Yakupov Named Player of the Month, Gavrus Rookie of the Month for October

OHL Player of the Month – Nail Yakupov, Sarnia Sting

Nail Yakupov led the league in scoring with 29 points in 13 games for the Sarnia Sting producing 11 goals and a league-high 18 assists.  He recorded a point in 12 of his 13 games with an impressive nine multi-point games along with the league’s second highest plus-minus rating of plus-13.  He claimed OHL and CHL Player of the Week honours for the week ending October 16 where he matched a career-high with four assists October 14 as third star of a 7-2 win over the Saginaw Spirit.  Yakupov was recognized as a star of the game seven times in October with four first-star performances including a stretch of three straight games from October 22-29 where he scored seven points in three games.  He was also named first star of a 7-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves with two goals and two assists to open the month on October 1.

Yakupov, an 18-year-old Russian native of Nizhnekamsk, is playing in his second OHL season with the Sting and was named the OHL and CHL Rookie of the Year last season.  The 2012 NHL Entry Draft prospect currently leads the OHL in scoring with 34 points in 16 games with 12 goals and a league-high 22 assists.  Yakupov will also compete for Team Russia in the 2011 SUBWAY Super Series on November 10 in Ottawa, ON.

Kal Tire OHL Rookie of the Month – Artur Gavrus, Owen Sound Attack

Artur Gavrus led all OHL rookies in scoring with 13 points in 11 October games for the Owen Sound Attack scoring eight goals and five assists.  He recorded three multi-point games including his first career hat-trick on October 10 in a 6-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit where he was named first star of the game.  Gavrus finished October with a six-game point streak. 

Gavrus, a 17-year-old from Belarus was selected by the Attack in the first round of the 2011 CHL Import Draft 55^th overall.  The 2012 NHL Entry Draft prospect has eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 16 games so far this season.

Full story here

Artur Gavrus

Artur Gavrus - Owen Sound Attack

5' 10" - 165 LBS
D.O.B. January 3, 1994

After being selected in the first round, 18th overall in the KHL Junior Draft, the Owen Sound Attack used their second pick, 55th overall, to select Gavrus in the CHL Import Draft.

The offensively gifted Gavrus played for Neman Grodno - 2 in the Belarus2 league where he compiled 14 goals and 12 assists in 41 games. He twice represented his country at the World Junior Championship Under 18, first in 2009-10 where he scored 1 goal in 6 games and again in 2010-11 after being relegated where he had 6 goals and 5 assists in 5 games.

The speedy forward is off to a great start in this his first OHL season. Through his first 14 games he sits fourth in Owen Sound scoring with 6 goals and 6 assists in what has so far been an up and down season for the defending OHL Champions.

He's small in size but his best asset is his speed and skating, using it to beat defenders or put himself in position for his teammates to find him. He's playing under the shadows of two other draft eligible's in Jarrod Maidens and Gemel Smith in Owen Sound and with a lot of NHL scouts eyes on Maidens this year, Gavrus can open a few of them and be a pleasant surprise come NHL Draft Day.

3 Stars For Week Ending October 16, 2011

The experts have weighed in and here are your three stars of Draft eligible players for the week ending October 16, 2011

1st Star - Nail Yakupov - Sarnia Sting. The overwhelming choice as first star, Yakupov dominated the week scoring twice and adding ten assists in 4 games to take over the OHL scoring lead. Yakupov started the week with a 3 assist effort in an overtime win over Windsor. He followed that up with a 4 assist effort in a 7-2 romping of Saginaw. Then came a 1 goal and 2 assist effort in Plymouth, again in overtime and closed out the week with a goal and assist to beat London and help Sarnia take over first place in the Western Conference.

2nd Star - Artur Gavrus - Owen Sound Attack. Gavrus is our second star of the week after notching 3 goals and 3 assists in 4 games. He began the week with a hat trick against Saginaw. His lone pointless game came in a loss against Peterborough. The Attack then suffered back to back losses against the Kitchener Rangers where he registered an assist in the first game and to in the rematch where he was the Attack's bright spot.

3rd Star - Michael Clarke - Windsor Spitfires. Clarke continues to impress for the Spitfires. In 4 games Clarke scored 3 goals and added an assist including a 1 goal effort against Windsor and a 2 goal 1 assist effort against Erie.

Honorable mentions: Slater Koekkoek, Brady Vail and Warren Steele.

To check previous weekly winners and a list of voters in our 3 stars, click on the 3 star tab at the top of the page.