Edmonton Oilers: What went wrong with Nail Yakupov

Nail Yakupov is one of the biggest busts in NHL history. What happened to the former Edmonton Oilers forward?

The early part of the 2010s was an exciting time for fans of the Edmonton Oilers. Yes, the team was struggling mightily at the time, but they had plenty of young talent. The future of this team already looked very bright, so you can only imagine the excitement when they yet again were awarded the first overall pick in 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

While it was not as much of a consensus as some first overall picks are, the majority of analysts had Sarnia Sting forward Nail Yakupov pegged as the number one pick heading into the draft. The Oilers added yet another highly skilled forward to the organization.

The young Russian forward had a ton of hype, as he was receiving some elite-level player comparisons in Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk.

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He was highly praised for his high-end skill, skating ability, and overwhelming shot. His two seasons with the Sting certainly backed up those claims, as he put up 80 goals and 170 points in just 107 games. Though he was regarded as a goal scorer, he also had great vision, proven by his nine assists in seven games at the 2012 World Juniors. Yakupv played in the 2013 tournament as well, posting three goals and five assists in seven games.

Warning Signs

Of course, there were some warning signs with Yakupov. Despite some scouts saying he was a good kid who got along well with teammates, there were other reports who cited his immaturity and cocky attitude.

That attitude was very much on display when Russia beat Canada in a game during the 2012 World Junior tournament, where Yakupov gave this exuberant interview.

These claims have more recently been backed up, most famously by former NHL general manager Brian Burke who said that Yakupov was the worst draft interview he ever had. He also said that he would not have drafted him if he were available when his then team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, had the fifth overall selection.

On top of the attitude issues, there were also concerns about his defensive game, or lack thereof. He was also described as a player who had a lot of flaws but could have people quickly forget about them due to his ability to produce multiple highlight-reel plays per game. As it turns out looking back, scouts should have taken those flaws more cautiously.

Successful Start

Because of how bad the rest of his career was, it is easy to forget that Yakupov had a very solid rookie season. His rookie season happened to take place during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 year.

As a result, he played 22 games in the KHL before heading over to the NHL to play for the Oilers in their 48-game season. Under head coach Ralph Krueger that season, he put up 17 goals and 31 points in those 48 games, which put him on a 29 goal, 53-point pace.

Unfortunately for the Oilers and Yakupov, that turned out to be by far and away his most successful season in the NHL. The 2013-14 season saw him put up just 11 goals and 24 points in 63 games, while also recording a plus/minus of -33. This was certainly disappointing, and some whispers of him being a bust did come up, but the majority of fans and analysts considered the bad season just a blip in the radar.

No Bounce Back

As we now know, that season was just what Yakupov was as a player. He went on to play two more seasons with the Oilers before being traded to the St. Louis Blues just prior to the beginning of the 2016-17 season. With that, his terrible chapter with the Oilers had come to a close.

In four seasons with the Oilers, he put up just 111 points in 252 games. While those numbers are bad enough on their own, they are even worse when paired with the fact he had a -88 plus-minus rating over those four seasons, including a career-worst -35 during the 2014-15 season.

With Yakupov being traded, many hoped that he would a change of scenery was what he needed to get his career back on track. It wasn’t a crazy thought, as he was still just 23-years-old at the time. However, that didn’t come close to happening. Yakupov played in just 40 games with the Blues that season, as he often found himself in the press box. When he did play, his minutes were very low as he failed to gain the trust of the Blues coaching staff.

By this point, almost everyone had written Yakupov off, considering him to be one of the worst first overall picks of all time. Given his raw talent, however, the Colorado Avalanche took one final shot on him, signing him to a one-year, $875,000 deal. Yet again, he disappointed with just 16 points in 58 games.

Different League Same Story

That 2017-18 season is very likely the last we will ever have seen from Yakupov in the NHL, as the now 26-year-old has spent the last two seasons in the KHL with St. Petersburg SKA. His KHL career has seemed to follow a pretty similar storyline to his NHL career. While his first full year in the league in 2018-19 was quite successful with 23 goals and 33 points in 47 games, this past season was a disaster. In 46 games, he managed to only put up 10 goals and 10 assists.

As a result of his poor season, SKA traded him to HC Vityaz, who flipped him just over a month later to Amur Khabarovsk in exchange for financial compensation. Although Yakupov has had a lot of moments that could be considered rock bottom, being a former number one overall pick who is traded for cash in the KHL is likely the lowest of the lows.

Blame to Be Shared

While there were plenty of rumors he was stubborn and only wanted to work on the skill parts of his game, it still isn’t fair to blame 100% of his failed career on him. The Oilers were likely the worst team in the league that Yakupov could have worked to, as they had a management that appeared to have no plan other than stacking up on high draft picks and hoping they could figure out the rest on their own.

It turned out to be a big disaster, as even after having three first overall picks in a row from 2010-12, and another in 2015 (Connor McDavid), they did not make the playoffs until the 2016-17 season.

As a result of the team’s struggles, they went through a ton of coaches. In his four seasons with the Oilers, he had five different head coaches if you include Craig MacTavish’s brief interim stint. He then had two head coaches in his season with the Blues, and of course another new one in his season with the Avalanche.

In total, he played for eight different head coaches during his 6 NHL seasons. This certainly wouldn’t be easy for any young up and coming player trying to learn how to play the game the right way, as every coach implements different systems.

The final reason it cannot be blamed on Yakupov is that, as was mentioned above, the team was terrible during his time with them. Often times losing can create a negative atmosphere, and the Oilers certainly did a lot of that with a record of 103-153-38 over his four seasons.

While it certainly was an unfair situation for Yakupov, it should be noted that players like Nugent-Hopkins, Hall, and Eberle went through the same dark years and all turned out to be very good players. However, it would be naïve to think it didn’t play a role in Yakupov turning out the way he did.

Draft Picks Not a Guarantee

The Yakupov story should serve as a cautionary tale to all teams and fans that attempting to tank in order to get the first overall pick doesn’t always work out. For the most part, first overall picks turn into star-caliber players, but the same was expected with Yakupov.

That is why while a player like Alexis Lafreniere, the consensus number one overall pick for the upcoming draft, has many excited, fans should be cautiously optimistic until he proves himself at the NHL level. You just never know what can happen.