Avalanche first-overall star reveals the real reason why he couldn't succeed in the NHL
Photo credit: John Leyba / The Denver Post
Former Edmonton Oilers' first-overall pick Nail Yakupov was on a podcast last year with John Scott, and the former Colorado Avalanche sniper shared his thoughts on why he struggled so badly at the NHL level.
Nail Yakupov spent his last NHL season with the Avalanche before eventually going back home to Russia to join SKA St.Petersburg.
Nail Yakupov opens up about his NHL struggles.
Last year, Phil Gretzky from Oil On Whyte spoke on a podcast with the NHL veteran John Scott and Nail Yakupov. The former Russian phenom shared why his career in the NHL just didn't pan out.
"He spoke of feeling extra pressure in the NHL vs. the KHL due to the extra media coverage and scrutiny in Canada thanks to hockey being the top sport here - in Russia hockey isn't as popular as (what I can gather) soccer, so there's less scrutiny and less pressure playing in the KHL" -Gretzky
Not everybody can handle the pressure of playing in the NHL, especially when you're playing in a Canadian market like Edmonton, where hockey is above every other sport.
Yakupov also spoke on how strength training isn't a priority in Russia for hockey players. As we have all witnessed, winning puck battles was never Yakupov's strong suit.
"With all the Russian hockey players that have made their way through the league since the fall of the Soviet Union that are now retired I'm a little surprised no one has become a Russian Gary Roberts and filled the vacuum for players in Russia or teamed up with a personal trainer to start this business. Meh, what can you do?" -Gretzky
Unfortunately for Yakupov, his time in Edmonton created a losing culture for him, and it's difficult to work your way out of that even if you get dealt to other teams. He also had a shaky relationship with a lot of teammates and just couldn't find any momentum no matter where he went.
"He also mentioned that he regrets not socializing more with his teammates in Edmonton, but at the time he was shyer than he is now and again there was also more of a language barrier than he has now." -Gretzky
Lastly, he spoke about his last season in Colorado, he mentioned Connor McDavid as the best player he ever played with but Nathan MacKinnon was a close second.
"He chose to go to St. Petersburg because they start their training camp fairly early so if he was going to join them he didn't have much time to decide. What clinched it for him is he wanted to go back to his home country of Russia. Many people can relate to wanting to go home." -Gretzky
When a player gets drafted, we can never predict how they're going to turn out. Even if they went first overall, there is no guarantee an 18 year old will eventually become emotionally mature enough to handle the gruelling life of a professional hockey player.
Natural talent alone isn't enough to succeed in the NHL, and Yakupov serves as a prime example of that.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 27 | 18 ANSWERS Avalanche first-overall star reveals the real reason why he couldn't succeed in the NHL Should Nail Yakupov have tried to play one more season in the NHL? | ||
| yes | 6 | 33.3 % |
| no | 12 | 66.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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