In 26 games played so far with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League, Yakupov has been deadly posting 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points . Last season Nail was on fire also(65 games: 49 goals 52 assists for 101 points)
2010/2011
The most telling number of all is +-. Last season Nail was -2 despite putting up 101 points so it's fair to say his game was incomplete. A solid scorer... lethal even. But scoring 100+ points only to allow more while on the ice than you produce certainly raised questions last season as teams looked ahead to the 2012 draft class.
2011/2012
A different player entirely. Maturation is in full flight with Nail and his all out attack has not been hamped by his impressive defensive play and increased responsibilities. This season Yakupov is once again lighting the lamp but he's doing it while being a +21! No other player on the team is above +9.
His size is his biggest downfall but Martin St Louis will argue otherwise. At 18 years old Nail is a special kid and I don't see anyone near his caliber just yet. It's still a long season and other top prospects have time to catch up but Nail is far and away the best player in this draft.
The future is bright for Russian hockey if players of Yakupov's calibre continue to come. Now if only Nail could show fellow Russians Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin how to score again the Capitals would be fixed.
No comments:
Post a Comment