebench]

Hard to ignore his stats in the O ya

[@richardmahfouz4392]

Most people here probably won't remember, but Brian Lawton was a pretty big bust as well, especially when you figure Minnesota could've drafted Steve Yzerman or Pat LaFontaine instead

[@willyupshaw]

What's so vexing is, why did the Oilers pick him when they were already loaded with young, offensive forwards?

[@beyond_thebench]

They just took what they thought was the best player at #1

[@89dungey]

That interview was brutal , 2:37

[@beyond_thebench]

Very

[@CS97660]

If scoring 62 goals 74 assists in 350 games is bad, then I imagine there's millions of people who wish they were that bad.

[@beyond_thebench]

Haha fair, Id kill to have just one goal in the NHL 😂

[@jp6614]

This kinda exposed the NHL lottery draft as a scam. Edmonton like other Canadian team are allowed to compete ( sort of ) their not allowed to win the Stanley Cup as long as Betman is around. Also exposes fixed officiating. How does Edmonton get 10 first round picks whenever they need them?

[@ShakamotoKyoujyu]

What's with all these videos just reading the wiki and showing highlight packages in the background?

[@trevorconnatser6161]

Great video, sometimes prospects are hard to judge and sometimes we just get it wrong

[@beyond_thebench]

Yup! All sports drafts are unpredictable. Very rarely is anything a sure bet.

[@Shurehlm]

Same as Bedard.

[@Wheels_029]

@@Shurehlmbuddy not like bedard

[@Shurehlm]

@@Wheels_029 Stats say different.

[@CatMelon12]

​@Borodin410 Wait 3 years and see... Bedard will be a top 10 player in the NHL

[@jackmakackov7077]

He was the fastest skater Ive ever seen. The problem was, while his feet were in the offensive zone, his hands were still at center ice.

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@billymays7210]

One of the reasons that a team with FOUR first overall picks since 2010, (nobody else even has three) still doesn’t have a cup…

[@kmannewyork]

What caused his failure is his focus on flashings and not focusing on gaining skills and improving his game

[@joeshittheragman6252]

I always said before the draft that Edmonton should have drafted a defenseman instead

[@dn5658]

How many first choices went to Edmonton only to struggle? Common theme? Hmmmmm. My prediction, Connor will need to leave Edmonton to win a cup. Hope I’m wrong cause there really lots of guys I like there, but something wrong with management of that franchise.

[@Hartwell10]

LOL shut up

[@Chris-e3o2u]

Not that bad overall but bad for a #1

[@beyond_thebench]

Exactly!

[@Shurehlm]

Same as Bedard.

[@odyssey9334]

​@@ShurehlmMe when I know nothing about hockey

[@Shurehlm]

@@odyssey9334 Stats don't lie.

[@odyssey9334]

@@Shurehlm No stats don't, you do

[@zackattack0895]

I really like videos like this

[@beyond_thebench]

Eh thanks! Glad you like!

[@ngarcia103]

He would go on to represent Russia again at the 2013 WJC - I believe he was captain there - and put up 3G + 5A on route to a bronze medal. He has not represented Russia internationally since. And the things stated in this video might be why.

[@beyond_thebench]

Yuuup

[@EdisonG_HouseMusic]

2:00 minutes in is the reason I would not have drafted him. When I heard that interview you knew he was going to have a hard time based on immaturity.

[@jeremyrichards8098]

What about the unconfirmed theory that he was 21 in his draft year and lied about his age. I always found that one interesting, even if very unlikely.

[@beyond_thebench]

👀👀👀

[@kurtminault8564]

If he would've went to a team with better development, he would've turned out a lot better I think. Oils my team but they aren't exactly the best at developing players, they're more geared for NHL ready players

[@Mag1c4lyfe]

Pretty iconic tying goal celebration against the kings, though. I'll give him that. 😂

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@silasbeacom2930]

Yeah but who was really worse him or Galchenyuk?

[@beyond_thebench]

Great question

[@beyond_thebench]

Good question…

[@ghull544]

I saw his jersey (Edmonton) for 5$. His name brought the jersey's value down... by a lot

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@Dracoool]

I knew he was "Special" the second I saw his first goal celebration.......

[@beyond_thebench]

😂😂😂

[@davidcooke6800]

I’ve heard rumours that yak wasn’t actually 18-19 years old when they drafted him but in his mid to Late twenties. The rumour I heard said there was some funny stuff going on with his birth certificate in Russia.

[@beyond_thebench]

👀

[@lookinforthe70s]

No prospect is perfect. It's only a select few that can just be about guaranteed to succeed under any circumstance. Edmonton was a really bad place for a prospect to develop at that time. Dallas Eakins was a terrible coach for Yakupov. The environment a prospect develops in has a big impact on their career. Maybe Yakupov doesn't pan out if he is handled by some other people. But it would be hard to do worse.

[@deannazaruk1106]

When the Oilers staff evaluated the top 10 players they should have traded the pick. Could you imagine the bounty that the Oilers could have brought in for the first overall pick. They could have gotten a veteran D man and a forward who could have kept Nuge, Hall, and Eberle under control

[@Fenrirmaster30]

He was the biggest bust statistically. Stefan actually had an ok career. Not worthy of a 1st overall pick, but he was at least a 3rd of 4th line caliber player

[@Cinerary]

He spelled Neil wrong for starters.

[@petermills-c1h]

Talent without character. Stop looking for someone to blame. His deficiencies begin and end with him. You can blame the number of different coaches he had: they all saw him as a bum. Most guys only have one coach to win over: he had several chances and failed every time. His pattern followed him back to Russia where he is on his 5th team. If one team calls you a jackass. Ignore them. If a second team calls you a jackass, think about it and ignore them. He is on his 8th team and should have a stable full of saddles. A 12 year old has potential; a 31 year old never was is a bum.

[@BrandonHilikus]

i think..... you.... nailed it.

[@beyond_thebench]

I see what you did there 🤝

[@gregoryrodriguez8081]

coaching was a key factor... lots of players out there with amazing talent but no proper coach

[@beyond_thebench]

Definitely

[@scottcowan7343]

Yakupov played a million miles an hour in absolutely no direction. He's a bit like Josh Anderson was for the Habs last year. A disoriented racehorse that just runs around the ice and doesn't do anything to contribute. I was super excited personally to see him sign with Kunlun Red Star as I saw it as his best chance to dominate without having to play winning hockey. Welp 20 games in he has just 7 goals and is -12. Fun. I think the only place Yakupov will ever dominate besides junior is lower leagues in places like France and Austria, but even that is cutting it. It's interesting, because ultimately Yakupov had great chemistry with McDavid before he got hurt his rookie year. Maybe he would've put it together finally over a full season. Who knows,

[@Killer93sniper]

Of course I got his autograph at the draft because it was in my hometown…waste of waiting for 4 hours.

[@synergygaming604]

The Oilers were shit, they threw him right into the fire expecting him to be a star. Like Filatov and Brule in Columbus, these guys probably would've panned out better if the big clubs didn't fuck their development and confidence.

[@angeurbain6129]

He needed a Mario Lemieux to surround and take care of him in Edmonton. But there was nobody like that there.

[@Hushoo]

Thought this video would be a rehash of his numbers but it was surprisingly deep - good stuff! I recall there being an interview regarding Yakupov's earlier Oilers tenure that also touched on him not fitting well with the other youngsters on the team since he didn't drink or speak English well. I'd wager that this language shortcoming prevented him from benefiting meaningfully from his coaches. Then again, these Oilers coaches were also super suspect: for all that's made of the NHL being an old boys' club, I think only Kruger's had continued employment.

[@joeyabb1965]

This is the guy that said, out loud in an interview, that he had no coaching to show him how to play in Edmonton…….

[@beyond_thebench]

Yep...

[@miklu26]

He is not, not even closest... Alexandre Daigle is the most disappointing by a mile

[@_the_wolff_2652]

eh..no.. The worst 1st overall is Yakupov. Daigle had some good seasons. For example in Minnesota or Ottawa. 84g - 51 points37/26, 78/51,46/28.. much better numbers than Yakupov's.

[@Spanishflea.]

Not even close

[@beyond_thebench]

Should we do Daigle next…?

[@Spanishflea.]

@@beyond_thebench Do Campbell 💀💀💀

[@the_hero7801]

Sounds like the guy who narrates the infographics show

[@LD89_]

You should do how good Alexie Yashin 😊

[@beyond_thebench]

He was a great player though!

[@LD89_]

@@beyond_thebench amazing player !

[@LargeBasstafarian]

Heard his older brother, Spike, was quite the bruiser and had a heavy slap shot.. and his younger brother, Thumbtac, was a successful horse jockey

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@ejdebenham3779]

This is great and I guess since my dad had drafted him I had a much wider more jaded view of him. The red flags were always there! The Oilers were extensively warned!!!

[@beyond_thebench]

Your dad!?!?

[@ejdebenham3779]

@@beyond_thebench ya my dad drafted him to the sting and ya it was a no brainer for #1 in Jr but by the time the NHL draft came along my dad wouldn't have had him ranked anywhere near the first round lol He told or should I say warned the Oilers scouts personally!

[@beyond_thebench]

@@ejdebenham3779 oh wow! Juicy info thanks for sharing!

[@sublimemediocrity]

Devan Dubnyk tells a story that he was taking shots from team members at practice, one at a time. Yakupov starts firing full power slapshots trying to go bar down, whistling pucks past Dubnyk's head. Dubnyk, maybe the most laid back guy to ever play in the nhl, lost it, and has despised him ever since.

[@georgetoplenszky7062]

Alexander Daigle????

[@beyond_thebench]

Also a big ole bust

[@hanslander2849]

He played with the Oilers, no wonder he couldn't get it done.

[@litterbug1483]

One dimensional player you could see it from a mile away , I wanted the oilers to trade for the most they could get

[@kn152-k4u]

Something that made me laugh was his goofy celebrations. Ffs he always acted like he won the cup or something 😂

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@leafsfanforever2896]

Yakupov seemed to be clicking with McDavid in 2015… then he broke his clavicle and ruined any hope

[@rockothepig]

his problem wasn't coaches.. his problem was HIM

[@Ludwigvonweinershnitzle]

The full ice slide was one of the funniest cringiest things i have ever seen in sport.

[@beyond_thebench]

So over the top haha

[@shaldonshow6975]

Проблемы с ментальным здоровьем привели к краху карьеры нашего татар-малая, отсюда возникли проблемы с запрещенными веществами, которые видны невооруженному глазу, эх Наиль, а ты ведь мог бы стать суперзвездой мирового хоккея. Снег помешал

[@RealGC.]

I think we all knew something was off with N.Y. when he scored his first NHL goal and acted like he won the Stanley Cup. Even his team mates felt embarrassed after such behavior.

[@beyond_thebench]

Ya 😂

[@mikes7446]

who???? anyways i always benched him in my NHL games.

[@beyond_thebench]

😂

[@erikolsson4149]

Just bad luvk being drafted by edmonton

[@The_Turk_Jerk]

Dude, McDavid could make ME look good. Shitty attitudes will get you NO WHERE in team sports.

[@raritica8409]

He would’ve fit in very well with the Capitals

[@mam362]

Any player who can only play well under very specific conditions is not a good player

[@WarioSaysSo]

2012 NHL Entry draft in ver possible retro-perspective: 1. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Edmonton Oilers. 2. Connor Hellebuyck - Columbus Blue Jackets. 3. Filip Forsberg - Montreal Canadiens. 4. Linus Ullmark - New York Islanders. 5. Tom Wilson - Toronto Maple Leafs. 6. Frederik Andersen - Anaheim Ducks 7. Tomáš Hertl - Minnesota Wild. 8. Jaccob Slavin - Pittsburgh Penguins. 9. Morgan Rielly - Winnipeg Jets. 10. Jacob Trouba - Tampa Bay Lightning.

[@beyond_thebench]

Solid!

[@PhatChin]

Wilson to Toronto would have been very interesting. He's exactly the kind of player that can thrive in that market, and Don Cherry would have loved him.

[@WarioSaysSo]

@@PhatChin You know, I thought the very same after I did the re-tooling of the draft!

[@WarioSaysSo]

@@beyond_thebench Thank you, got the thought when I thought of all other great tallents that was miss-placed that year!

[@billymays7210]

EDM would have definitely had a cup by now had they drafted Vasilevsky…

[@axlrobi]

Proof that talent is not everything !

[@beyond_thebench]

Hard work beats talent unless talent works hard!

[@axlrobi]

@@beyond_thebench there you go!

[@skoal91]

His rookie year it looked like he would be a decent top 6 fwd at least with goal scoring. Not sure what happened, probs lazy.

[@Evan-hockputer]

Crazy downfall in one decade

[@PIMBLICH]

You can’t train Hockey IQ. Puljujarvi and Yakupov are similar