(Jen Lute Costella is our new analytics writer, breaking down the fanciest of stats for you each week. She's a mom. She's writing for Puck Daddy. Hence, she calls this slice of stats heaven Puck Momalytics.)

Many people enjoy comparing recent draft picks and exploring whether the team they root for (or write about) made the right choice.

While this may be a fun exercise, many start comparing players regardless of the position they play and the team environment in which the players have been placed.

Nail Yakupov was highly touted before the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and was selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers. He has recently been compared to other players drafted in the same year in an effort to determine whether the Oilers made the right choice.

Many young players in the NHL are subject to scrutiny very early in their careers, but Yakupov has been the focus of heavy criticism over his first few seasons. One of the most often heard complaints about Yakupov is that he is not defensively responsible. He has been blasted for not producing enough offensively as well. Plenty of people have been comparing him to other first round draft picks in his class such as Alex Galchenyuk (MTL), Morgan Rielly (TOR), Ryan Murray (CBJ), Hampus Lindholm (ANA) and Jacob Trouba (WPG).

The problem with these comparisons is that other than Galchenyuk, who is a center, the rest of the players are defensemen.

Whether teams should draft for the best player available or draft to address team needs is an in-depth discussion that goes to the heart of the team management’s philosophy and the state of the market for available players. There really isn’t anything a player can do to change that, so instead of addressing whether the team made the right choice, let’s take a look at some of the wingers who, like Yakupov, were drafted in the first round and how they have performed so far.

DRAFT YEAR PLAYER DRAFTED BY CURRENT TEAM NHL GAMES PLAYED GOALS ASSISTS 2010 TAYLOR HALL EDMONTON OILERS EDMONTON OILERS 257 98 137 2011 GABRIEL LANDESKOG COLORADO AVALANCHE COLORADO AVALANCHE 212 61 78 2010 NINO NIEDERREITER NEW YORK ISLANDERS MINNESOTA WILD 155 19 25 2012 NAIL YAKUPOV EDMONTON OILERS EDMONTON OILERS 122 30 29 2010 VLADIMIR TARASENKO ST. LOUIS BLUES ST. LOUIS BLUES 119 39 38 2010 BRETT CONNOLLY TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 92 8 11 2010 EMERSON ETEM ANAHEIM DUCKS ANAHEIM DUCKS 91 13 13 2012 TOM WILSON WASHINGTON CAPITALS WASHINGTON CAPITALS 88 4 8 2010 BEAU BENNETT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 65 8 19 2012 TANNER PEARSON LOS ANGELES KINGS LOS ANGELES KINGS 62 14 14 2011 SVEN BAERTSCHI CALGARY FLAMES CALGARY FLAMES 52 8 16 2011 NICKLAS JENSEN VANCOUVER CANUCKS VANCOUVER CANUCKS 19 3 3 2010 AUSTIN WATSON NASHVILLE PREDATORS MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS (AHL) 6 1 0 2011 JOEL ARMIA BUFFALO SABRES ROCHESTER AMERICANS (AHL) 0 0 0 2011 STEFAN NOESEN OTTAWA SENATORS NORFOLK ADMIRALS 0 0 0 2011 TYLER BIGGS TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS TORONTO MARLIES 0 0 0 2011 MATT PUEMPEL OTTAWA SENATORS BINGHAMTON SENATORS (AHL) 0 0 0

*All numbers above current through November 2, 2014*

Of the wings taken in the first round of the draft since 2010, Edmonton’s Taylor Hall is first in appearances in the NHL and points. Both Hall and Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog have put up impressive numbers for their teams over the first few seasons of their young careers.

St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko, Minnesota’s Nino Niederreiter and Edmonton’s Nail Yakupov have similar numbers in terms of appearances in NHL games, while L.A.’s Tanner Pearson is just getting his career going with regular playing time.

Not unexpectedly, Tarasenko, Niederreiter and Yakupov have dealt with their share of criticism for a perceived failure to live up to the hype surrounding them. This is probably pretty unfair given that coaches often seem bewildered about how to fit these young wingers into their lineups and get the most out of them. Many coaches doubt the defensive ability of their young wings and hesitate to put them on the ice against tougher competition or in to start them out of the defensive zone. There is certainly some merit to sheltering these young players a bit, but it would seem as fans we often forget about this learning curve. Wings in particular are not usually known for excellent 2-way play, but their offensive prowess can go a long way to alleviating some of that criticism. If their offensive production falls a bit, well, cue the floodgates.

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