Edmonton  /ˈɛdməntən/ is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, Canada. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.

The city and its census metropolitan area had populations of 812,201 and 1,159,869 as of the 2011 Census respectively, making it Alberta's second-largest city, Canada's fifth-largest municipality and Canada's sixth-largest metropolitan area by population. Edmonton is the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.

The majority of Edmonton's metropolitan population lives within the City of Edmonton rather than in the surrounding suburban municipalities. Historically, Edmonton was surrounded by few other urban municipalities (Strathcona, Beverly and Jasper Place being the largest) but these were absorbed through amalgamation or annexation. Edmonton annexed a significant amount of land up until the early 1980s, and as a result it has sustained much of the region's suburban growth within its own boundaries.

Ryan Alexander Gordon Smyth (born February 21, 1976) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who currently plays for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is especially known for playing in the style of a power forward.

During his junior career, Ryan Smyth spent three years with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL), scoring 105 points during the 1993-94 season. Smyth was then selected 6th overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. That year he played only three games for the Oilers, as he stayed for the majority of the year in Moose Jaw. He spent 12 seasons with Edmonton before being traded to the New York Islanders in 2007 due to failed contract negotiations. Becoming an unrestricted free agent in the subsequent off-season, he signed a five-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche. After two seasons with the team, he was traded to the Kings in July 2009. On June 26, 2011, he was re-acquired by the Edmonton Oilers for Colin Fraser and a 7th Round pick in 2012

Mark C. Fayne (born May 15, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the 5th round (155th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Fayne attended Providence College where he played four seasons (2006–10) of Hockey East college hockey. Before Providence College, he played hockey for the prestigious Noble and Greenough School under the coaching of Brian Day along with fellow classmate Mike Griffin.

Turning profession for the 2010–11 season, Fayne had played only 16 games for the Devils' AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils, before being receiving an emergency call-up to the NHL on November 22, 2010. He scored his first NHL goal in his 10th game on December 15, 2010 against Ilya Bryzgalov of the Phoenix Coyotes.^{[citation needed]}

Nail Railovich Yakupov (Russian: Наиль Раилович Якупов, Tatar Cyrillic: Наил Раил улы Якупов, Latin: Nail Rail uli Yakupov; born October 6, 1993) is a Russian junior ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Besides being the consensus early favourite for top pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Yakupov, a Tatar, and a Muslim also represents the first potential breakout hockey star from the Republic of Tatarstan (though there have been other NHLers from this region), a federal subject of the Russian Federation, located 500 miles east of Moscow.

Yakupov was selected second overall by the Sarnia Sting in the 2010 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft. Prior to this, he played in the Russian Minor Hockey League (MHL) for his hometown team, the Reaktor Nizhnekamsk, but thought that trying to join the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) would be a quicker path to his dream to play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Yakupov scored his first OHL goal against the Windsor Spitfires on September 24, 2010. After winning OHL Rookie of the Month for the month of October, Yakupov participated in the November 11 game of the Subway Super Series for Team Russia, at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario; Russia lost the game 4-0.