Who is better yakupov or galchenyuk

Yakupov had a team worst minus rating last season. Wrong answer, Nail. No one is going to like that. But Dallas Eakins has come to his players defense no pun intended , citing that Nail is showing more willingness to defend rather than just exit the zone at the first opportunity. Yakupov is a work in progress. But, calling him lazy, saying he will probably want to go back to Russian, saying he was a draft bust, that might be unfair.

He was drafted third overall the same year as Yakupov. In career NHL games before this season started, he has 22 goals and 58 points. Yakupov by comparison has 28 goals and 55 points in games. Essentially the exact same numbers. But Galchenyuk is hailed as the next great superstar. He was lauded for lifting the team to new heights. He is going to end up in the pantheon of great Montreal players.

And Yakupov? We need some perspective here, however. But, the Montreal Canadiens are a good team. Leaps and bounds better than the Oilers. He came into the team with little fanfare. Just as it was with the Taylor Hall vs. Tyler Seguin debate, opinions are divided, at least for now.

If you talk to defensemen who face Yakupov in one-on-one situations, you hear another story entirely. Either way, it seems like both players are gearing up to make the NHL sooner rather than later, which is a concern with many Russian prospects. Time will tell where he ends up but we know we have a good kid who works hard and we want to make sure he reaches his potential. Galchenyuk was a centre when he was drafted, but has played mostly on left wing in the NHL.

Earlier this season, Therrien moved him into the middle for a stretch of games, where he started strong and then went flat. He's been back on the wing with crafty two-way centre Tomas Plekanec and right winger Brendan Gallagher of late and has picked up his game. He's handled it well.

Galchenyuk, an American citizen of Belarusian descent, is a slick, six-foot-two stickhandler who also has a quick, hard shot. What his ceiling will be is to be determined, but he looks like a rising star. The Russian Yakupov has been compared to Pavel Bure for his rocket shot, as he demonstrated in scoring the game-winner in New Jersey on Monday night, but highlights have been rare this season.

The Oilers are waiting for more of those, especially with winger Taylor Hall out for six weeks with a leg injury.