- Nail Yakupov
-
Nail Yakupov Born October 6, 1993
Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, RussiaHeight 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight 167 lb (76 kg; 11 st 13 lb) Position Right wing Shoots Left OHL team Sarnia Sting NHL Draft Eligible 2012 Playing career 2009–present Nail Yakupov (born October 6, 1993) is a Russian junior ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Besides being the consensus early favorite for top pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft,[1] Yakupov, an ethnic Tatar[2], also represents the first potential breakout hockey star from Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia located 500 miles east of Moscow.[1]
Currently he is said to be the number one prospect in the world.[3][4]
Contents
Playing career
Junior
Yakupov was selected second overall by the Sarnia Sting in the 2010 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft.[5] Prior to this, he played in the Russian Minor Hockey League (MHL) for his hometown team, the Reaktor Nizhnekamsk,[6] but thought that trying to join the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) would be a quicker path to his dream to play in the National Hockey League (NHL).[5]
Yakupov scored his first OHL goal against the Windsor Spitfires on September 24, 2010.[7] After winning OHL Rookie of the Month for the month of October, Yakupov participated in the November 11 game of the Subway Super Series for Team Russia,[8] at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario; Russia lost the game 4-0.[9]
On February 3, 2011, Yakupov was named the 'Kal Tire OHL Rookie of the Month' for January, which he had previously won in October, 2010.[10] He later won the title for the month of February as well.[11] At the end of the season, Yakupov was named winner of the Emms Family Award as OHL Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Sting player to receive the honour.[12] He was also named to the first All-Rookie team for the season.[12] On May 28, he was also awarded the title for CHL Rookie of the Year, as the top rookie in the Canadian junior circuit.[13]
On February 28, 2011, at 3:07 in the first period of a game against the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds, Yakupov scored his 43rd goal of the 2010–11 OHL season, giving him the new goal-scoring record for a rookie for the Sarnia Sting.[14][15] On March 19, 2011, in Sarnia's last game of the 2010–11 season, he scored an assist on the first goal as well as the third goal for Sarnia to obtain his 100th point of the season; he also scored another assist with 80 seconds left in the game to finish the season with 101 points.[16]
Early in the 2011–12 season, Yakupov took the scoring lead with 25 points in 10 games. A 12 point week landed him CHL Player of the Week honours for the first time on October 18, 2011 following Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers the prior week.[17]
International
Yakupov was part of Team Russia in the 2011 World Junior U18 championship. He scored a hat trick in the bronze-medal game, including an empty-net goal with four seconds left, helping defeat Team Canada (with Sting teammate Brett Ritchie) 6-4.[18]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2009–10 Reaktor Nizhnekamsk MHL 14 4 2 6 26 — — — — — 2010–11 Sarnia Sting OHL 65 49 52 101 71 — — — — — OHL totals 65 49 52 101 71 — — — — — Awards
Junior
Award Date OHL Rookie of the Month November 4, 2010
February 3, 2011
March 4, 2011[11]OHL First All-Rookie Team April 7, 2011[12] OHL Rookie of the Year April 7, 2011[12] BMO Rookie of the Year (CHL) May 28, 2011[13] CHL Player of the Week October 18, 2011[17] OHL Player of the Month October, 2011 References
- ^ a b "Nail Yakupov's star is on the rise". ESPN.com. 18 July 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/60up9u9HZ. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
- ^ "Top NHL draft prospect Yakupov a star in the making". TSN.ca. 19 August 2011. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=374103. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Puck-Daddy-chats-with-Nail-Yakupov-about-being-N?urn=nhl-wp15952
- ^ http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/blog?name=nhl_draft&id=7152849&_slug_=2012-nhl-draft-scouting-nail-yakupov-jacob-trouba-andreas-athanasiou-more&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnhl%2fblog%3fname%3dnhl_draft%26id%3d7152849%26_slug_%3d2012-nhl-draft-scouting-nail-yakupov-jacob-trouba-andreas-athanasiou-more
- ^ a b "Sarnia Sting’s dynamic Russian prospects turning heads in the OHL". The Hockey News. http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/37124-VIDEO-Sarnia-Stings-dynamic-Russian-prospects-turning-heads-in-the-OHL.html. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- ^ "Reaktor Nizhnekamsk 2009-10 Stats and Fights". DropYourGloves.com. http://dropyourgloves.com/Stat/Players.aspx?League=81&Season=2010&Team=1171&Competition=0&Mode=Season&OrderBy=GordyHowePoints. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ ""Nail Yakupov 1st career OHL goal vs Windsor 2010 09 24"". NHL Draft Video. http://nhldraftvideo.blogspot.com/2010/09/nail-yakupov-1st-career-ohl-goal-vs.html. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- ^ ""Team Russia Roster, 2010 Subway Super Series"". Canadian Hockey League. http://www.subwaysuperseries.com/rosters/russia. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ^ ""Game 3 Highlights Video, 2010 Subway Super Series"". Canadian Hockey League. http://www.subwaysuperseries.com/videos/2010/Game-3-Highlights/0_ewbw57ea. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ^ "OHL Top Performers of the Month for January"". Ontario Hockey League. http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-top-performers-of-the-month-for-january/91691. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- ^ a b "OHL Top Performers of the Month for February"". Ontario Hockey League. http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-top-performers-of-the-month-for-february/93970. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ a b c d "OHL Top Performers of the Month for January"". Ontario Hockey League. http://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/nail-yakupov-named-ohl-rookie-of-the-year.
- ^ a b "Sarnia Sting's Nail Yakupov Named BMO Rookie of the Year"". MarketWire. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/sarnia-stings-nail-yakupov-named-bmo-rookie-of-the-year-1520041.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ ""Game Summary 17348"". Ontario Hockey League. http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/schedule/show/game/1210. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ ""Yakupov sets record in loss"". The Observer. http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2997283. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ ""Sting close out season with a win"". Sarnia Sting Website. http://www.sarniasting.com/article/sting-close-out-season-with-a-win. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ a b ""Sting’s Nail Yakupov Named CHL Player of the Week"". Sarnia Sting Website. http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/article/sting-s-nail-yakupov-named-chl-player-of-the-week. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ ""Russia beats Canada 6-4 to win bronze at world U18 hockey tournament"". CityNews Toronto. http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/sports/article/126731--russia-beats-canada-6-4-to-win-bronze-at-world-u18-hockey-tournament. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
External links
- Nail Yakupov's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
- Nail Yakupov player profile at Sarnia Sting website
- Nail Yakupov's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Matthew PuempelWinner of the CHL Rookie of the Year Award
2010–11Succeeded by
TBDPreceded by
Matthew PuempelWinner of the Emms Family Award
2010–11Succeeded by
TBDCategories:- 1993 births
- Living people
- People from Nizhnekamsk
- Russian ice hockey right wingers
- Russian Tatar people
- Sarnia Sting alumni
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