The 26-year-old defenseman from Magnitogorsk, Russia decided that now was the time to make the jump to the NHL and Dan MacKinnon, senior director of player personnel, and European scouts Misha Manchik and Greg Royce convinced him it should be with the New Jersey Devils.
"Greg and Eric Weinrich [Devils development coach] identified him as a player of interest in the fall when he was playing with SKA," MacKinnon explained. "Then, Misha did some research to see if he'd have any interest in coming to North America and when we found out that he was interested in the opportunity, I went over there to watch him play and we took him to dinner to convince him of the opportunity he'd have here with the Devils."
Yakovlev took some time to make a decision as SKA was also trying to resign him to a multi-million dollar contract, but the chance to play in the NHL and potentially join the Triple Gold Club as a world, Olympic and Stanley Cup champion was too good to pass up. He officially signed a one-year-entry level contract with the Devils on Monday.
"Because of his late birthday, he still qualifies for an entry-level contract which is good for us to get a mature player at a low cost and next year he'll be a free agent, which is good for him, if he's successful," MacKinnon said. "So, it's low-risk and high-reward for both sides and we're real excited to have him and help him make this transition to the NHL."
After missing games early in the season with a broken rib, Yakovlev scored five goals and added four assists for nine points in 35 games and although his numbers don't show it, he loves to play a more offensive style.
"I play however my coach asks me to play," the 6-foot, 190 pound blueliner said through a translator while at the world championship earlier this month. "If he wants me to be more like a stay-at-home d-man, I can play like that. If he asks me to join the rush or to create some opportunities attacking to score goals, I can do that too. I like to play more attacking hockey because contemporary hockey is all about scoring goals and creating opportunities and a lot of defensemen play like that and they can control the puck well and play good defensively too. I like to play that way the best."
MacKinnon agrees with the assessment of his potential.
"He's a modern style defenseman with a good blend of mobility and competitiveness," he said. "He manages his game well, distributes pucks efficiently and is proactive in reading the play and he can break up plays and transition the puck up the ice quickly. Plus, he can kill penalties and can contribute on a secondary power play unit. He's very versatile."
While at the world championship, he earned just one assist in eight games but was inspired by the challenge a tournament like that presents for him.
"This is a great opportunity and this is a great experience because the level is way higher than in the KHL," he said. "There are very good players and the competition is tough. These games have been very hard. So it's a great experience to learn and see how I can be better."
As far as what he's focusing on this off-season as he prepares to play on a smaller ice surface in the higher level of talent in the NHL next season, he said he needs to play harder and smarter.
"I'd like to focus on my defensive play because there is so much battling for the puck and making smart decisions with the puck very quickly," he explained. "I want to be better when I don't have the puck and make smarter safer plays when I do."
