Nail Yakupov has made no secret of the fact that he wants to play in the NHL.
The No. 1 pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft came to Canada from Russia before he turned 17 to pursue junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sarnia Sting, figuring that the OHL was better preparation for the NHL than remaining in Russia to play in the KHL.
Now that Yakupov's NHL debut could be delayed by a lockout, however, the native of Nizhnekamsk could give the fans at home one last look before he embarks on his career in the world's top hockey league. According to a report on Twitter by Szymon Szemberg, the director communications for the International Ice Hockey Federation, Yakupov's agent, Igor Larionov, has his client ready to play for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in the KHL if the NHL locks out its players next month.
The thinking, obviously, is that Yakupov has more to gain at this point in his career from playing against men in the KHL than he does from playing against boys with the Sting, and that's almost certainly true. In 113 games (regular season and playoffs) with the Sting over the past two, Yakupov has racked up 175 points (80 goals, 95 assists), and has nothing left to prove at the junior level.
The interesting question, however, is what role the AHL could play in Yakupov's future plans.
The last time the NHL had a work stoppage, Yakupov would have been ineligible to play in the AHL due to his age, as the CHL's transfer agreement with the NHL keeps junior players out of the minor leagues until they've aged out of junior hockey. That transfer agreement, however, expired last week, and while the CHL "expects" the NHL to abide by the agreement in the event of a lockout, there are no guarantees as of yet.
It's been pointed out that a vast number of players on two-way and entry-level contracts will be headed for the AHL in the event of a lockout, and that won't leave much room for 19-year olds, but Yakupov would certainly be an exception, particularly if Oilers players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Justin Schultz and Jordan Eberle head to Edmonton's affiliate in Oklahoma City to play for the Barons.
The last time there was an NHL lockout, players like Thomas Vanek, Jason Spezza and Eric Staal developed their talents in the AHL, and the results were stellar. Staal, for example, posted 31 points in his NHL rookie season, spent the lockout in Lowell with Carolina's affiliate, and came back to post a 100-point season that led to a Stanley Cup run in 2005-06. Spezza, meanwhile, went from a 55-point season before the lockout to a 90-point season the year after.
More than that, though, the silver lining to a lockout for some teams is the opportunity for young stars to develop their chemistry together in the minors, and with the players that Edmonton has eligible for AHL service, that would be quite a silver lining for an Oilers franchise that has been patiently building for a return to the playoffs.
While a lockout is being treated as an inevitability among members of the hockey media, it isn't expected to wipe out the whole season, so having players together on this side of the ocean would probably be a good idea. It's probably worth keeping an eye on the situation with the CHL where Yakupov is concerned.
