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OHL: Yakupov doctor blasts Branch for suspension
The worst thing for Canadian Hockey League president David Branch in the Nail Yakupov suspension is that the Sarnia Sting had a single-game weekend, extending the story's shelf life. That meant the London, Ont., doctor who treated the NHL draft's top prospect was bound to be asked for his side of the story. Suffice to say, Dr. Bob Giffin apparently does not appreciate that the CHL suspended Yakupov for passing on the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game last week in Kelowna, B.C.
This was about where the buck stops, all along. One can accept that the CHL would probably like to have a clear protocol in place for such situations when a marquee player is not at 100 per cent so it does not read "more like the student who tried to wiggle out of an excursion to the museum by, ahem, coincidentally getting 'sick' on the day of the trip," to borrow from a Toronto Sun column. There is blame to go around. The bottom line, though, one has to wonder what the principle was when Dr. Giffin is claiming no one from the CHL asked him to elaborate on Yakupov's condition.
From Ryan Pyette:
After playing three games before the prospects game, Yakupov's knee was sore and he was examined by Giffin, who determined it would be better if Yakupov took the time off.
"I don't know how anyone can feel that it would be better for Nail to fly to the West Coast, get off a plane and be seen by someone who doesn't know his history or the treatment he's received," Giffin said. "In a five-minute examination, a doctor who has never seen Nail before is supposed to have a better idea of what to do than someone who has treated him for a month? It's ridiculous."
Giffin said he has never been contacted by Branch to learn what the situation is first-hand.
"If the situation were reversed, and I was the doctor in Kelowna and someone said to me, 'examine this player and give me an opinion' knowing that he was under the care of another doctor, I'd be wondering what the heck is going on," Giffin said. (London Free Press)
This will come out in the wash from a hockey perspective. It has not hurt the Sting in the Western Conference playoff race. They actually took down a team above them in the standings by beating Plymouth last Friday will Yakupov sat and watched. Of course, if the suspension doesn't have any impact on the final standings, that's mere happenstance.
One does have to wonder about the principle. What was best for the player seems to have been lost in the whole ordeal. This was really more of 'let that be a lesson to the rest you' to any other teams which might want to keep their best player home from the Top Prospects Game. The trouble on Branch and the CHL's end is that doing so, especially with the heat a decision such as this is going to attract, might take more due diligence than in the past. It is fair to wonder if this was ever handled properly, all the way back to when Yakupov was first removed from the Top Prospects Game roster on Jan. 18. If he'd been left on, would the Sting have acted differently? No one will ever know.
The bottom line is the CHL comes off as very high-handed and self-serving, as Steve Dangle and Andrey Osadchenko pointed out last night.
In all honesty, this does not come off like the Sting tried to pull a fast one on the rest of the OHL. That's not to say some other organization looking for an edge would not try it in the future. As previously noted, perhaps Branch had to lay down the law. Like it or not, the contemporary interpretation of leadership seems to be to heap praise on someone who makes unpopular decisions even while ignoring that they might also be high-handed and self-serving. The bottom line is Branch could not let this slide.
From Dave Pollard:
[Yakupov staying home] reads more like the student who tried to wiggle out of an excursion to the museum by, ahem, coincidentally getting "sick" on the day of the trip. And as so often happens — I'm not speaking from personal experience here — the student was caught, and punished, by the principal.
The league can't, and won't, have the inmates run the asylum. Allowing Yakupov to get off scot-free, if he or the Sting did indeed try to bend the rules, would have been a huge mistake.
But I suppose I can see both sides of the argument here.
After missing a month due to the injury, Yakupov did play three times (in three days) before the Prospects Game but appeared to still be hurting. Clearly he wasn't himself so, yes, I'm sure he would have been better off taking a break.
When he played for the Sting three days before the Prospects Game, though, the dynamics of the situation, to say nothing of the optics, changed dramatically. (Toronto Sun)
Yakupov will finish his suspension Thursday when the Sting play Barrie; he's eligible to return for their game on Saturday in Sudbury.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (photo: OHL Images).
