Remember about two days before the draft this year? It was all but confirmed that the Edmonon Oilers were going to ship Nail Yakupov out of town, and all he would get in return was the bus fare to do so and a third-round pick. Fast-forward weeks later, and Nail is still on the team and likely a top-six forward going into training camp.
There has been a lot of people critical of his play; Head Coach Todd McLellan has almost named him as having bad practice habits. But in a twist, former Oilers net minder Ben Scrivens has come to the aid of the beleaguered former first over all pick.
"(Yakupov) wants to win so badly he tries to do too much," - @ben_scrivens
— zach (@zjlaing) July 14, 2016
That’s pretty high praise, and Scrivens is a very smart hockey mind, someone who is going to excel as a coach on day (he’s called “The Professor” for a reason, guys). There are a lot of articles out in regards to Nail, but it’s slow season for articles and he’s really an intriguing piece. Frankly as long as he is playing minutes for the club, he has potential to affect the Top 9 production in a very unique way.
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Now while I’ll agree that 252 games should equal more than 111 points, let’s think this through. Yak doesn’t have 500 minutes played with any current Oiler forward (I’ll probably be referencing this table often, love the work David Johnson has put in). Some of his most common linemates have been Justin Schultz, Derek Roy and Andrew Ference, so it’s not completely surprising that he did not do well. Last season, he played 238 minutes with Mark Letetsu and more minutes with Griffin Reinhart than Taylor Hall or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
There are those that have questioned his desire to play or his passion for the game, but going into his draft year, that wasn’t the case. Red Wings great Igor Larionov said this about Nail and Alex Galchenyuk, former Sarnia Teammates:
"“Both Alex and Nail are what one would call raw talent. Both possess a great deal of rare skill sets. With their passion and love for the game, their work ethic on and off the ice, they will be the kind of players that bring the game of hockey to the next level.”"
Sarnia’s Assistant GM, Marc Glavin had this to say about his work ethic around the time of his draft.
"“He is constantly working on his game be it on the ice or in the gym constantly wanting to get better. In the dressing room he is a true character. Easily one of the more popular players among his teammates. He has two distinct sides to him.”"
Nail has clearly been beaten down by previous coaches that have tried to turn him into something he’s not, maybe a second line version of Hall where they wanted him to drive the play. He’s a pure goal scorer with offensive instincts.
Did I mention he played 206 minutes with McDavid? And boy, what minutes they were. Limited to about a third of his ice time, Yak put up 3.8 goals per 60 with Connor, a positive goals for percent, and a positive Corsi for percent. This really isn’t enough time together, and McDavid can make anyone look good that’s a given.
While it may seem unfair to put a player of Connor’s calibre with a non-proven player such as Yakupov, it’s not outside the norm. Sidney Crosby regularly skated with Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, despite having a Hornqvist or more recently Kessel. Jonathan Toews should be a co-signer on Andrew Shaw’s new deal.
The best players in this league don’t only excel for themselves, they make those around them better. Many may believe that Eberle had some great moments as McDavid’s wingman, and he has. However, true top contenders like Pittsburgh and Chicago do well in not overloading their lines. A top-line of Lucic McDavid and Eberle would be crazy, but a second line of Pouliot, Nugent-Hopkins and Yakupov is not as intimidating.
Maroon is basically a Lucic-lite and would actually be my choice as a second-line left winger. I’ll go as far to say I’d like to see a third line of Drake Caggiula, Leon Draisaitl and Jesse Puljujärvi eventually. Edmonton could possibly ship Benoit Pouliot out or hope he’s picked up in the expansion draft but that’s a story for another time.
The point is that we have a former first overall pick being shopped around like he’s nothing. Sure, his numbers aren’t ones we expected, but maybe, McDavid could control the play, Lucic could enforce the play and Yak could finish the play.
Next: Adam Larsson Opens Up About Edmonton
Unless Nail is shipped out, he has a huge potential to affect how the offence for the Oilers plays out. While Yakupov may have not completely earned a top-line position, I believe he’s been put in a position to fail far too often, so maybe giving him a chance to succeed could be a better use of his talent.