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Questions have surrounded Edmonton Oilers winger Nail Yakupov throughout his sophomore season and the young Russian can expect more as the Oilers host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Yakupov was selected first overall at the 2012 NHL Draft, with the Jackets selecting defenceman Ryan Murray second overall. While Yakupov enjoyed an excellent rookie season in 2012-13, scoring 17 goals and totaling 31 points in 48 games, Murray spent an extra year in junior. His was a disappointing season that saw him limited to just 23 games with the Everett Silvertips due to a shoulder injury. That injury would also keep him out of Canadas 2013 World Junior plans. This season, however, both broke camp with their respective NHL clubs, and their respective stocks have trended in opposite directions. Murray, though hes only produced four points through 20 games, has averaged nearly 19 minutes per game on the Blue Jackets blue line, posting a plus-3 rating on a sub-.500 Columbus team. Yakupov, meanwhile, has limped out of the gate. He has scored just three goals and three assists with the lowly Oilers, posting an NHL-worst minus-14 rating. The struggling sniper was even a healthy scratch for back-to-back games in mid-October. Columbus Dispatch reporter Aaron Portzline fanned the flames on the debate early Tuesday morning. "Way, way too early to call who was right. But maybe Edmonton picks differently if they had 2012 draft to do over again," Portzline tweeted in the early morning hours. "Remember, too, Howson was so enamored of Murray that he turned down a "take all of our picks" offer from NY Islanders to stay at No. 2," Portzline added. So, by Portzlines comments, the Blue Jackets were thrilled to have wound up with Murray at the second pick. But does that mean that they would have grabbed him over Yakupov if given the chance? Portzline thinks so. "If memory serves, Howson and [Columbus] would have drafted Galchenyuk @ No. 2 if Murray was taken No. 1 by Edmonton," Portzline added. Galchenyuk - now in his second year in Montreal – had a rookie season to rival Yakupovs, scoring nine goals and 27 points on the Northeast Division Champion Canadiens. Hes picked up where he left off in his second season, putting up 15 points through 21 games so far in 2013-14. That total is good enough for second on the Habs. So, did the Oilers gaffe in going for Yakupov above the likes of Galchenyuk and Murray? Its also possible that the Oilers could have dangled that first overall draft pick to either the Canadiens or Blue Jackets to get extra picks or prospects while still being able to grab one of the three top players, possibly even still getting Yakupov. Their decision to go after Darnell Nurse seventh overall in the 2013 Draft certainly suggests that they could have used a blue line boost. But - as Portzline said on Twitter – it is also very, very early to be making these kinds of judgments. If you had a chance for a do-over, what would you have done with the No. 1 pick?? As always, its Your! Call. Shawn McLaws Jersey . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Kemar Lawrence Jersey . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. http://www.redbullsmlsshop.com/Authentic-Santiago-Castano-Je rsey/ . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Connor Lade Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Karl Ouimette Jersey . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville.PARIS -- Patrick Chan knows the pressure on him will be intense at the Sochi Olympics after breaking three of his own world records on the way to his fourth victory at the Trophee Bompard. The three-time world champion crushed the competition to win the event by more than 30 points on Saturday -- eclipsing his own best scores in the short program and free skate and beating his best combined mark. The 22-year-old from Toronto knows his composure will be tested much more at the Winter Games. "A score like that -- if I put that up at the Olympics I think it will be very, very hard to beat," he said. "This is a grand prix event Ive been to many times. The Olympics is only the second time (for me) and Im competing against the best skaters in the world so its a very different circumstance, a very different atmosphere." Meanwhile, American skater Ashley Wagner successfully defended her title despite finishing second in the free skate. "Tonight was a pretty decent night for me," Wagner said. "I think theres still room for improvement." Chan scored 196.75 in the free for an overall mark of 295.27 -- smashing his previous best combined score (280.98) and his free record (187.96) from the 2011 worlds. Japans Yuzuru Hanyu tallied 263.59 overall to finish second, and American Jason Brown scored 243.09 for his first senior medal. Both are 18. Chan expects a much fiercer challenge in Sochi, where he will need all of his mental strength. "Its going to be a goal of mine to be able to click and think about moments like today and yesterday to do the exact same thing at the Olympics," he said. Chan chose his favourite piece of music to skate to -- Concerto Grossos "Four Seasons" -- and performed with such grace and precision that the Paris crowd rose as one to give him a deafening ovation as he blew kisses back to them. "Its a piece of music that really meshed well with me," he said. "I could time my knee bends, my breathing to the music." Chan will be hard to stop at the Dec. 5-8 Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka, Japan. He nailed his opening quad toeloop-triple toeloop, his quad toeloop and his triple axel jumps with remarkable ease. "I felt truly ffree and I was really able to have ownership of every moment I could skate," Chan said.dddddddddddd "Thats why we compete. Not for the medals or the money. You kind of feel unbeatable and indestructible. I was happy, free and light." Chan usually scores so highly in the short that he has room for error in the long. "Today was a challenge because Ive done very well in the short program in the past and havent had a good track record with the long," he said. Hanyu recovered brilliantly after a nervous start where he stumbled on his opening jump -- a quad salchow -- and then fell attempting a quad toeloop. He shook his head as he left the ice as the crowd warmly cheered him. Wagner, who was second at Skate America behind Japans Mao Asada last month, scored 194.37 and beat Adelina Sotnikova -- who had the best score in the long -- by five points. The 15-year-old Anna Pogorilaya was 10 points back in third spot. Both Russians and Wagner are qualified for the GP Final. Earlier, Olympic runners-up Pang Qing and Tong Jian won the Trophee Bompard pairs for the first time in their final season. World bronze medallists Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmerton, Ont., finished second, securing their place for the Fukuoka event, which will feature the top six skaters in each category. "Were incredibly proud of ourselves to make the final with the pressure we put on ourselves," Radford said. Americans Caydee Denney and John Coughlin took the bronze medal. Also, Olympic champions Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., followed up their success at Skate Canada by winning the ice dance. The Canadians were nine points better than European runners-up Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia, who beat Cup of China winners Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France by less than a point. "We felt like it was a strong skate," said Moir. "There were some great moments and it was a better skate than at Skate Canada especially the ending. Still we left some points out there. Technically we cant afford to do those little mistakes." Nicole Orford of Burnaby, B.C., and Thomas Williams of Okotoks, Alta., were eighth. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China ' ' '
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