EDMONTON -- Edmonton Oilers right wing Nail Yakupov is hoping a strong finish to 2014-15 carries over into this season.
Yakupov excelled after Edmonton made a coaching change Dec. 15, replacing Dallas Eakins with Todd Nelson, and showed the attributes that made him the No. 1 pick of the 2012 NHL Draft.
"It's good to finish the season pretty well," Yakupov said this week during Perry Pearn's 3-on-3 Hockey Camp in Edmonton. "I was really excited to play hockey again and to come to the rink every day. I was really excited about that and I'm glad I was able to get back on track. I was also happy to be asked to play in the [2015 IIHF] World Championship at the end of the year, even though I couldn't play because [of an injured hip]."
Yakupov scored 14 goals and established NHL career highs with 19 assists and 33 points in 81 games last season. He had four goals and four assists in 31 games playing for Eakins, then had 10 goals and had 15 assists in 50 games under Nelson.