Chicago Blackhawks: Analyzing every No. 1 pick since Patrick Kane
. RW. Edmonton Oilers. Nail Yakupov . 12. player. 148
Third time is the charm, they say. Well, not for the Edmonton Oilers. They won the Draft Lottery for a remarkable third time in a row in 2012 but it is arguably the biggest failure in the history of the National Hockey League. They selected Nail Yakupov with the first overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft and that was a franchise-altering mistake. Yakupov is the only player drafted since Patrick Kane that is no longer in the National Hockey League.
He is widely considered a bust because he just simply didn’t pan out in any way, shape, or form. He had 62 goals and 74 assists for 136 points in 350 games played. Those aren’t the worst numbers offensively but for being the first overall pick, he didn’t even average a point every other game. He played for the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche for a little bit since leaving the Oilers in 2016 but now he is out of the league.
Yakupov’s story is a little sad but it is what it is. Not every draft pick is guaranteed to work out, even the first overall picks. In 16 games against the Chicago Blackhawks, he had four goals and three assists for seven points. Those numbers basically fall in line with the rest of his career numbers.