Oilers take Russian Yakupov No. 1 overall
The Edmonton Oilers took Nail Yakupov, a Russian forward from the Sarnia Sting, as the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft Friday at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
Yakupov scored 170 points in 107 games in two seasons for the Sting. He has been compared to fellow Russian Pavel Bure for his speed, shot and offensive abilities.
Bure, a right winger, played 12 years in the NHL.
Yakupov was not considered to be the consensus No. 1 pick, even though he was ranked No. 1 by NHL Central Scouting for several months.
The Oilers have strength at forward with young talent including Ryan Nugent Hopkins (No. 1 overall pick in 2011), Taylor Hall (No. 1 overall in 2010) and Jordan Eberle (No. 22 overall in 2008). They also have Alex Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff and Sam Gagner, who is a restricted free agent.
"He's dangerous and he's hungry to score goals," general manager Steve Tambellini said of Yakupov.
Yakupov is the first Russian-born player selected No. 1 overall since Alex Ovechkin was taken by the Washington Capitals in 2004.
There were also some trades early in the draft that included big names. The Anaheim Ducks traded Lubomir Visnovsky to the New York Islanders for a second-round pick next year.
The Washington Capitals got forward Mike Ribiero from the Dallas Stars for Cody Eakins and a draft pick.
In a swap of draft picks, the Calgary Flames sent the Buffalo Sabres the 14th overall pick for a first rounder (21st overall) and a second rounder (42st overall).
The Columbus Blue Jackets traded their second and fourth round picks and next year's fourth rounder for Philadelphia Flyers backup goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Columbus then took big defenseman Ryan Murray from the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League with the second pick. Murray played for Team Canada in this year's World Championships. He was the only non-NHL player on the roster.
The Montreal Canadiens took Alex Galchenyuk No. 3. He is the Sarnia Sting's other forward expected to be drafted. Galchenyuk was the first pick of new Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, who took over this spring.
The New York Islanders selected defensemen Griffin Reinhart fourth. Reinhart had 12 goals and 24 assists in 58 games for Edmonton of the WHL last season.
The fifth pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who took defenseman Morgan Rielly. Rielly was limited to just 18 games for Moose Jaw of the WHL last season as he had a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
With the sixth pick, the Anaheim Ducks took defenseman Hampus Lindholm of Sweden.
Defenseman Mathew Dumba went seventh to the Minnesota Wild.
The Carolina Hurricanes acquired center Jordan Staal from the Pittsburgh Penguins for center Brandon Sutter, defenseman Brian Dumoulin and the No. 8 pick.
The Penguins used that pick to take defenseman Derrick Pouliot.
The Winnipeg Jets took American defenseman Jacob Trouba with the No. 9 choice. Trouba has committed to play at the University of Michigan in the fall.
Rounding out the top 10 was Slater Koekkoek, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Koekkoek was the eighth defenseman taken in the top 10.
With the 11th pick, the Washington Capital selected center Filip Forsberg from Sweden. Not related to former NHL great Peter Forsberg, the 17-year-old played for his country's World Junior Championship team. He was the youngest player on the team in helping it win gold for the first time since 1981.
Buffalo continued a run on centers by taking Russian Mikhail Grigorenko 12th overall.
The Dallas Stars took Radek Faksa, another center, of the Czech Republic with the 13th pick.
The Sabres grabbed another center with the 14th pick, taking Zemgus Girgensons of Latvia.
The Ottawa Senators ended the four-player run on centers by taking Canada's Cody Ceci 15th, the ninth defenseman taken overall.
Thomas Wilson became the second right winger drafted when Washington grabbed him with the 16th selection. The Canadian had 17 points, 141 penalty minutes and a plus-17 rating in an injury-plagued season that included a sprained MCL and a broken knuckle.
The San Jose Sharks used the No. 17 pick on Czech Republic center Tomas Hertl.
Left wing Teuvo Teravainen of Finland went 18th to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Tampa Bay used its second pick of the first round on Russian goalie Andrey Vasilevskiy.
Philadelphia grabbed center Scott Laughton of Canada with the 20th selection.
Calgary also used its first pick to take a Canadian center, selecting Mark Jankowski 21st.
Pittsburgh used another defenseman with its second pick of the first round, taking Olli Maatta of Finland 22nd.
The Florida Panthers used the 23rd pick on defenseman Michael Matheson of Canada. Matheson has committed to playing at Boston College.
Goalie Malcolm Subban went to the Boston Bruins with the 24th pick.
The St. Louis Blues chose Jordan Schmaltz with the 25th pick. Schmaltz, an American defenseman, plans to attend collegiate powerhouse North Dakota in the fall.
With the 26th selection, the Vancouver Canucks chose center Brendan Gaunce of Canada.
The Phoenix Coyotes took center Henrik Samuelsson with the 27th pick. Samuelsson is the son of Ulf Samuelsson, who played 1,080 in the NHL.
The New York Rangers took defenseman Brady Skjei with the 28th selection. Skjei helped the U.S. capture gold at the Under-18 World Championship, leading the way defensively with a plus-10 rating.
American center Stefan Matteau went to the New Jersey Devils with the 29th pick.
The first round wrapped up with the Stanley Cup-champion Los Angeles Kings taking left winger Tanner Pearson.
