The Edmonton Oilers will face former teammate Nail Yakupov for the first time Thursday. Yakupov, selected No. 1 in the 2012 NHL Draft, was traded to St. Louis on Oct. 7 for prospect forward Zach Pochiro and a conditional third-round pick in the 2017 draft after playing five seasons in Edmonton. "It'll be a little different playing against him," center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "I've known him since he started his career and I got to know him quite well, so seeing him in a different jersey will be a little weird tonight, but for his sake, I hope he does well." Yakupov was Edmonton's third successive No. 1 selection after Taylor Hall in 2010 and Nugent-Hopkins in 2011. "There were high expectations on him, different pressures and stuff, and for him, coming over from Russia too, it's definitely a big change coming to the NHL," Nugent-Hopkins said. "There are ups and downs in everybody's career and you try to manage those, and hopefully from now on, there are a lot of ups for him and I know everybody in here wishes him the best."