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Yakupov’s dad: Nail won’t return to Sarnia

Nail Yakupov

The latest chapter of the Nail Yakupov comes courtesy his father, Rail Yakupov.

(Yes, Nail’s dad is named Rail.)

According to Puck Daddy’s Dmitry Chesnokov, the senior Yakupov says his son won’t return to OHL Sarnia -- the club currently holding his rights -- essentially ignoring a contract that’s at the crux of a transfer card controversy between the IIHF, Hockey Canada and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation.

The senior Yakupov’s quotes appeared in Gazeta.ru, a Russian online newspaper covering politics and business.

Here’s more, from Chesnokov:

Yakupov’s dad says Nail will not go to Sarnia under any circumstances & if can’t play in the KHL will just stay in Russia to train. #Oilers

— Dmitry Chesnokov (@dchesnokov) September 28, 2012


Yakupov’s dad is sort of blaming his agent Igor Larionov for the fiasco, says “Larionov’s our agent now; don’t know about the future.”

— Dmitry Chesnokov (@dchesnokov) September 28, 2012


The feeling I got after reading Yakupov Sr’s quotes is that he doesn’t quite understand NHL-CHL contracts.

— Dmitry Chesnokov (@dchesnokov) September 28, 2012


Yesterday, Yahoo!'s Sunaya Sapurji reported that Yakupov is still under contract to Sarnia, which is why Hockey Canada didn’t sign his ITC to play for KHL club Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

Despite not having an eligible transfer card, Yakupov played two games for Neftekhimik anyway -- a move that resulted in his temporary suspension and a fine for the RIHF.

The bad blood now appears to be between the Yakupov camp and Sarnia, though there could be a third party involved. In an interview with Sport-Express, Rail Yakupov said that “someone’s trying to make money” out of the contract fiasco and alluded to “our Russian-speaking acquaintances from North America.”

Once again, the saga continues...