Edmonton Oilers 2015-16 Report Card Thus Far

Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Connor McDavid, NGA

Connor McDavid was off to an amazing start. He was leading all rookies in goals and points. Then, he broke his clavicle, leaving him out of the lineup since Nov.3.

It’s not fair to give him a grade at all. Connor is an amazing player with dedication, heart and a clear head for the game. However, with an injury that he is currently rehabilitating from at above average rates, it is not appropriate to grade him when we haven’t seen him for at least more than 13 games this season.

The rookie, however, was proving amazing after scoring in his third NHL game, much like Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and other amazing players who have become some of the greatest in the league. His speed was able to help him get the puck quickly into the offensive zone, as well as make plays that were too fast for other players to even keep track off.

The 18-year-old rookie was on pace to play one of the best rookie seasons we have seen from a while in the NHL from a rookie, but we will just have to wait and see what he will bring to the lineup when he finally returns from injury.

He has started to skate again, as mentioned the other day, and that hopefully means that he is almost ready to start practicing. We saw him with a goalie coach and carrying a stick, so that must mean that he is doing some kind of stick work. He will soon be cleared to practice, and when he is, he will be so close to returning to the lineup, giving the Oilers something that has been missing from their lineup for a really long time.

Next: Nail Yakupov

Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Nail Yakupov, C+

Alright, I love Yak City more than the next guy. His face and smile bring instant happiness, as well as his Twitter, Instagram and priceless selfies. However, we need to look at the statistics and truly answer this question: what kind of player is Yakupov?

With McDavid, Yakupov was riding an unbelievable seven-game point streak, and he was tallying assists one after the other like it was no one’s business. He made it look easy.

However, with the absence of McDavid comes the disappearance of Yakupov as well. Want to know the last time he scored a goal? October 18. What about the last time he scored an assist? Well, before his injury, he notched an assist when Edmonton played Carolina.

He has only two assists since McDavid was injured on Nov. 3. Yakupov has yet to score a goal since the sixth game of the season.

His performance, as you can see, is not good at all this season. He is highly unimpressive. This just goes to show that he needs a quality center in order to have any sort of production. I mean, the stats don’t lie. Yakupov is struggling without McDavid more than ever.

He has wheels, I will give him that, and his shot is an absolute laser beam. Plus, his minus-1 is much better than the minus-35 he put up last season, giving him a minus-73 for his career.

Yakupov is now rehabilitating from an ankle sprain and will be back around the same time as McDavid, but we definitely need him to prove himself upon his return.