Nail Yakupov: “The older you get, the more interesting your life and your game get. You gain a bit of wisdom.”

14 September 2024

After Nail Yakupov was named KHL forward of the week, the Dragons’ hot-shot gave an interview to KHL.ru. He talked about his move to Kunlun, his fast start to the season and his increasing maturity.

After leaving Neftekhimik, Nail Yakupov spent some time without a club. It wasn’t until mid-August that he agreed a deal with Kunlun. He was one of just three Russians on Mikhail Kravets’ roster at the time. In his first three games of the season, Yakupov picked up 4 (4+0) points and was named top forward of the opening week of the campaign.

“YOU CAN HAVE PAINFUL UPS AND DOWNS. IT’S IMPORTANT IN THOSE MOMENTS TO KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND.”

— On your Telegram channel you reposted a graphic of the leading goalscorers with the caption “Unexpected trio”. Did you not expect to make such a good start?
— I’ve never hidden that I don’t run my social media by myself, but with the help of a team of writers. Some of it is their work, some of it comes from my ideas. Of course, they send me the posts so I can check that everything’s OK, but not every idea comes from me.

— How did you end up with your own Telegram channel?
— A few years back some of my team-mates and other friends were saying: “You’re charismatic, you could have a page, get some followers if you actively use it!” I understood that to do that would mean I was always sitting on my phone, it would eat up too much time and energy. Plus, I didn’t understand everything. Time passed and later I chatted with Yegor Yakovlev and Grisha Panin, who already had their pages. Eventually, I made up my mind, went back to Panin and he recommended me the people that he works with. Little by little, we got it together. People seem to enjoy it.

— Do you get the feeling that most hockey fans are genuinely happy for you?
— I hear a lot of words of support. Both from people who know me, and people I don’t know. That can’t fail to make me happy. After every game I get a lot of messages. I’m so happy! I can’t respond to them all, but I’m grateful to everyone. I’d like to use this interview to thank everyone from the depth of my soul.

— When did you get the most hate? And how did you deal with that?
— All sorts of things happen in life. I don’t want to look back. I’m interested in the here and now. Where I am, who is with me. I want to keep doing good things for myself, for the people around me, for the team. I’m certainly not looking back. I’m only thinking about today, and a little about tomorrow.

— Suddenly it’s popular for people to talk about the resurrection of Yakupov. Do you feel like you’ve been reborn?
— Not at all. Fortunately, I’ve always had a good emotional state. Most of all, it’s always been stable. Otherwise, you can go up and down painfully. In these moments it’s important not to lose your head, to keep your feet on the ground. The older you get, the more interesting life gets, the more interesting your game gets. Wisdom comes. When you talk with interesting people, it changes your world view. You see a new picture of the world, you start paying attention to details.

— This wisdom doesn’t just come in life, but in hockey?
— Yes, of course there are changes on the ice as well. You work with different coaches, you learn new things because everyone has his own style. If it wasn’t for Mikhail Kravets’ belief in me, the support of my team-mates, I wouldn’t be able to make my contribution. One person does his job, another has a different role. It turned out well, we came together in the right place at the right time.

“ONCE DATSYUK GAVE ME A HARD TIME. HE JUST YELLED!”

— Tyler Graovac is one of your line-mates at Kunlun. On other teams, he’s been a pretty straightforward center, absolutely not a Datsyuk, with whom you played at SKA. How does he help you?
— We started talking more to each other. I’ve no problems with communication, but it still takes time. Gradually, as a line, the guys started talking more. Tyler will show me something, I’ll say something to him. It’s hard to play in silence. Graovac is a really good guy. He’s always fun, joking. On the ice he can play smart. I like how he looks for me, tells me to take the initiative, pushes me.

— Your most productive season brought 23 goals for SKA when you played with Datsyuk. Since then, have you been looking for a new Datsyuk?
— No, I’m not looking. I take what comes from above. It’s not for me to choose my linemates. You have to be ready for any situation, any combination. I’m happy with what we have right now. I couldn’t ask for better. I certainly have no complaints.

— Was playing with Datsyuk a gift from above?
— I didn’t fully understand it back then. The strange thing was that Nikita Gusev, who also played on that line, was even more talkative. Sometimes it even surprised me how Gusev would speak, and Pavel would sit and nod his head. Later, I understood that Nikita was trying to teach me the right things. Although I also remember one time when Datsyuk had a real go at me!

— About work?
— Yes, of course. I went to him, I wanted to ask how things were, how practice went. And he just yelled at me! Like, what kind of crap was that yesterday? From his expression and his words he made it clear that I wasn’t doing the right things. Of course, you have to take what someone like that says seriously. I thought about it for a long time and tried not to make the same mistakes in the next game. In the end, after that game, Datsyuk came over and shook my hand.

— Did Datsyuk analyse the games with you?
— he would always tell me where to stand, where it was better not to go. One time on the plane Gusev came and called me to the last rows. Pavel was sitting there. Nikita had a computer in his hands and we started reviewing the game. That was a shock. But then we started watching our shifts on every flight. Sometimes I was embarrassed [laughs]. They didn’t say much, but there might be this look of “where are you going?”

— The shot with which you scored on Admiral was timed at 137 km/hour. Have you been working on that, or is it a natural gift?
— I take a bit better care of my sticks at practice [laughs]. I’ve worked on this a lot since my childhood. From 16 to 18 years I did a lot of work on my shooting. And I got results. After that I kept going, but not all the time. It doesn’t always work out, especially when you’re recovering from injuries. If it’s a gift, then it’s there and it won’t go away. But you can’t have your head in the clouds and assume things will always be like this.

— In summer you trained in Kazan with a group of players, including Andrei Svechnikov. What can you say about him? It seems that he’s a bit underrated in his homeland, he’s not so well known.
— Andrei’s a really humble guy. Maybe he’s underrated because he doesn’t have his own socials? [laughs]. He’s physically very well developed, a real machine! Before he was a man with a child’s face, but now he’s a real man. It’s so interesting to train with him. He has everything to be great: his mind, his speed, his strength. And what a shot! I was surprised how short his stick was. Playing with us, Andryukha sometimes got excited. That’s when I understood how had gets 100 penalty minutes in a season [laughs].

— It seems like you had a serious team there?
— Sharipzyanov, Tkachyov from Chelyabinsk, Kulikov, Khokhryakov, Burmistrov. The highlight was after practice, when we would play half an hour of five-on-five. At times, that really came to the boil. No fighting, but the pace was crazy. Often in the summer I would lose, but I’d be back next time thirsty for revenge.

“YOU FEEL EMOTIONS IN FAMILY LIFE, OR WHEN YOU FIRST SEE A VOLCANO, BUT NOTHING CAN REPLACE HOCKEY EMOTIONS.”

— It seems that Mikhail Kravets has a strong influence on you. What levers does he pull?
— First and foremost, we have a respectful relationship. I’m grateful that Mikhail Grigorevich gives me time and chances. Now we’ve started talking a bit more. Not a lot, but it’s to the point. I can’t tell you any kind of supernatural secret. We have a normal working environment.

— Since Kravets knew you at Avangard, it would be logical to assume that he wanted you here. Is that how it happened?
— That’s a question for him. I don’t know the details of that trade.

— Why did you leave you hometown team, Neftekhimik?
— I spoke about this in another interview. In short, they didn’t keep me.

— Kravets left Avangard during the playoffs. Your home team didn’t sign you up. Could we say that both you and your coach have a point prove?
— Everyone has his own motivation in life. Everything we do is for some reason or some person. I had the motivation to play hockey again because I feel strong. I like this game, i enjoy everything about it. Doubtless Mikhail has his own motivations: to coach, to win, to be part of the hockey world. And it’s not just the hockey itself that I enjoy. Hockey is an interesting society: travel, constant communication. Sooner or later it will come to an end and you can’t experience those emotions anywhere else. Of course there are other emotions: from family life, or the first time you see a volcano, but nothing can replace hockey emotions.

— What was the last thing that really excited you, apart from hockey?
— Footbal! On Tuesdays and Thursday we play with the guys from “Trudovye Reservy” [a lower league team in the Moscow championship] and it feels like we’re at the Camp Nou! When I was in Barcelona, I was just stunned when I saw the famous stadium. I stood there with my mouth open. I am happy when I get to see my nephews and we play together. There are lots of happy moments. Not long ago we went into the countryside to visit some relatives. I spent the night there, which I hadn’t done since I was a child. It was fun to be together with people who are enjoying themselves, even if their house is lopsided and they are older than my dad. When you talk with older people, it makes you think. They are happy if their chicken laid some eggs, if there are berries to pick. Meanwhile, you’re living in the city, driving around in a car, everything is arranged for you. But at the same time you have a face like thunder. You start comparing where you are, where they are.

— Natural psychotherapy?
— That’s how I think of it now. I didn’t go to the countryside to make comparisons, but to visit people who knew me when I was a baby. I really enjoyed being with them. To be happy, you should go where you want at that moment.

“THERE’S ANALYSIS, THERE’S SHOUTING. WE DON’T HAVE ANY TIME-WASTERS ON THE TEAM.”

— Alexei Makeyev reckons that when 30% of the team are imports and they speak English in the locker room, it’s not normal. But you seem comfortable in that environment?
— Maybe Alexei doesn’t speak much English. I can’t speak for him, but I know English and I’m absolultely comfortable in English. Also, our league is called “Kontinental”. Not Russian, Kontinental. I play near Moscow, but for a Chinese team. It’s fine for me! On the other hand, if someone told me that I would be playing in my native country, in one of the greatest cities on Earth, but for a foreign team that might be based in Russia but has its roots in China, I would never believe it. It’s an incredible mix.

— With 20+ North Americans, they will have their own humor, their own habits. Is there anything in common with what you saw in the NHL?
— They’re different! But I was already prepared for that, it’s no surprise. They’re good guys, fun, always joking. It seems to me that North Americans are in a good mood more often than Russians. Maybe at Kunlun it’s because there are a lot of them on the team and nobody has time to get bored. Somewhere they’re on a wave of their own, playing out a fantasy. I don’t really understand that.

— It often felt like Kunlun’s imports were here for the ride, just goofing around. Does it feel like that has changed?
— Based on what I’m seeing in the locker room now, everyone is taking it seriously. There’s analysis, there’s shouting, there’s frustration if someone isn’t putting the work in. Everyone is as focussed as possible, from the goalie coach to the videographer. We have a system that gets results and every players has bought into it. We need to change the losing mentality within our game. Sometimes we need to be calm, conservative, and focus on the team result. Over time, the guys who were on the team before will understand that they need to play tighter than they did before. As for attitude to the job, we don’t have any time-wasters here.

— Nail Yakupov is probably the best-known player at Kunlun. But who else should we be looking out for?
— Oh, what a question! Let’s talk about Kostya Volkov. A big goalie, huge paws – he surprised me. We’ve spent a lot of time together, getting in before everyone else and chatting. It was fun getting to know him, and then Yury Pautov arrived.

— Would you move to China if and when Kunlun goes back there?
— No. With all respect to that country, to the guys and the club management. I don’t want to move so far away. That goes for the Far East too.

— Is there anything exotic about Kunlun’s life in Moscow Region?
— Not really, apart from names like Foo and Wong on the roster. They don’t feed us Chinese food.

— On your messenger status you wrote: Without belief in yourself and in love, you will not believe. How is your self belief at the moment?
— That’s a very personal quesion. I’ve always been a believer. Now I’m just grateful for where I am now. I’m grateful for the opportunity to drive a nice car, eat good food, to train and to be in touch with my loved ones.

— Do you knock on wood at every opportunity?
— No. I’m not superstitious. I’m driven by something slightly different.