Edmonton picks 22nd overall in this year’s entry draft, a stark departure from being the top five darlings we’ve become accustomed to over the past bajillion years. It’s a little different, as the club has to focus more on not just picking the best available player in the entire draft.
There’ll no doubt be a healthy list of forwards. Maybe defenceman Cal Foote is there and jumps off the board at the Oilers, maybe it’s a scoring forward like Kailer Yamamoto. Wacky things happen at the draft, like Columbus taking Pierre-Luc Dubois at third overall to leave Jesse Puljujarvi for the Oilers.
The Oilers pick 22nd in the first round. Barring a trade, they’ll wait until 82nd overall to pick again in the third round. It would behoove Peter Chiarelli to find a way to get a pick somewhere in between those two numbers. Sixty picks is forever, especially when you’re waiting to use the pick that you received in exchange for Nail Yakupov.
Maybe the Oilers can get back into the second round. Maybe they can do it and still have a first round pick in their arsenal. Maybe the Oilers can trade their first round pick for a later first round pick and a second rounder. The club would pick later in round one, but the next pick wouldn’t be so far away.
To begin, we’ll find the teams who pick after the Oilers in round one.
- Arizona (23rd)
- Columbus (24th)
- Montréal (25th)
- Chicago (26th)
- St. Louis (27th)
- Ottawa (28th)
- Dallas (29th, via trade)
- Nashville / Pittsburgh (30th/31st)
Let’s now find where these teams pick in round two:
- Arizona (35th)
- Columbus (no second round picks)
- Montréal (56th, 58th)
- Chicago (57th)
- St. Louis (51st)
- Ottawa (47th)
- Dallas (39th)
- Nashville / Pittsburgh (61st-62nd)
Montreal looks to be an attractive trading partner as they’ve got two second round picks. If Edmonton kicks tires with the Habs, it’ll no doubt be minutes before Edmonton’s pick on draft day. If Edmonton wants to throw one of their third rounders in to sweeten the pot, that could also work. Something like Edmonton’s 22nd overall for Montreal’s 25th and one of those two second rounders could be a thing but the Oilers would probably have to part with 82 or 84th overall along the way.
WHY WOULD EDMONTON WANT TO DO THIS? 22ND IS A GOOD NUMBER!
Like I said 400 words ago, 22nd is also a little bit of new territory for the Oilers to pick when put next to the last decade. But, there really isn’t too much difference between 22nd and 25th. Or, 22nd and 28th. In other words, you’re probably giving up way more in the quality department from a 2-8 drop than you are in a 22-28 drop. If the club can sacrifice minimal chance at success while picking up a chance to pick in the second round, it’d be a worthy avenue to explore.
If the Oilers get the chance to make a deal where they get to stay in the first round while acquiring a second round pick, they’d be wise to take advantage.