I feel that the Oilers are unfairly criticized for their drafting

[aemoreira1981]

Given the parameters set by the OP (first-round drafting)...one might say that the Oilers had to take a center in 2011 (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, while Gabriel Landeskog, who is of much heavier build, was also a potential #1), but Nuge hasn't really shown himself to be worthy of the pick (and may end up falling to the third line because of Leon Draisaitl). I don't blame the Oilers for taking Taylor Hall (career 0.85 ppg to date), because while he was traded for Adam Larsson, Larsson was thought to have comparisons to Sami Salo at the draft (it figures that he will end up like Marc Edouard Vlasic, who while still a great defender, isn't going to be a PP quarterback).

So now, I'll go with the rest of the 1st-rounders since 2005 up to 2015:

2005 (25): Andrew Cogliano---good third-liner, strong defensive forward, not a point producer, but he fits in his role perfectly. Traded in 2013 to Anaheim for a second round pick (Marc-Olivier Roy) who did not sign, still with Anaheim.
2006: Pick traded for Dwayne Roloson
2007 (6): Sam Gagner---probably rushed to the NHL and needed more time to develop, but has carved out a decent NHL career. Traded in a 3-way trade at the 2014 NHL draft for Teddy Purcell, currently with Columbus.
2007 (15): Alex Plante---in a weak year, he flamed out quickly, playing just 10 NHL games. Currently in the Asia League.
2007 (21): Riley Nash---took a while to develop. While in college, his rights were traded to Carolina for Martin Marincin, where he carved out a role as a third liner. Currently with Boston.
2008 (22) Jordan Eberle---currently wearing a letter on his sweater---need I say more?
2009 (10) Magnus Paajarvi-Svenson---drafted where expected, but not an NHL fit at all, bouncing between Edmonton and Oklahoma City. Traded in 2013 for David Perron...currently in the Blues' organization in the AHL. I expect that he will be in Europe after this season.
2010 (1) Taylor Hall---strong offensive play in his six seasons. Traded in 2016 to New Jersey for Adam Larsson to acquire badly-needed blueline help.
2011 (1) Ryan Nugent Hopkins---a bit undersized, but the Oilers needed a center and thus couldn't take Gabriel Landeskog of a heavier build.
2011 (19) Oscar Klefbom---this will be the year a lot gets known about him now that he has a defensive D-man as his partner in Larsson.
2012 (1) Nail Yakupov---this is the pick I hate the most. The Oilers needed defensemen at the time rather than another forward. The Oilers should have traded down.
2013 (7) Darnell Nurse---he may have been rushed to the NHL, but appears to be finally figuring it out...this year and next will be critical for him. Still just 21.
2014 (3) Leon Draisatl---he may make Ryan Nugent-Hopkins expendable after this year
2015 (1) Connor McDavid---great when healthy, but can he stay healthy?

In short, the only players with whom I really have a problem are Nail Yakupov and maybe Nuge (although Nuge was a pick out of need---however, you never want to draft based on need).

Now, going beyond Round 1, the Oilers have one player they drafted who is a regular (Tyler Pitlick), one who should be when healthy (Brandon Davidson) and one who is a frequent healthy scratch (Anton Slepyshev).

 

[Mr Positive]

You could also point to players we drafted but dont have anymore. Petry, Dubnyk, Cogliano, VandeVelde, Reider. I think Gagner is doing well now.

 

[leaflover]

I've seen the Oilers developmental system questioned quite often and they're drafting outside the 1st round a little less often. Not so much with the high 1st round picks though. Short of going off the board the players they picked high were totally understandable, the top ends of those draft classes just weren't that great to begin with.

 

[dubey]

Oilers draft like HFboards would draft if the site as a collective ran a hockey team

Similar to the NY Islanders

 

[Mobiandi]

What about non-first round picks? For a long time, (just like my Flames), they had very little success from prospects taken outside the 1st.

The only drafting success we've ever had since the lockout has been from outside the first round.

 

[A91]

What's sad is that even when the Oilers DO get lucky and develop an NHL talent drafted outside the 1st round, management still manages to screw it up.
- Petry, Rieder, Dubnyk

 

[aufheben]

Doesn't a lot of their drafting criticism come from the rounds AFTER the 1st?

How bout the rest of their drafts?

This.

 

[Street Hawk]

Lets start off by saying I am NOT talking about the poor drafting after the first round. This thread is specifically about their first rounders over the last several years. I will also not include any picks from McDavid - present as it defeats the purpose of this thread.

So it seems to be a common theme in the hockey world whenever the Oilers got a draft pick it was "Another forward? When are they going to take a defensemen??". Yes the most common thing we here "You always take the BPA regardless of need".

I want to make the argument that in theory, their drafting choices were fine, because had their picks developed as they planned, their current situation would be a lot different.

I started thinking about this with the Leafs. A young team, lots of young forwards and forward depth, lacking high end D. They do not look to be in a spot to draft a top D in the first few picks yet barring a lottery win. If you are the GM, if you do not feel there are any D better than the forwards, does it not make sense to take another forward and hope to move them later?

So lets look at how these guys were viewed.

Hall was going to be a top of the league winger.
RNH was looked to be a #1 C
Yakupov was looked at to be a 35 goal scoring winger in the mold of an Ovi-lite.
They then took a D in Nurse when they felt the potential was there
Draisatl had far more potential than the next projected D in Fleury and looked like a top C.

I don't feel that there were any different draft moves they could have made here aside from these picks. Sure, an argument can be made that development caused them to not reach their potential, but to say they drafted wrong like it seems to be as common " You will be the next Oilers" is unjustified.

Had these picks hit their projections, not only would they be a better team, but they would also have gotten a better return for D than Larsson for Hall (Not trying to open this can of worms, but it was rumored a Jones for RNH was rumored, which was turned down by the preds.)

So I question those of you critical of their drafting strategy, what more could they have done? At the times, they made all the appropriate picks, they did everything right. Why is there a seemingly double standard towards them for drafting mostly forwards with high picks vs other teams who do not get this treatment?

Does anyone believe if they reached for D, they would have been better? No one will trade a young top pairing potential D for a draft pick. So it's not like they could have moved the pick for a player who fit their rebuild.

Please keep in mind hindsight is not helpful in saying they should have drafted someone else. I believe they took the consensus guy each and every year.

If we are only going to to the 2010 draft, then here is my assessment of the oilers.

2010 - the hype machine surrounding Taylor vs Tyler, was also known as the fall for Hall. So, that made it harder for the oilers to select seguin. Both players had similar builds and size. Both were skilled. One a center one a winger. Almost equal like ovechkin vs Malkin was almost equal. Can understand the selection of Hall, but hockey values centers and defense over wingers.

2011 - rnh, this one was a pick em draft. Landeskog, hubudeau, Larsson were in the mix. Rnh was logical since they took a winger in hall, thus need a center. If they opted for seguin the prior year then they open themselves up to taking landeskog who would have complimented seguin.

2012 - yak, well, given how horrendous the oilers backend and overall defensive play was, dropping in a winger who wasn't known for decent defensive zone coverage was going to be a nightmare. Yak had talent, but he needed structure early in his career. Too late for him now imo. Galchenyuk was a legit option since he played some.center, as was Murray.

2013 - no issues with nurse. Ristolinen has some issues too.

2014 - Leon was the bpa at the time. Couldn't draft Bennett, another smaller non physical forward.

It's really the three first overall years that are in question. Legitimately could have taken seguin since he was a center. Would have taken stones to pass on the fall for Hall. That would have changed how they viewed the 2011 draft and where rnh, fit into the roster. 2012, yak was never going to survive the hot mess in Edmonton. Hes a scorer and views that as his only way to help the team.

 

[aemoreira1981]

What's sad is that even when the Oilers DO get lucky and develop an NHL talent drafted outside the 1st round, management still manages to screw it up.
- Petry, Rieder, Dubnyk

Dubnyk was in the 1st. Davidson and Pitlick are on the roster now.

 

[Mats13]

I notice the criticism is more of what they do after round 1. Which is a whole lot of nothing.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

To each his own. I for one would rather have:

Bennett-McDavid-X
Landeskog-Seguin-Puljujarvi

Rielly-Ristolainen

 

[DJJones]

Do Oilers get much **** for their drafting in the first round besides Yakupov?

RNH may be regrettable now but it was the correct choice at the time.

It's their drafting after the 1st round that is rightfully criticized.

 

[DJJones]

To each his own. I for one would rather have:

Bennett-McDavid-X
Landeskog-Seguin-Puljujarvi

Rielly-Ristolainen

In hindsight maybe.

Rielly - 5th
Ristolainen - 8th

Those would have been major reaches

 

[KaseMeOutside]

then they should be criticized for their player development, also their scouts favored Murray over Yakupov and the owner shut them down so Yakupov was not as good as people thought.

how poorly RNH is playing is ridiculous to me, he looked so good at the WCH and now looks completely out of place

also alot of people thought Seguin should have been the no.1 pick

 

[McRpro]

So much hindsight. We can do this for any team in the league.

The Oilers first round picks have mainly been BPA for years.

And I can guarantee if the Oilers didn't pick Yakupov first this place would have been an Oilers bash fest(moreso than usual).

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

In hindsight maybe.

Rielly - 5th
Ristolainen - 8th

Those would have been major reaches

Ristolainen went 8th, Nurse went 7th. He's not a reach.

If not Rielly, even Murray would have been a better pick than Yakupov.

 

[Menzinger]

It's the Oilers drafting beyond the first round which is really, really horrific. They have an inability to get any impact NHL or is be on there. And what separates good teams from bad teams is the ability to get any trailers throughout the draft not just top 10 picks.

 

[mobilus]

Drafting isn't Edmonton's problem, it's everything. The Oilers are running a textbook photocopy of every flaw the Leafs displayed from the late '70s until a few years ago.

— ineffective scouting or lack of coordination between scouting and team management

— dropping 18 year olds into the league before they're ready (McDavid an accepted aberration). Not only are most 18 year olds not physically ready, they have no experience with the length of schedule combined with being at the bottom of the physical maturity ladder. They have no experience with the scale of the press. They're moving from an amateur team structure based on merit to one where very large amounts of money are in the mix and affect roster decisions. Overseas draft picks are faced with language and culture shock on top of everything else.

— instability with coaching staffs over time

— having a minor league coaching system that's different from their NHL system

— lack of patience with development. How often do you see a player drafted and then kept with your club for ten consecutive years or more?

— trading almost developed players/picks for declining veterans

— an over involved owner


Good luck Edmonton, and I mean that. Having lived through it, I have no desire to see another fan base suffer the same decades of trial and rot. For Toronto it took not only the death of Ballard, but a string of ownership changes until the rot was dealt with. I hope it takes less time for Edmonton to work itself free.

 

[Bank Shot]

Now, going beyond Round 1, the Oilers have one player they drafted who is a regular (Tyler Pitlick), one who should be when healthy (Brandon Davidson) and one who is a frequent healthy scratch (Anton Slepyshev).

Those are the ones on their team.

They also drafted Petry, Vandevelde, Marincin, and Rieder.

Not great but probably better than the Flyers and some others.

 

[McRpro]

dropping 18 year olds into the league before they're ready (McDavid an accepted aberration). Not only are most 18 year olds not physically ready, they have no experience with the length of schedule combined with being at the bottom of the physical maturity ladder. They have no experience with the scale of the press. They're moving from an amateur team structure based on merit to one where very large amounts of money are in the mix and affect roster decisions. Overseas draft picks are faced with language and culture shock on top of everything else.

Which 18 year olds have they rushed? Keep in mind the last first overall forward that didn't make it right away was Modano and that was because of a contract dispute. You wanna argue Gagner? OK, but that's basically it.

 

[Rorschach]

Who criticizes their drafting?

It's their development that gets shot to hell.

This. And deservedly so.

 

[Devils090]

It wasn't the drafting it was the development/coaching

Front office was the worst in sports for awhile there

 

[Fourier]

When it comes to the Oilers' record at the draft table I've been critical of two things:

1) When they get past the first round they haven't drafted enough defensemen and goalies in rounds 2-3. While first round picks usually go BPA those next couple of choices can be used to balance out the positional needs.

2) They're track record past round 1 is terrible and that points to (As someone has already mentioned) scouting, development and leadership issues within the organization.

The Oilers basically blew a rebuild (Perhaps the equivalent of two) at the draft table and deserved all the criticism they received.

I am not sure I agree with the first point. The Oilers have taken a fair number of defensemen in those rounds going back to say 2004.

2004 Roman Tesliuk D @44
2005 Tatlor Chorney D @36 Danny Syvret D @81
2006 Jeff Petry D @45 Theo Peckham D @ 75
2007 No pick in Rounds 2-3 (Though Alex Plante @ #15 with a second first rounder.)
2008 No pick in 2-3 round
2009 Troy Hesketh D @ 71
2010 Martin Marincin D @46 (Also picked Davidson @ 162 and Blain at 91)
2011 Musil at 31 (As well as Klefbom at #19 with a second #1 pick) Traded for Teubert
2012 No d in 2-3 but signed Schultz
2013 No D in 2-3 but drafted Nurse @7
2014 No pick in 2-3 but Lagesson D @ 91
2015 No picks in 2-3 but traded for Reinhart, other picks that year 4D and 1G.

Speaking of which, do Oilers fans get the sense that Eberle and RNH will both be gone soon?

Lucic, Eberle and RNH are all making $6 million. Draisaitl's contract is up this summer, and will probably make $6 million next year. The year after that, McDavid is due for a raise. I don't imagine they could afford to have five $6 million+ forwards.

Lucic isn't going anywhere soon. McDavid and Draisaitl are part of the future core. McDavid will not only make $6 million, but maybe even $10 million. Can the Oilers afford to keep even one of Eberle or RNH? Would they even want to? And that's not even to mention Puljujarvi, who may need a raise one day too.

This would mean that in a couple of years, the entire old core of Eberle, Hall, RNH and Yakupov from 2008-2012 may be completely gone.

Actually they can afford all the $6M players even with pending raises for McDavid and Drasiatl. Part of this is timing and a good part is that their current top 2 defensemen come in at a combined salary of just over $8M.

The offensive drop-off in RNH has been startling and very difficult to explain. It almost seems that in the quest to be a 200 foot player his creativity has gone because he always wants to make the safe play. But he is not alone in this. Coaches these days want player like this. We keep hearing over and over that the NHL is a 3-2 league. But the emphasis is on trying to achieve the 2 gaols against and juts hoping that the 3 gaols for will happen by charging the paint.

 

[aemoreira1981]

Which 18 year olds have they rushed? Keep in mind the last first overall forward that didn't make it right away was Modano and that was because of a contract dispute. You wanna argue Gagner? OK, but that's basically it.

Sam Gagner comes to mind.

 

[MessierII]

The few later picks that did develop all ended up on other teams. Riley Nash, Jeff Petry, Toby Reiner...