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Nail Yakupov | Winger

Team: Edmonton Oilers
Age / DOB:  (19) / 10/6/1993
Ht / Wt:  5'11' / 185
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Nail Yakupov was surprisingly not among the finalists for the Calder Trophy.
Most teams will cry foul at their prized rookies not being nominated for the Calder, but the Oilers may have the strongest case. Yakupov led all rookies with 17 goals and he tied Jonathan Huberdeau, who was named a finalist on Monday, for the most points with 31 in 48 games. 11 of his goals came in the month of April, so that might have played a part in his name being left off the final ballot. May 6 - 6:04 PM

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Nail Yakupov's 2012-13 campaign was certainly a long and winding one.

"It was a pretty tough year, possibly the toughest year of my life," said Yakupov. "After finishing in Sarnia, then I had the combine before the draft, then the draft, dealt with a lot of media, then rookie camp, half a season in KHL, the lockout and then the World Juniors were I didn’t feel that comfortable. Then coming here after a few months I started to feel pretty good. I feel like a million bucks now." Yakupov had 11 goals and 15 points in 14 April games. He had solid numbers this season, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him take another step forward in 2013-14.
May 1 - 10:55 AM

Nail Yakupov registered six goals in four games to earn the third star of the week honor.

The first-round pick in the 2012 draft netted 17 markers to lead all rookies in goals this campaign. It was also announced on Monday that Yakupov earned the Rookie of the Month honor for April.
Source: NHL.com
Apr 29 - 6:18 PM

Nail Yakupov received the distinction as the NHL's Rookie of the Month for April.

He led all first-year players with 11 goals and 15 points in 14 games to close out the regular season. Yakupov finished tied with Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau for the rookie scoring lead with 31 points in 48 games, but he finished first in goals with 17. His late-season surge should garner him plenty of attention for the Calder Trophy.
Source: NHL.com
Apr 29 - 1:59 PM

With five goals over his final two games, Nail Yakupov has placed himself in the race for the Calder Trophy.

Yakupov finished his rookie campaign with 31 points, which tied him with Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau for the league lead in rookie scoring. While he may not be the favorite to win the award, we think he's likely to have to have the most productive career of any of this year's rookie class.
Apr 28 - 9:48 AM

Nail Yakupov scored his first NHL hat trick Saturday night as the Oilers trounced the Canucks 7-2 in their regular season finale.

Yakupov finished his rookie campaign with 17 goals and 31 points after playing in all 48 games this year.
Apr 28 - 6:44 AM

Nail Yakupov scored the 12th goal of his rookie campaign, the Edmonton Oilers' only tally in a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Yakupov has collected 26 points in 46 games in his first campaign at the NHL level. He's shown signs of brilliance even if his initial work has been a bit of a disappointment. One thing owners would like to see from the sniper is more shots; he only has 71 SOG in 46 GP, less than two per contest.
Apr 25 - 12:51 AM

Nail Yakupov could be in consideration for the Calder Trophy.

This is a wide open race for the best rookie race as no one has been great. His competition will be Jonathan Huberdeau, Cory Conacher, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, Brandon Saad and teammate Justin Schultz. "He's got an unbelievable shot," Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid said of Yakupov. "I don't know what it is with the Russians, what they feed them. But he's got a release similar to (Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and the New Jersey Devils' Ilya Kovalchuk). So we all know he's going to be fine offensively. It's just a learning process for forwards. It's hard to learn the defensive side of the game, but he's been fine. And his work ethic is unbelievable on and off the ice. He's always the last guy out there and he works out all the time. That's good to see. There are not too many young guys like that ... it took me a few years to learn that." Look for big things from Yakupov next season and the rest of his career.
Apr 23 - 10:05 AM

Nail Yakupov had a goal and an assist in a 5-3 loss Tuesday.

Magnus Paajarvi and Shawn Horcoff each scored a goal for the Oilers. Taylor Hall had two assists, giving him 43 points in 39 games this season.
Apr 17 - 7:55 AM

Nail Yakupov has four goals and seven points in six games this month.

Yakupov has worked his way back into the running for the Calder Trophy, although he should still be regarded as an underdog at this late stage. The Oilers have put an emphasis on Yakupov improving defensively this season and that might have hurt his fantasy value early on. Still, he's worth taking a chance on next season as it might be a breakout campaign.
Apr 12 - 10:13 AM

Nail Yakupov scored two goals in Edmonton's 8-2 victory on Wednesday.

Yakupov now has three goals and four points in two games this season. If you can afford to make a minor roster move in a standard league, then Yakupov is worth taking a chance on in the hopes that this is the start of a hot streak.
Apr 4 - 9:53 AM

Nail Yakupov's progress has impressed Oilers coach Ralph Krueger.

The Oilers have been trying to turn Yakupov into a more complete player by putting an emphasis on his defensive game. "There are a few things that happen if we go back 11 games and one of them was definitely Nail growing up in such a quick period of time," Krueger said. "He’s very responsible without the puck, you can see him making strong decisions, he was the first forward back on multiple occasions (Monday). He plays physical, takes multiple responsibilities defensively. He’s been getting smarter with the puck and more patient. He’s understanding the difference between simple plays versus opportunity and that’s all showing up. We’re excited for a kid that age, what he’s done here in these two and a half months, it certainly shows us that we have an exciting future with Nail." The rookie scored his seventh goal and registered his 11th assist in his 35th game on Monday.
Apr 3 - 10:19 AM

Nail Yakupov hasn't scored a goal since Feb. 25 in Chicago, a span of 12 games.

He has taken a mere 12 shots during that time, which could partially explain his lack of success. "We want to get Nail shooting," coach Ralph Krueger said. "We're hoping Nail will get the opportunities to get pucks on net playing with Nugent-Hopkins. But mathematics (shot counts) is something all of our players have to work on. Increasing the shot clock, especially early in games where we're not creating second chances or face-offs. Nail has one of the best one-timers of any young player in the National Hockey League, and we want to get him shooting more." The 19-year-old rookie has six goals and 15 points in 30 games this season.
Mar 25 - 5:13 PM

Nail Yakupov is minus-11 this season.

Yakupov is tied with Nick Schultz for the team worse mark and is 725th of a possible 735 in the NHL in the category. The first selection in the 2012 draft is struggling with the defensive part of the NHL game but does have six goals and 12 points in 21 games. He is worth selecting in all keeper leagues but his minus-rating may be enough to avoid him in one-year pools.
Mar 4 - 9:10 AM

Nail Yakupov potted a goal in the Oilers' 3-2 overtime loss to the Blackhawks Monday night.

With the marker tonight, Yakupov now has six goals and 11 points this season with a minus-nine rating. Even with his hot and cold season, Yakupov should still be viewed as a serious contender to win the rookie scoring race this season.
Feb 26 - 12:25 AM

Depth Charts

All Positions
PosRoleName
C1Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2Sam Gagner
3Shawn Horcoff
4Eric Belanger
5Lennart Petrell
6Anton Lander
LW1Taylor Hall
2Ryan Smyth
3Mike Brown
4Magnus Paajarvi
5Jerred Smithson
RW1Jordan Eberle
2Ales Hemsky
3Nail Yakupov
4Ryan Jones
D1Ryan Whitney
2Justin Schultz
3Jeff Petry
4Ladislav Smid
5Nick Schultz
6Corey Potter
7Mark Fistric
8Theo Peckham
G1Devan Dubnyk
2Nikolai Khabibulin