PITTSBURGH -- The Edmonton Oilers selected Nail Yakupov with the first pick in the NHL draft Friday night.
The Russian sniper is the third forward in an as many years to be taken first overall by the Oilers.
Edmonton took left-winger Taylor Hall with the No. 1 selection in 2010 and followed that up by taking Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the first pick last year.
Yakupov had 31 goals and 38 assists in 42 games with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League in 2011-12.
The five-foot-10, 189-pound right-winger suffered a concussion this season after recording 101 points in his rookie campaign with the Sting.
Yakupov has an impressive combination of speed and skill and was the consensus No. 1 pick among most scouts.
He's the third Russian to be taken first overall following Ilya Kovalchuk (2001) and Alex Ovechkin (2004).
