Nail | Nail Yakupov Streamer To Edmonton For Follow-up Talk With Oilers

TORONTO - Nail Yakupov is streamer to Edmonton. For now, it will only be for a rapid visit.

But the top-rated awaiting in the arriving NHL breeze is anticipating that his discussion with Oilers pewter this week end will help remonstrate them to call his name with the No. 1 collect on June 22 in Pittsburgh.

"For me it was great news," Yakupov mentioned Thursday night. "I'll may encounter the guys and the boss and the GM " only discussing with the guys and see the sauce room and see the town."

It will spot the initial ever revisit to the Alberta funds is to 18-year-old Russian. He's due to arrive Sunday after a windstorm widen that includes this week's NHL breeze mix in suburban Toronto and a revisit to the Stanley Cup last for Saturday's Game 2 in Newark, N.J., with other prospects.

A source fixed that Yakupov won't be the only player brought to Edmonton before the breeze for follow-up interviews.

However, d! ifferent in formerly years, the Oilers are anticipating to keep the meetings as in isolation as possible. Two years ago, both Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin visited the town forward of the breeze and were subjected to considerable media scrums with local reporters.

The Oilers grip the No. 1 collect for a third uninterrupted breeze and the group has schooled from the formerly experiences. Yakupov, a expert winger from the Ontario Hockey League's Sarnia Sting, would admire to follow Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins by getting the luck to call Edmonton home.

"We'll see what happens," he said. "Whoever drafts me, I'll be vehement to put this jersey on. we wish to work hard for this team and give everything. It's the NHL."

The particular visits prominence how critical the preference confronting the Oilers group is. Team crew sat down with Yakupov and all of the other future tip picks during the scouting combine, but still feel the must be outlay ! more time with them before creation a last decision.

Another reason in the routine is the probability of a trade. Edmonton broad executive Steve Tambellini might be enticed to pierce down a couple of spots on the breeze board, that means he'll wish to be aware with a number of players.

In the last rankings expelled by NHL middle scouting in April, Yakupov was the top-rated North American-based skater forward of Everett Silvertips defenceman Ryan Murray, Quebec Remparts centre Mikhail Grigorenko and Sarnia centre Alex Galchenyuk.

Murray finished up getting a few additional time to try-out after a array of injuries authorised him to fool around for Canada at the new IIHF World Hockey Championship. Oilers boss Kevin Lowe ran that team and raved about the fool around of the teenager, who didn't look at all out of place against men.

It was only after that contest wrapped up that Murray proposed to think about how it might start his breeze position.

"I wasn't unequivocally con! sidering about that when we was there, we was only considering about what we can do to help the team win," he said. "I theory hopefully we tender somebody."

Murray concurred conference a few rumblings that he might be in the running to be choosen with the No. 1 pick, but remarkable that "it's not unequivocally up to me to decide."

Even Grigorenko still harbours dreams of being the initial player called to the theatre at Consol Energy Center. His QMJHL period was injured by a box of mononucleosis and a unsatisfactory opening in the playoffs, but the six-foot-three Russian felt similar to he put his most appropriate feet forward this week in interviews with NHL teams at the combine.

"I still have it," Grigorenko said, referring to hopes of being choosen with the tip pick. "For sure, because not? If the team wants to breeze me and they need a centre, they'll take me."

For now, Yakupov appears to have the inside track.

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The agreeable Russian should of course have no difficulty creatio! n a burly sense when he gets a luck to debate Edmonton this weekend. He indispensable only a couple of mins to magnetism reporters on Thursday, delivering a good soliloquy that proposed with him proclaiming that "hockey is my life."

"You've got to grin every day because life you only live once," mentioned Yakupov. "You've got to pull all you can every day and be good with the people and keep your family in your heart.

"If you can fool around hockey, only fool around hockey and do your thing."