Defending Nail Yakupov

On Monday, another round of Nail Yakupov rumors hit the internet. This time, however, it had nothing to do with a possible trade, rather it was all about Yakupov and something that reportedly went on at practice earlier in the day. Twitter exploded with the rumor that Yakupov, on Monday morning, elected to leave the ice when the team did power play drills.

That rumor sparked a lot of outrage from fans and, of course, opened up the debate about Yakupov possibly wanting out of Edmonton this off-season. Low and behold, that rumor proved to be false. As Jason Gregor pointed out on Oilers Nation later that day, Monday was an optional skate for the Oilers and nothing even close to what was described went on.

Something did happen, however, on Saturday morning before Edmonton’s game against Arizona. Gregor lays that out here:

When the two PP groups were announced Yakupov wasn’t on either. Then while the units practised in the offensive zone all the players stood at the blueline watching, even those who weren’t on the units. Yakupov did not. He skated over to the bench and stayed away from the group for a short time. He likely was frustrated, and I can understand why. He believes he can contribute and would like to be on the PP.

This is a far cry from leaving the ice in the middle of practice, and while it probably wasn’t the right move by Yakupov, it’s a completely understandable one and really isn’t a big deal. See, here’s the thing, Nail is a young kid who is extremely frustrated with his situation and blew off steam in a way that he probably regrets.

I’d like you to think back to when you were 22 years old. Did you handle every situation the right way? Something tells me the answer to that question is no. I’m 21 years old right now and I can promise you I don’t handle every situation the right way. Sometimes, I let anger and emotion get the best of me. I think we can look at this situation and say the same thing for our man Nail.

This is a talented player who works his tail off and wants nothing more than to help his hockey club win games. He knows he’s a talented player and he thinks he can help this team on the power play. If you were in those shoes, I’m sure you would be frustrated with the lack of power play time too, especially when guys who are less deserving (Letestu, Sekera) are seeing time on the unit.

It’s easy to sit back from a distance and scold Nail Yakupov, saying he doesn’t want to be here and that he handled the situation unprofessionally. That said, he’s a young kid who is clearly frustrated and had a lapse in judgement. Making assumptions and sweeping statements in an emotional situation like that is, to me, too much.

Yes, Yakupov has struggled the last three seasons and he may in fact be heading out of town this summer in a ‘change of scenery’ type of deal, but it won’t be because he didn’t want to make it work in Edmonton and it won’t be because of what went on this past Saturday.

I remember quite a number of people rightfully standing up for Taylor Hall when he was this age, saying he was young and making mistakes. It’s almost comical how most of those people are the ones running Yakupov out of town.

The kid made an emotional mistake at age 22 in the heat of the moment. Let’s lay off Nail Yakupov and let things play out. Once the facts come out, then we can make statements about whether he wants to be here or not.