Player's Profile
- Name: Mikhail Yunkov
- Position: C
- Shoots: Left
- Height: 6-0
- Weight: 180 lbs
- Birthdate: 1986-02-16
- Eligible for Draft: 2004
- Drafted:
- Hometown: Voskresensk, Russia
- Acquired: 2nd round (62nd overall), 2004
- Playing In: Europe
Mikhail Yunkov
Prospect Grade: 5.5 F (About Prospect Grades)
Profile Contributed By: HF Staff
History
2002-03: Yunkov appeared in seven games with Soviet Wings in the Russian Super League and scored 1 goal with 2 PIM. Yunkov scored 10 goals with 17 assists and 2 PIM in 18 regular season games with the Wings' U-20 team and had 4 goals with 4 assists in eight playoff games.
2003-04: Yunkov spent most of the season with Soviet Wings' senior team - which had been relegated from the Russian Super League to the High League. He scored 5 goals with 10 assists and was +6 with 12 PIM in 38 games for the Wings. He had 1 assist in four playoff games. Yunkov represented Russia at the WJC U-18 tournament in Belarus and had 4 assists with 8 PIM in six games. Russia defeated the USA, 3-2, in the tournament gold medal game.
2004-05: Yunkov spent his second season in the Russian High League (second division) playing for Soviet Wings. He scored 9 goals with 14 assists and was +12 with 22 PIM. In three playoff games for the Wings, he had 1 assist and was -1 with 4 PIM. Yunkov was a solid, workmanlike two-way forward on a line with Denis Parshin and Roman Voloshenkov for Team Russia at the WJC U-20 tournament. He scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was +1 as Russia reached the gold medal game before falling, 6-1, to Canada.
2005-06: Yunkov moved to Ak Bars Kazan after an arbitration hearing regarding his contract status with the Soviet Wings. He played little for the veteran-laden club in his first full season in the Russian Super League. Yunkov scored 3 goals with 4 assists and was +4 with 35 PIM in 33 games with Ak Bars. He saw limited time in the playoffs and was scoreless and +2 with 6 PIM in 11 games as Ak Bars Kazan won the Super League championship. Yunkov was scoreless with 4 PIM in six games for Team Russia at the WJC U-20 tournament.
2006-07: Yunkov played with Ak Bars Kazan and assumed a larger role in his second year with the club. In 47 regular season games, he scored 3 goals with 6 assists and had 12 PIM. He scored 1 goal with 2 assists and 8 PIM in 16 playoff games. Ak Bars Kazan advanced to the RSL championship series before falling to Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
2007-08: After reaching the championship finals in back-to-back seasons but playing in a fourth-line role for Ak Bars, Yunkov transferred to middle-of-the-pack Moscow Spartak where he had the opportunity to play on a line with his older brother Alexander. In 57 games for Spartak, which had the eleventh-best record in the 20 team league, he scored 4 goals with 6 assists and was -1 with 20 PIM.
2008-09: Yunkov had his best offensive season to-date with Spartak in the newly-christened KHL. He scored 7 goals with 14 assists and was -8 with 30 PIM in 54 games. In six playoff games he had 2 assists and was -4 with 6 PIM.
2009-10: Yunkov hoped to make the move to North America after having completed his contract with Spartak Moscow, but the Capitals reportedly showed little interest in him so he signed a contract with Ak Bars Kazan and returned to the KHL. In 32 games, he had 3 assists and was -4 with 12 PIM while averaging just over eight minutes of ice time per game. In four playoff games, he had 1 assist and was +2 with 2 PIM during Ak Bars Kazan's run to the KHL's Gagarin Cup championship.
Talent Analysis
Yunkov is a solid center and a very good passer but will likely be remembered as "the other Russian" taken by the Capitals in the 2004 NHL that landed them Alexander Ovechkin. As a junior prospect, Yunkov was considered one of the best Russian playmakers available in the draft though he was consistently in a lower line role for most of the Russian junior teams. Yunkov has proven to be a solid player in the middle tier of the KHL - he and his brother Mikhail often saw loads of ice time with Spartak - but hasn’t produced consistent numbers offensively nor shown the two-way physical grit that would suggest he can one-day fit into an NHL lineup. Yunkov has the size, skating ability and technical skills necessary to compete at a high level. While his time spent in the lower leagues with Soviet Wings may or may not be a factor, he has not developed into a complete player nor fulfilled his potential as a two-way forward with an effective offensive game.
Future
It appears that Yunkov is not in the Capitals' plans.
Stats
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Profile Last Updated: August, 25th 2011
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