Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
I really have to question the scouting on Yakapov and what made him a number 1 pick. Yes he skates well, he's got above average speed and above average shot.
But plays just die on his stick, his on ice awareness is way below average. He doesn't like going into the corner, he's lazy on the back check he rarely seems to be in a dangerous scoring position.
Yes you can blame the coach for this but he just doesn't seem to have the high end hockey instincts and IQ.
Yes he had a decent rookie year but he pulled a mediocre season out of the fire by having a good streak of games playing in a no pressure situation.
I just watch him and I really don't think he's near the best player in that 2012 draft anymore in terms of his tool kit.
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Not every team had him at the top of their list including the Flames. He wouldn't be a 1st overall pick in most drafts it's more an indictment on a draft where lots of the top prospects had warts and there was a clear lack of franchise player type talent. That said the Oilers being the Oilers had to pick the most one-dimensional player in the first round because they don't seem to have a grasp on how to properly build a hockey team.