Though much can change over the course of the NHL Draft, I’ve put together a quick list of the current picks and positions where the Oilers will be at heading into this weekend. I’ve also thrown together a little bit of Draft history of people that the Oilers have been selected in those spots before. No, none of these past picks are in any way related to what’s going down in Dallas this weekend, but I thought it was interesting anyway so I wanted to give you guys a little information while also hooking you up with a free history lesson. Enjoy.

Round 1:

• 10th overall

  • Carolina lept over the Oilers at the NHL Draft Lottery (went from 12th to 2nd overall), dropping Edmonton down a spot in the order.

The last time the Oilers drafted at 10th overall was when they picked Magnus Paajarvi back in 2009. Paajarvi played in 163 games with the Oilers, scoring 26 goals and 32 assists for 58 points before being traded to the Blues. He was flipped to the St. Louis Blues along with a second round in return for David Perron in July of 2013.

Round 2:

• 40th overall

The Oilers most recently drafted at 40th overall when they selected future captain Anton Lander in the second round of the 2009 Draft. In 215 games played with the Oilers, Lander scored 10 goals and 25 assists before taking his talents to South Beach Russia.

Back in 1983, the Oilers chose Mike Golden with the 40th overall pick but he was never able to crack the roster, spending most of his time in the International Hockey League before retiring in 1991. I don’t know what kind of player Mike Golden was but he has a great name. Perfect for a wedding singer, imo.

Round 3:

• 71st overall

The Oilers have had the 71 slot in the Draft twice in their history, most recently in 2009 when they chose Troy Hakseth. Before that, we have to go all the way back to 1981 when the Oilers used their 71st overall pick to draft right-winger Paul Houck. Neither player suited up for the Oilers after being drafted by the team, though Houck did play 16 games with the Minnesota North Stars after being traded for Gilles Meloche on May 31st, 1985.

Round 4:

• 102nd overall pick traded to Montreal Canadiens for Al Montoya

  • The conditional 5th round pick became a 4th round pick when Al Montoya played seven+ regular season games during the 2017-18 season. Montoya played more than 30 minutes in seven regular season games, which turned Edmonton’s 5th round pick into a 4th round pick for Montreal.

Round 5:

• 133rd overall

Apparently, as compared to the other pick positions on this list, the Oilers have been drawn to the 133rd overall slot like a moth to a flame. They’ve sat in this seat four times in their history, selecting Olivier Roy, Phillipe Cornet, Bryan Pitton, and Jussi Markkanen.

Most recently, the Oilers drafted goaltender Olivier Roy in the 2009 Draft with the 133rd pick that was acquired in the Kyle Brodziak trade with the Minnesota Wild. Roy never played a game for the Oilers (or in the NHL for that matter) and was traded to the Calgary Flames along with Ladislav Smid in exchange for Roman Horak and Laurent Brossoit in 2013.

In 2008, the Oilers drafted defenceman, Phillipe Cornet, with the 133rd pick after the left-winger put up 49 points in 61 QMJHL games. Cornet played in two NHL games with the Oilers in the 2011-12 season but never managed to get himself back to the show again. From what I can find on the Internetz, Cornet retired from hockey after the 2016-17 season.

Goaltender, Bryan Pitton, was selected in the fifth-round pick back in 2006 after the Oilers acquired that pick from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Alexei Semenov. Pitton spent the majority of his career playing in the ECHL before retiring after the 2016-17 season, and never got the opportunity to play in the NHL.

Back in 2001, the Oilers did do well with their fifth-round selection after they chose goaltender Jussi Markannen with the 133rd overall pick. Markannen played in 102 games for the Oilers, including taking over for Dwayne Roloson during the 2006 Cup run and getting them back into a series where they were down 3-1. The Juice only played another season with the Oilers after that magical run before taking his talents overseas where he was still playing as recently as last year. Moral of the story? Sometimes the juice is worth the squeeze when it comes to these late round picks. See what I did there? *rimshot*

Round 6:

• 164th overall

Back in 1990, the Oilers drafted Czech winger Roman Mejzlik with the 164th overall pick though they never got to see him in the blue and orange. Mejzlik never played any games with the Oilers but did put together a healthy career in the Czech League and German League before retiring in 2001.

Round 7:

• 195th overall

The Oilers have only picked in the 195th overall slot once before but they absolutely nailed their pick by choosing local product, Fernando Pisani. In 402 regular season games played with the Oilers, Pisani amassed 80 goals and 73 assists for 153 points but where he really shone was in the 2006 Stanley Cup run when he was the ultimate clutch performer, scoring 14 goals and four assists in 24 games. Pisani was huge for the Oilers and always seemed to come up with a goal when they needed one. Not only was he money when it counted most, Pisani scored one of the most iconic goals in Oilers history as he became the only player in NHL history to score a shorthanded OT winner in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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