Nail Yakupov's career took a wild turn after his infamous Oilers exit

And now, years removed from his draft bust label, he has something the Oilers still chase every spring, a championship.

Back in 2012 the hype around Yakupov was as real as it gets.

He tore through the OHL with the Sarnia Sting, breaking a franchise rookie scoring record that once belonged to Steven Stamkos, and the Oilers had no hesitation using their third straight first overall pick on him.

For a few months it looked like a home run.

His rookie season in the lockout shortened 2012-13 campaign saw him post 17 goals and 31 points in just 48 games, good enough for fifth in Calder Trophy voting.

That rookie year included maybe the most iconic moment of his Oilers career, a last second tying goal against the Kings that ended with his now famous knee slide.

But once Ralph Krueger was fired and Dallas Eakins took over, everything changed.

Yakupov never topped 20 goals again in Edmonton, playing under four different coaches in four seasons before the Oilers finally moved on, shipping him to St. Louis in October 2016.

His NHL career ended quietly with Colorado in 2018, finishing with 62 goals and 136 points across 350 games.

But heading back to Russia gave him new life.

Bouncing between SKA St. Petersburg, Amur Khabarovsk and Avangard Omsk, Yakupov finally got his championship moment, winning the Gagarin Cup with Omsk during the 2020-21 season.

The bust label will always follow him in Edmonton.

But somewhere along the way, Nail Yakupov became a winner.

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