| 10 |
In their 32-year draft history, the Edmonton Oilers have made 38 first-round selections. Of those 38 first-round picks, 10 of them have been defensemen, including five of their first six picks from 1979 through 1984, interrupted only by Grant Fuhr in 1981. Those ten selections are listed in the table below:
| Draft Year | Overall # | Player | GP |
| 1979 | 21 | Kevin Lowe | 1254 |
| 1980 | 6 | Paul Coffey | 1409 |
| 1982 | 20 | Jim Playfair | 21 |
| 1983 | 19 | Jeff Beukeboom | 804 |
| 1984 | 21 | Selmar Odelein | 18 |
| 1988 | 19 | Francois Leroux | 249 |
| 1989 | 15 | Jason Soules | 0 |
| 1993 | 16 | Nick Stajduhar | 2 |
| 1996 | 19 | Matthieu Descoteaux | 5 |
| 2007 | 15 | Alex Plante | 7 |
Of those ten selections, only three became legitimate NHL players - Kevin Lowe, Paul Coffey and Jeff Beukeboom, though including Beukeboom on a list with Lowe and Coffey seems strange.
During that same period, the Oilers selected 26 forwards and if we include Andrew Cogliano, Sam Gagner, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi, and Taylor Hall, 10 of those forwards have become legitimate NHL players. Of those 26 forwards, 11 of them were centers.