Yanakeff's strengths have to be his positioning and his glove. His positioning is solid from what I've seen, and he is almost always (you guessed it again!) square to the shooter. He comes out and challenges the shooter initially, cutting down angles and removing the the possibility of cross-slot passes from the forwards on odd-man rushes. After he comes out and challenges, he slides back getting lower and anticipating the shot untill he's finally in the butterfly, which as mentioned before, is where he's most comfortable. Whether out of the crease or in it down in the butterfly, Yanakeff is always there with his golve to snag shots on his left side. He can really get that glove up fast and that's an advantage when you're facing the fast shots of the USHL.
Yanakeff does have weaknesses however, and they've contributed to the unimpressive stats Yanakeff has compiled this year. One of those weaknesses is that his blocker side is not nearly as impressive as his glove. The biggest percent of outside shots that goes in on Yanakeff come from his right side where the top shelf is easily attainable for shooters. But Yanakeff's biggest weakness and the thing he needs to work on a lot in college is his rebound control. In 22 games this season, Yanakeff had a 10-9 record and 3.31 GAA with a .880 SV% which is very underwhelming. His rebound control is probably what leads to over 70 percent of the goals scored against him, so that is what Yanakeff will be working on in the years to come.
At the moment, Yanakeff is looking like a 5th or 6th rounder in this summer's NHL Draft. As mentioned above, Yanakeff needs to work on his weaknesses in college. Yanakeff is comitted to play at Michigan State University for next season which is a good fit for him. Yanakeff's professional future completely depends on how much he develops at MSU.
Yanakeff won't be drafted... GUARANTEED!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. Yes, this crop of USHL goalies isn't as great as the goalies in the past, but Yanakeff is definitely the best out of the bunch. CSS has Witt rated above Yanakeff but I like Yanakeff's size. Either way you look at it, at least two USHL goalies will be drafted this summer, and those two will be Witt and Yanakeff, no matter which order, Yanakeff will be drafted.
ReplyDeleteWatching Morris at seasons end and in play-offs he isn't a NHL draft pick.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. You can't judge a goalie on a few games but the train went off the tracks towards the end of the season and it finally crashed during the playoffs when Casey DeSmith took over for Morris, I don't have the stats avaliable right now, but I believe in 3 games, Morris has a GAA over 6. Morris has dropped from #1 to #4 on my list just like that.
ReplyDeleteMike Lee was the 5th best goalie in the world last year according to NHL central scouting. He was the best goalie in the USHL and most technically sound goalie in the USHL in a long time. He was a 3rd round pick.
ReplyDeleteYanakeff is ranked 20th and if you ask me that's too high. You can have all the size in the world and not be a good goalie. I don't see why an NHL team would expect a goalie that is struggling in juniors to not struggle in the NHL. Usually you have to be one of the elite in the league you are playing in to get drafted or to be considered. Yanakeff has been one of the lower tier goalies in the USHL this year.
You have to remember that after the top 10 picks in the NHL Draft, teams draft on potential and potential only. Yanakeff has great potential and great skill already. Yanakeff will go on to play at Michigan State and develop the tools he has. After college, where he will develop into one of the premier college goaltenders and be signed by a pro team as early as his sophmore year.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how Yanakeff stole the spot from Morris in your book though. Yanakeff had a disappointing year. Yeah if you look at what central scouting puts out, Yanakeff would be ahead of Morris, but isn't the point of scouting to go off the wall every once in a while and make your case for your guy (aka Morris), maybe??? I just don't see how else Yanakeff would've stole it...He definitely wasn't rising in the rankings if you go strictly off of that, and he didn't perform well statistically, so it's hard to see how he would be rising in any way shape or form!
ReplyDeleteNot trying to pick on you, just trying to debate. I like Morris more than Yanakeff and yeah I know they make picks based on potential of course...but after struggling and falling off the charts so badly, I don't see Yanakeff getting drafted.
I guess saying Yanakeff "stole" the spot wasn't the best way to say it. Morris got off track towards the end of the year. For example, in his last 5 games played of the regular season, Morris gave up 17 goals. Morris also lost the starting job to Casey DeSmith in the playoffs after 3 games. In those three games, he gave up 12 goals for a 6.79 GAA, not good numbers.
ReplyDeleteI'll be the first to admit that this class of USHL goalies is not the strongest class we've seen. However, Yanakeff and Witt may be the only goalies drafted, but they will be drafted. Yanakeff will go on and play very good college hockey at MSU and play in the pros.
Yanakeff was not drafted.
ReplyDelete" However, Yanakeff and Witt may be the only goalies drafted, but they will be drafted."
ReplyDeleteBrilliant analysis as always.