The 2023 NHL Draft is about to enter Day 2 and the Edmonton Oilers have yet to pick a player. Their first pick will come in the second-round at number 56. However, this club is definitely familiar with picking in the first round and even more so first overall. Although not all their picks have come into fruition or gone on to excel with other teams/leagues, let’s take a look at which teams have contributed to the Oilers’ roster through their draftees.
Drafted Oilers roster players
There are currently 15 players on the roster that were drafted by the Oilers:
| Player | Draft Year | Round | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 2011 | 1st | 1 |
| Darnell Nurse | 2013 | 1st | 7 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 2014 | 1st | 3 |
| Connor McDavid | 2015 | 1st | 1 |
| Markus Niemelainen | 2016 | 3rd | 63 |
| Vincent Desharnais | 2016 | 7th | 183 |
| Kailer Yamamoto | 2017 | 1st | 22 |
| Stuart Skinner | 2017 | 3rd | 78 |
| Philip Kemp | 2017 | 7th | 208 |
| Evan Bouchard | 2018 | 1st | 10 |
| Ryan McLeod | 2018 | 2nd | 40 |
| Olivier Rodrigue | 2018 | 2nd | 62 |
| Philip Broberg | 2019 | 1st | 8 |
| Raphael Lavoie | 2019 | 2nd | 38 |
| Dylan Holloway | 2020 | 1st | 14 |
Oilers have two current 1OA
The Oilers have been blessed with a plethora of first-round picks but not many have remained on the roster. Currently, there are two first overall picks that both play crucial roles for the team.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the longest tenured Oiler, was drafted in 2011 by the Oilers. He had his best year yet in the 2022–23 season with 104 points, 37 goals and 67 assists, and played an integral role on the Oilers historical best powerplay. Nuge is currently signed until the 2028–29 season with a NMC, likely to finish his career in Edmonton.
How can we talk about first overall without mentioning a generational talent? Connor McDavid was drafted in 2015 and signed an eight-year contract in 2018 with then GM Peter Chiarelli. McDavid continues to improve as each year goes on, breaking more and more NHL records as the seasons go by. He finished the 2022–23 season with 153 points (64 goals and 89 assists), earning him his third Hart, fourth Ted Lindsay, fifth Art Ross, and first Rocket Richard Trophy.
Where are the other 1OAs?
Within recent history, the Oilers also drafted two more first overall picks who have been long gone.
Taylor Hall was first overall in the 2010 draft. Hall spent six seasons in Edmonton before moving onto the New Jersey Devils, a quick stint in Arizona and Buffalo, three seasons with the Boston Bruins, and now onto the Chicago Blackhawks with fellow 1OA Connor Bedard.
Not long after, the Oilers drafted Nail Yakupov in 2012. Yakupov played four seasons with the Oilers, never breaking the 34-point mark on any of his seasons, before being traded in 2016 to the St. Louis Blues and then signing to SKA in 2018.
Oilers slew of first-round top ten picks
There are a total of seven players who made top ten cut of their draft year on the roster. This includes RNH, McDavid, Evander Kane (more on him later), and four other players all drafted by Edmonton.
The most recent being Philip Broberg drafted eighth overall in 2019. Broberg is still fairly a rookie as he hasn’t been able to see much ice time and usually the seventh defenceman on the roster.
In 2018, Evan Bouchard was drafted tenth overall. The defenceman had his breakout season this year after the acquisition of Mattias Ekholm and his subsequent promotion to the top powerplay unit.
The other defenceman who was drafted seventh overall is Darnell Nurse in 2013. Dubbed the Oilers top defenceman, eating the most ice time of anyone on his team and controversially overpaid, he plays an integral role on the team.
Last but definitely not least is Leon Draisaitl. The German forward was drafted third overall, a year before McDavid and has gone on to receive many accolades. This season, he joined McDavid once again at the NHL All-Star game, and had the highest number of playoff goals this season, only making it to two rounds in the playoffs.
The other non-Oilers draftees
Well after Edmonton, no other team even comes close to the number of draftees.
| Player | Draft Year | Team | Round | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Malone | 2007 | COL | 4th | 105 |
| Evander Kane | 2009 | ATL | 1st | 4 |
| Mattias Ekholm | 2009 | NSH | 4th | 102 |
| Calvin Pickard | 2010 | COL | 2nd | 49 |
| Jack Campbell | 2010 | DAL | 1st | 11 |
| Nick Bjugstad | 2010 | FLA | 1st | 19 |
| Zach Hyman | 2010 | FLA | 5th | 123 |
| Brett Kulak | 2012 | CGY | 4th | 105 |
| Cody Ceci | 2012 | OTT | 1st | 15 |
| Mattias Janmark | 2013 | DET | 3rd | 79 |
| Warren Foegele | 2014 | CAR | 3rd | 67 |
| Cam Dineen | 2016 | ARI | 3rd | 68 |
| Klim Kostin | 2017 | STL | 1st | 31 |
Dallas, Florida, and Colorado are all tied with two players drafted by each team. The remaining teams include New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, and funnily enough the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Thrashers drafted Evander Kane fourth overall in 2009. Kane made a controversial splash when he joined the Oilers and was only able to produce 16 goals and 12 assists in his 2022–23 season due to his scary wrist injury followed by an upper body injury.
This leaves two players who were undrafted, James Hamblin and Derek Ryan. Hamblin only played ten NHL games last season and spent most of his time with the Bakersfield Condors. Ryan has played a crucial role on the bottom six and just signed a two-year contract.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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