Subj : 2012 NHL Entry Draft: 5 Forgotten Picks
To : All
From : The Hockey Writers
Date : Sat Jul 18 2020 04:40 am
The 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh is notable for being the 50th NHL Entry
Draft and for producing many present-day stars who have just entered their
primes, such as Morgan Rielly, Jacob Trouba, Filip Forsberg, Tomas Hertl, and
Andrey Vasilevskiy.
The 2012 NHL Entry Draft produced a number of players who have entered their
primes over the past few seasons, such as Morgan Rielly. (Charles LeClaire-US
PRESSWIRE)
Conversely, it';s also notable for the number of players chosen in high rounds
who are sons of notable NHLers but failed to find success similar to their
fathers';, and for producing one of the greatest draft busts in NHL history.
Nail Yakupov: Edmonton Oilers, First Overall
Perhaps he hasn';t been forgotten - although Oilers fans would certainly like
to forget - but Nail Yakupov is undoubtedly one of the worst first-overall
picks of all time, behind perhaps only Alexandre Daigle and Patrik Stefan.
Related: 10 Biggest Oilers Draft Busts Since 2000
With their third consecutive first-overall pick, the Oilers took the seemingly
can';t-miss Russian prospect, hoping he could further bolster a team already
featuring Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Yakupov seemed to have all the
skills - great vision, a scintillating shot, and speed to spare, to name just a
few - to succeed.
Nail Yakupov (Aaron Bell/CHL Images)
Prior to the draft, THW';s own Christopher Ralph wrote a glowing report on
Yakupov.
"The feisty, dynamic, explosive right-winger who possesses a heat-seeking
one-timer is simply electrifying with the ability to cause a jaw-dropping
reaction to all those watching his super array of skills," Ralph wrote. "He is
destined to become one of the true must-see players around the league. Fans in
hockey cities everywhere will be circling the dates when Yakupov comes to town
when he is inevitably donning NHL battle colours."
Ralph - along with just about everyone else - was wrong. Yakupov never became a
"must-see player," and was never able to find his footing in the NHL.
"The affair between the NHL and the young right-wing played out more like a
summer fling than a marriage, with infrequent periods of promise that
eventually proved to be more exhaustive than they were exciting," wrote Steve
Kournianos in a 2018 feature on Yakupov';s rapid fall from grace.
While he scored at an outrageous clip - 170 points in just 107 games - over two
seasons with the Sarnia Sting, he never came close to replicating his OHL
output as a professional. His raw talent could not compensate for his stunning
lack of hockey IQ.
Yakupov lit it up for the Sarnia Sting in juniors, but never shone brighter
than a dull glow as a professional. {Metcalfe Photography}
He stumbled and bumbled his way through four seasons in Edmonton, never
recording more than 33 points. To compound matters, he was abhorrent without
the puck: he was never a plus player and on two occasions, he finished a season
at minus-30 or worse.
He even once flat-out told reporters "I don';t really like playing without the
puck, skate all the time and do forecheck and hit somebody every shift. I
don';t think it';s my game." (from 'Oilers'; Nail Yakupov not happy about
sitting out,'; Edmonton Sun, 10/13/13.)
Yakupov was also never given the stability a young player needs to find his
game. In his 242 games with the Oilers, he played under no less than five
coaches: Ralph Kreuger, Dallas Eakins, Craig MacTavish, Todd Nelson, and Todd
McLellan.
Nail Yakupov, Edmonton Oilers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
The Oilers traded Yakupov for pennies on the dollar to the St. Louis Blues in
October 2016, but he played just 40 games there in 2016-17 and was frequently a
healthy scratch after new head coach Mike Yeo took the helm from the fired Ken
Hitchcock.
After a similarly unsuccessful stint with the Colorado Avalanche in 2017-18,
Yakupov returned to Russia to play for the KHL';s SKA St. Petersburg during the
2018-19 season and posted 33 points in 47 games there. Whether he will ever
return to the NHL or any team will take a chance on him is a massive question
mark.
The great irony, Kournianos wrote, is "that a draft system designed to help
downtrodden clubs build a brighter future was why Yakupov ended up an Oiler
over the likes of competent (and needed) two-way defenders such as... Morgan
Rielly, Matt Dumba and Jacob Trouba."
Griffin Reinhart - 4th Overall, New York Islanders
Selections four through 10 of the draft were all defensemen. Picks five through
10 were as followed: Morgan Rielly, Hampus Lindholm, Matt Dumba, Derrick
Pouliot, Jacob Trouba, and Slater Koekkoek.
The man chosen over all of those, at fourth overall? Griffin Reinhart.
The New York Islanders took the 6-foot-4 Reinhart - who had just helped the
Edmonton Oil Kings to a WHL championship and was touted by Zenon Herasymiuk as
"a towering rearguard who is mature beyond his years... blessed with NHL size
and a blistering shot," - after a season in which they';d allowed 48 more goals
than they scored and missed the playoffs. THW';s Ryan Pike pointed to
Reinhart';s vision, passing, shot, and positioning as assets.
Related: Griffin Reinhart - The Next Ones: 2012 NHL Draft Prospect Profile
Reinhart seemed like a safe selection. He had pedigree as the son of Paul
Reinhart, who played more than 600 NHL games with the Atlanta Flames, Calgary
Flames, and Vancouver Canucks between 1979 and 1990.
After being drafted, Reinhart returned to the Oil Kings for two more seasons,
acting as their captain and leading them to another WHL championship in
2013-14.
Griffin Reinhart was the first d-man chosen in the 2015 NHL Entry draft,
selected by the Islanders ahead of current stars such as Morgan Reilly and Matt
Dumba. (Shoot the Breeze Photography)
While he had an illustrious junior career, Reinhart';s glimmer quickly faded as
he turned pro. He made the 2014-15 Islanders out of training camp, but was
quickly sent down to the AHL';s Bridgeport Sound Tigers where he fared well,
posting 22 points in 59 games.
The Islanders avoided getting burned by the Reinhart pick because they were
able to flip him when his stock was still high for a good return. At the 2015
NHL Entry Draft, they traded him to the Oilers in exchange for the Oilers';
first- and second-round picks (16th and 33rd overall). Those picks turned into
Mathew Barzal and Mitchell Stephens.
Despite predictions Reinhart would be a blue-line mainstay as an Oiler, and
could even give Darnell Nurse a run for his money, Edmonton was where
Reinhart';s career fell off the rails and where the lopsided nature of the deal
became clear.
Even on defensively porous squads, Reinhart could not find a role as a regular,
spending most of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons in the AHL as his lack of
foot speed became more obvious.
The Oilers left Reinhart exposed in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and he was
selected by the Vegas Golden Knights. However, with the team already possessing
Deryk Engelland, Colin Miller, Nate Schmidt, Shea Theodore, and others, they
didn';t require Reinhart';s services and he was buried in the AHL for all of
2017-18 and 2018-19.
Reinhart (right) spent the entirety of his last two seasons with the AHL';s
Chicago Wolves. (Jenae Anderson / The Hockey Writers)
Reinhart, now 25 and with only 37 career NHL games under his belt, is an
unrestricted free agent. If any team opts to take a chance on him, it';ll be
for cheap, and Reinhart will have quite the hill to climb if he wants to crack
a roster over younger, more promising players.
Henrik Samuelsson: 27th Overall, Phoenix Coyotes
What the heck is up with these Oil Kings and sons of NHLers not panning out?
Son of two-time Stanley Cup winner Ulf Samuelsson, Henrik Samuelsson captured
two WHL championships alongside Reinhart, and also a gold medal with the U.S.
at the 2011 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, but was even more disappointing
as a professional than his WHL teammate.
Henrik Samuelsson - from Arizona (Slapshots Photography/THW)
Samuelsson was described as a "big and strong player... (who plays) an
impressive physical type of hockey." The 6-foot-3 centre';s rookie season was
promising - 40 points in 68 games for the Portland Pirates and a three-game NHL
stint in 2014-15. However, those three NHL games were the only ones he would
ever play.
The list of teams Samuelsson has suited up for since then: the Springfield
Falcons, Tucson Roadrunners, Bakersfield Condors, Idaho Steelheads, and
Rockford IceHogs. His 2018-19 season saw him split time between the last two.
Samuelsson';s currently a UFA, and has the dubious distinction of being the
2012 first-round pick with the fewest NHL games played.
Stefan Matteau: 29th Overall, New Jersey Devils
Here';s yet another story similar to Reinhart';s and Samuelsson';s: someone who
couldn';t stick with any squad despite coming from "good hockey genes."
Stefan Matteau, New Jersey Devils (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Stefan Matteau';s dad is Stephane Matteau, who played 848 NHL games between
1990 and 2003. The elder Matteau is known for scoring the iconic Game 7
double-overtime goal during the 1994 Eastern Conference Final that sent the New
York Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final (they won it and snapped a 54-year
championship drought).
The junior Matteau was touted as an aggressive, hard-nosed power forward and
was described by Hockey';s Future as someone who "plays the game with a lot of
energy, passion, and intensity" and "uses his big, strong frame to play an
in-your-face physical style along the boards and the corners."
Unlike his father, Matteau couldn';t carve out a niche. Between 2012 and 2016,
he played 43 games for the Devils, and while he dished out a few hits here and
there, he recorded a paltry five points and didn';t have much impact.
The Devils gave up on Matteau in 2016 and traded him to the Montreal Canadiens
for Devante Smith-Pelley. He played 12 games for the Habs in 2015-16 and 67
games for the St. John';s IceCaps the season after before signing a two-way
deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017.
Matteau ended up playing only eight games for the Sin City squad. He spent most
of his 2017-18 season, and the entirety of his 2018-19 campaign, with the
Chicago Wolves.
Like Reinhart and Samuelson, Matteau';s currently an unrestricted free agent.
Lukas Sutter: 39th Overall, Winnipeg Jets
The Lukas Sutter story is a short but strange one.
The Winnipeg Jets, in their second draft since the team relocated from Atlanta,
committed their first big draft blunder by choosing Sutter 39th overall.
Lukas Sutter (in black) during his time with the Saskatoon Blades. (photo
whl.ca)
How could a player from the legendary Sutter clan - one of hockey';s royal
families that has produced two generations of dynamic players who';ve logged
nearly 6,000 games between them - go so wrong? It';s hard to say.
Related: Jets NHL Entry Draft Days Ranked
Lukas Sutter, Rich Sutter';s son, put up 59 points to go along with 165 penalty
minutes in 60 games for the Saskatoon Blades prior to being drafted, but never
came close to that point total again and suffered an injury in his final year
with the Blades that limited him to 45 games.
In 2014, the Jets chose not to sign him and Sutter re-entered the draft. He was
subsequently chosen 200th overall by the Islanders and played 17 AHL and 40
ECHL games in 2014-15.
Sutter disappeared until 2016-17, when he popped up at the University of
Saskatchewan and played 13 games for the Huskies.
After a season of red-shirting, Lukas Sutter is eligible to play CIS hockey
with the Saskatchewan Huskies in '16-17. pic.twitter.com/ujJjniQNnb- Victor
Findlay (@Finder_24) September 5, 2016
Any stats or sightings end there. He appears, by 2019, to be out of hockey
completely.
Honourable Mentions: Dalton Thrower, Tim Bozon, Scott Kosmachuk
Want to read about forgotten picks from other years? Check out THW's 2011,
2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005 entries.
The post 2012 NHL Entry Draft: 5 Forgotten Picks appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.
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