Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
There was definitely some debate about who could go #1 that year, but Yakupov was at the top of many lists. I think a lot of teams would have taken him at #1, but he was the wrong pick for Edmonton at that time.
His development since being drafted was crap. He doesn't play with the same intensity as he did when he was drafted and was wrongly put on a pedestal from day one in Edmonton (probably because they were afraid of him not reporting to the minors and going to the KHL for more money).
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A lot of teams would have - but many teams would not have.
That's my point - he wasn't the slam dunk BPA so at minimum the Oil should have prioritized position over BPA to fill a clear hole, instead of drafting a guy similar to others they already had.
Or to state in another way - I don't think you can defend the selection on the basis that he was clearly the BPA - because some of the holes in his game that are now being exposed - were concerns at the time.
I hated Yakupov even before the Oil selected him.