[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by moon

I would think his coaches and teammates, most like fans as well, would care what he says. Especially when what he says reflects his attitude and what he will/won't do on the ice.

He has been around long enough in NA to know what "I won't skate, hit or play defense" means. If he somehow didn't it has been long enough for someone to explain it to him and have him say it was a misunderstanding...

I completely agree that Yakupov's attitude leaves a lot to be desired, and his comments are questionable. However, what he actually said is not quite accurately presented in yours (and a number of others') comments in this thread.

Here is the quote from the Edmonton Journal:

Originally Posted by Nail Yakupov

“I wasn’t happy about it last night. You can say a million words about getting better but coach says I’m not playing, so I’m not playing.

“I’m not happy about it. I just want to play every game.”

I don't think there is much more one can say about the first response. He's understandably unhappy, and acknowledges that he must do as the coach says.

Originally Posted by Nail Yakupov

“I’m going to play my game. I’m not going to change but maybe play better without the puck, or forecheck more, but I love playing with the puck.”

Now, I have seen a lot of people claim from his response that he has asserted that he will not alter his game and work harder on the defensive side of the puck; as moon puts it: "I won't skate, hit or play defense". Yakupov does NOT say this. In actual fact, in his second response he does seem to concede the point: he says that he won't change, but he may try to show a higher commitment to defense and the forecheck. I agree that his comments are a concern, in large part because he seems to be saying opposite things from one clause to the next. Equally concerning is that his commitment here seems extremely soft. But, I do not think that he has shown the sort of refusal to commit to team defense that some here have interpreted from his responses.

Originally Posted by Nail Yakupov

“I really don’t like skating all the time, and forechecking, and hitting somebody every shift. I don’t think it’s my game.”

This is probably where the greatest concern lies. No one wants to hear their star player first remark that he doesn't want to play harder, and then admit that this is not part of his game. However, take care again in noting what he has and has not said here:

· Yakupov admits that defensive hockey is hard work, and he doesn't like doing it.
· He has NOT conceded that these are things that he will not try to improve upon. He has only indicated that such improvement will be unpleasant, and up to this point have not been a feature in his game.

I think his comments are a concern, and I would be extremely disappointed were they made by a Flames player. However, some of them are getting blown a little bit out of proportion.