Teenage winger Nail Yakupov on Saturday was the first Russian since Alex Ovechkin in 2004 to become the No. 1 overall NHL draft pick, joining the Edmonton Oilers.
Yakupov, 18, was one of three Russians to appear in the first round of the draft, the strongest showing by the country since 2001, when goaltender Ilya Kovalchuk became No. 1 overall pick for the Atlanta Thrashers, forward Alexander Svitov was third, selected by Tampa Bay, and winger Stanislav Chistov was fifth, going to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
"I was nervous sitting there and waiting," Yakupov was quoted as saying by the NHL website. "My mom, dad, uncle and first coach were with me."
Yakupov was born in the town of Nizhnekamsk, roughly 900 kilometers east of Moscow in the Tatarstan region, and began his career with the local junior team Reaktor in 2009.
He became acclimatized to North America after getting drafted to the Ontario Hockey League team Sarnia Sting when he was 16, and now the 5 ft 11 wing feels ready to hit the big time.
"But I'm No. 1. No question now. I feel great now," he said. "I want to try. I have whole summer to train and work with Edmonton. This is a great team, a young team, and they play good hockey. It'll be good playing with those players."
Joining Yakupov in the draft were compatriots Mikhail Grigorenko, an 18-year-old center from the Quebec Remparts who joined the Buffalo Sabres as the No. 12 pick, and goaltender Andrei Vasilevski, also 18, taken by Tampa Bay Lighting as the 19th overall pick.
Vasilevski was the first goaltender of the draft to be picked, but still has two years on his contract at Russian junior league team Tolpar Ufa.
All three played in Russia's 2012 World Junior Championship team that lost to 4-3 to Sweden in the final in December.
Rounds two to seven of the draft continue Saturday, when Russia has another four players to be selected. Two, Saskatoon Blades goaltender Andrey Makarov; forwards Daniil Zharkov of Belleville Bulls, are already based in Canada.
The others, Vyacheslav Osnovin of White Bears Chelyabinsk and Nikolay Prokhorkin from the KHL side CSKA Moscow, remain in Russia.
