The Oilers NHL results the last few seasons have been, as we all know, terrible. With that however, comes the chance at rebuilding the prospect pool. We’ve seen the big name forwards like Eberle, Hall, Nugent-Hopkins, Yakupov, and to degrees Lander, Pitlick and Paajarvi come up.
This year, we got a glimpse at the help on the back-end with Marincin and Klefbom, and still have Nurse, Simpson, Musil and Gernat on the way.
This morning, we learned of another Oilers’ prospect that we will soon get the chance to see live and in-person. It’s a big center (YES!) and a guy with some skill. He’s the Yak-2, he’s Bogdan Yakimov, and he’s coming to North America.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTSLRbm8L9E]
I’ll probably never again put a Neil Diamond video in one of my posts, so savor this moment. That said, the Yak-2 is leaving the KHL and coming to North America to continue his pro career, and it was confirmed by a very trustworthy source this morning on twitter:
@dchesnokov (Dmitry Chesnokov):
#Oilers prospect Bogdan Yakimov (83 overall in 2013) will leave the#KHL to continue his career in North America next season.
Chesnokov broke the the Anton Belov signing of one-year ago, and has a very good track record of reporting things like this, especially surrounding the Russian players in the NHL. He’s worth the follow as well on twitter.
What It Means:
The Oilers badly need a big center that fits in with their current group, and Yakimov might be that guy. He’s huge, and he plays a pretty good game. MacT has been impressed with him from everything we have heard straight from the silver fox himself, and we know the Oilers like the guy and want to give him a chance.
It’s tough to say how good of an offensive player he is, because of his age and the leagues he has played in, but it doesn’t look like he is going to be a star point-producer. That said, he looks like he could be a good second/third line center moving forward for this team, that possesses size and does the little things right.
Scouts have commented on the good hockey sense and positional skills that Yakimov possesses, which is very important. The Oilers need smarter centers that are willing to play smart defensive and positional hockey. To a degree, that is what Yakimov can bring.
His hands have been called impressive as well, and scouts say Yak-2 has good offensive skills all things considered. There is a knock on him, and that is his foot-speed, but it is something that can certainly be worked on and fixed over time. There is also a concern that he won’t have the skill necessary to be a top-six player.
Like I mentioned above, this could be a solid second/third line center moving forward for Edmonton in the future.
Yakimov split time between the KHL and MHL this past season, posting 12 points in 33 KHL games and six points in five MHL games. He also had two points in seven World Junior games, and largely impressed Oilers’ brass at that tournament.
Yakimov made the jump to the KHL this past year, a great sign, and did not falter. Sure, he was not a top player, but he held his own for a period of time, and certainly proved he is a worthy pro-prospect.
That all being said, the Oilers need to be careful with Yakimov. He has the tools needed in the NHL lineup right now, but it seems like he would be best served by playing in the AHL for a season and learning the North American game under Todd Nelson and his staff.
The Barons have done a great job developing players, and Yakimov would greatly benefit from the experience.
Now, Yakimov has yet to officially sign with the club, but with this Chesnokov tweet, we can expect something to come in the next few weeks surrounding a contract for Bogdan Yakimov.
The Oilers’ third round pick in 2013 is coming, the Yak-2 is in flight.
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