When you look through the annals of the NHL, Nail Yakupov will go down as one of the biggest busts in league history.

Drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2012, Yakupov was a dynamic offensive player who, by all accounts, was the No. 1 player in the draft.

NHL Central Scouting had him first. The Hockey News had him first. McKeen’s Hockey had him first. Red Line Report had him first. Bob McKenzie had him first. Future Considerations had him first. ISS had him first.

Yakupov was a unanimous choice, yet, in the years that followed, it’s clear something didn’t click.

He would debut with the Oilers in 2012-12, scoring 17 goals and 31 points in 48 games, finishing fifth in the Calder Trophy race, trailing Jonas Brodin, Brandon Saad, Brendan Gallagher and the winner, Jonathan Huberdeau, who had three fewer goals and the same amount of points as the Russian and fewer points per hour of ice time, too. Heck, Yakupov wasn’t even named a finalist.

As Yakupov grew older, his game never found a way to. Yakupov constantly looked........

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