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Fans of exiled winger Nail Yakupov said the Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t know what they had until it was gone.

Well, the St. Louis Blues just got him and they don’t know, either.

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Ken Hitchcock is as smart a mind as there is in the game and while he likes the kid’s passion and work ethic, he says it will be a long time before he figures out exactly they traded for.

“What is he? Is he a top three? Or is he a top nine?” said the St. Louis head coach after practice in Edmonton Wednesday. “It’s going to take a whole year to figure that one out.

“Is he a top nine forward in the league? Yes. For sure. Can he be a top three? I don’t know that yet and that’s going to take a long time.”

He will be in the top six Thursday when he returns to Edmonton to take on the Oilers, skating on the second line with Robby Fabbri and Paul Stastny.

“I feel great, I’m really excited to be back,” said Yakupov, who’s only been gone a few weeks since being traded for a third-round draft pick, but is already enjoying the reunion. “I was here for a long time. I’m looking forward to playing my old team in this building.”