What if Yakupov is dealt?

[mister_mcgoo]

if you expect the writers to be 100% accurate then you're stupid for throwing away your money. no one can give you constant reliable information like that, not even real NHL scouts. of course they will bomb out every now and then, but more often than not their insight is usually informative.

it shouldn't matter if you are a writer/forum member, in fact there are some forum members here that are more knowledgeable than some writers. it's your choice whether you want to listen to someone else's opinion, just don't think there's any need to criticize them if they are wrong.

It's not the being wrong...you can't be right all the time after all and writers are no different.
Rather it is being so spectacularly wrong coupled with no accountability or admission after the fact. And we're not talking about guys saying something modest like 'he has a lot of potential as a prospect and should make quite a splash in the NHL', we're talking about guys saying that he's going to smoke Stamkos and Tavares, that he's the next Ovechkin, etc. That kinda shit left unchecked and unaccounted for does a disservice to the Dobberhockey 'brand', that's what I'm saying. Say what you want about Dobber's bold predictions but the one thing I'll say about him is that a)he's quite often right or at least not far off and b)when he's wrong, he mans up to it and usually pokes a little fun at himself.

[Shift Disturber]

It might be instructive to look at other top bombs, such as Patrik Stefan, to see how their first three years looked. Here is Stefan's (GP, G, A, Pts):

1999-00 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 72 5 20 25
2000-01 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 66 10 21 31
2001-02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 59 7 16 23
2002-03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 71 13 21 34
2003-04 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 14 26 40

There was no progression with Stepan, and certainly no 4th season pop. The best of the 1st overalls lately have shown immense promise either in year 1 or year 2. Compared to Stepan, Yak's 1st season was way better, although this season was alarming. Not a representative sample, but I'd say if he does not take significant leap next year he can be officially declared a bust.

[JagrBomb]

It's not the being wrong...you can't be right all the time after all and writers are no different.
Rather it is being so spectacularly wrong coupled with no accountability or admission after the fact. And we're not talking about guys saying something modest like 'he has a lot of potential as a prospect and should make quite a splash in the NHL', we're talking about guys saying that he's going to smoke Stamkos and Tavares, that he's the next Ovechkin, etc. That kinda shit left unchecked and unaccounted for does a disservice to the Dobberhockey 'brand', that's what I'm saying. Say what you want about Dobber's bold predictions but the one thing I'll say about him is that a)he's quite often right or at least not far off and b)when he's wrong, he mans up to it and usually pokes a little fun at himself.

so you guys are angry because the writers don't apologize each time they are wrong? where are all the big thank you's when they are right?

yakupov was a top prospect, arguably still is. i don't think it was a stretch to say he was going to be very, very good. clearly he has the skill, right now it's just an issue of worth ethic imo. if that can be fixed there's no reason yakupov cant be an elite winger.

and any time someone says prospect X is the best prospect since crosby, stamkos etc, you always take it with a grain of salt. these guys are generational talents, but i will say mcdavid could be the closest one to living up to his hype.

[mister_mcgoo]

so you guys are angry because the writers don't apologize each time they are wrong? where are all the big thank you's when they are right?

when it's this catastrophic a **** up? yes
people come here for solid advice with their fantasy team, they're not going to continue to do so if they keep getting shitty sensationalist advice

sorry dude but the truth hurts sometimes

[JagrBomb]

when it's this catastrophic a **** up? yes
people come here for solid advice with their fantasy team, they're not going to continue to do so if they keep getting shitty sensationalist advice

sorry dude but the truth hurts sometimes

that's my whole point, at the end of the day the writers just give their advice based on their knowledge. it is the reader's choice whether they follow it or not. how can you expect them to predict how a prospect turns out before he even plays an NHL game? that being said, who says they even ****ed up that bad? yakupov has barely been in the NHL, what if next season he breaks out? do the writers suddenly turn into geniuses? they predict what a player COULD be, not what a player WILL be. how can you legitimately be upset at someone because they can't predict the future? is it the weatherman's fault when he tells you there is a good chance of sunshine all day and then it starts to rain for an hour?

[fungchen3]

I remember there being MANY media professionals branding Yakupov as the "clear best" player in the draft - labeling him a future superstar before he skated a single shift in the NHL. Even the Draft experts were on record saying the Oilers should draft him over Ryan Murray, even though the Oilers needed D, because Yak was simply the BPA. There are a lot of people who will have egg on their face if Yakupov busts... and his skill level won't be to blame.

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

Yakupov has played two seasons in the NHL, really only one and a half. And he's already a total bust?

If you want to talk about being a sensationalist, look in the mirror.

[Big Ev]

that's my whole point, at the end of the day the writers just give their advice based on their knowledge. it is the reader's choice whether they follow it or not. how can you expect them to predict how a prospect turns out before he even plays an NHL game? that being said, who says they even ****ed up that bad? yakupov has barely been in the NHL, what if next season he breaks out? do the writers suddenly turn into geniuses? they predict what a player COULD be, not what a player WILL be. how can you legitimately be upset at someone because they can't predict the future? is it the weatherman's fault when he tells you there is a good chance of sunshine all day and then it starts to rain for an hour?

The point is some of these guys like to state their opinion as fact. Angus said he IS the best prospect since Crosby.

[fungchen3]

The point is some of these guys like to state their opinion as fact. Angus said he IS the best prospect since Crosby.

Well that's just silly. Prospect-wise, Tavares is/was CLEARLY the best prospect since Sid. Not to mention Kane, Stamkos, etc. Even Hedman and Larsson were touted as "franchise" Defensemen in the mold of Pronger and Lidstrom-esque. If I recall, Yakupov received tons of hype because he broke Stamkos' scoring stats with the Sting but he was never labelled a "franchise" player - more of an explosive, yet enigmatic, goal scoring machine.

[mister_mcgoo]

The point is some of these guys like to state their opinion as fact. Angus said he IS the best prospect since Crosby.

Exactly. Praba you're completely missing the point here. Why the need to be sensationalist about ANY prospect? We get enough of that from the talking heads on TSN, why can't this community be better than that? The reality is that the hype machine is regularly off the rails on many of these prosects each year, and from what I've observed it rarely has any basis in reality.

that's my whole point, at the end of the day the writers just give their advice based on their knowledge. it is the reader's choice whether they follow it or not. how can you expect them to predict how a prospect turns out before he even plays an NHL game? that being said, who says they even ****ed up that bad? yakupov has barely been in the NHL, what if next season he breaks out? do the writers suddenly turn into geniuses? they predict what a player COULD be, not what a player WILL be. how can you legitimately be upset at someone because they can't predict the future? is it the weatherman's fault when he tells you there is a good chance of sunshine all day and then it starts to rain for an hour?

Look, you seem awfully butthurt over this for some reason, did you write some article I forgot about hyping Yakupov into the stratospehere or something? In terms of my fantasy teams I could care less, I don't own Yakupov in any of my leagues and I never have. I exercised that exact 'choice' that you keep harping on and chose not to listen to the bullshit and my teams are better for it. The concern is not for me, it's for the newbie getting into fantasy hockey who finds this site and really believes that it has 'experts' in the field. If our experts are no better than HockeyBuzz or the Hockey Writers or Bleacher Report or whatever other bullshit ad-machine outfit out there then why bother? I'd prefer to hold our peeps to a higher standard, sorry

And yes, Yakupov still has the potential and the talent to turn this around, I haven't quite written him off yet, in fact if the price is low enough, I'm looking to acquire him right about now and gamble he makes something of his career. But history is not on his side here...the prima donna Russian thing has been done and done and done again, we all know how it ends...KHL. He's going to work awfully hard to shake the bad rap he's developed for his poor work ethic so a lot will depend on where he ends up. If he goes to Detroit for example, we could well witness the first 180 in a long time. But if he goes to a blue-collar team like Winnipeg, Columbus, St Louis etc it's not going to end well, and you can take THAT to the bank!

[plug]

Everyone is bound to be wrong sometimes... As far as angus goes, I'm quite happy that he hyped... Karlsson, giroux, Benn, Yandle, parise, trouba, Scheifele, mcdonagh...

[Darren_Kennedy]

Some people said he will be as good (or better) than Stamkos. I still think he will be a good player but the hype machine was completely out of control - worse than the McBain hype which blew a gasket.

Above Stamkos is certainly too high and was hyperbolic. I remember reading Dobber and a number of other writers here who were pretty on point with Yak. He's not OV, Sid, or even JT. But there is a chance he can be in the Patrick kane type territory if he develops as he should. A lot remains to be seen.

[Darren_Kennedy]

Well that's just silly. Prospect-wise, Tavares is/was CLEARLY the best prospect since Sid. Not to mention Kane, Stamkos, etc. Even Hedman and Larsson were touted as "franchise" Defensemen in the mold of Pronger and Lidstrom-esque. If I recall, Yakupov received tons of hype because he broke Stamkos' scoring stats with the Sting but he was never labelled a "franchise" player - more of an explosive, yet enigmatic, goal scoring machine.

I went through all of Yakupov's goals the other day. There are so many things to like, and I think you are right one with "goal scoring machine". He isn't the game manager that a Crosby or JT is, likely closer to Kessel in terms of skill set.

[Darren_Kennedy]

that's my whole point, at the end of the day the writers just give their advice based on their knowledge. it is the reader's choice whether they follow it or not. how can you expect them to predict how a prospect turns out before he even plays an NHL game? that being said, who says they even ****ed up that bad? yakupov has barely been in the NHL, what if next season he breaks out? do the writers suddenly turn into geniuses? they predict what a player COULD be, not what a player WILL be. how can you legitimately be upset at someone because they can't predict the future? is it the weatherman's fault when he tells you there is a good chance of sunshine all day and then it starts to rain for an hour?

At the end of the day we all try to read as much as we can on a subject and formulate an opinion after that. All players in the NHL are a mix of probabilities. You can be 80% sure a guy will work out, but that is still a 1 in 5 chance he doesn't

[Darren_Kennedy]

Yakupov has played two seasons in the NHL, really only one and a half. And he's already a total bust?

If you want to talk about being a sensationalist, look in the mirror.

Have to agree that a season and half, when a guy is still 20, is likely too early to write off his career - especially considering he has been playing for one of the worst teams in the NHL during that time.

- - - Updated - - -

It might be instructive to look at other top bombs, such as Patrik Stefan, to see how their first three years looked. Here is Stefan's (GP, G, A, Pts):

1999-00 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 72 5 20 25
2000-01 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 66 10 21 31
2001-02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 59 7 16 23
2002-03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 71 13 21 34
2003-04 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 14 26 40

There was no progression with Stepan, and certainly no 4th season pop. The best of the 1st overalls lately have shown immense promise either in year 1 or year 2. Compared to Stepan, Yak's 1st season was way better, although this season was alarming. Not a representative sample, but I'd say if he does not take significant leap next year he can be officially declared a bust.

Thanks for these stats. Helps put into perspective Yak's development. We shouldn't be completely worried "yet"