An Edmonton Oilers Draft Simulation

With the Stanley Cup playoffs now over, there is one more hurdle before the NHL gets to its free agency period. The NHL Entry Draft is coming up quickly in Nashville and that is very the silliness begins.

Could the Edmonton Oilers be active on draft day? It feels like they are likely to be actively trading down to recoup more picks than acquiring high-end players. However, you never know, last season not many would have expected Kirby Dach to become a Montreal Canadian.

Either way, if the Oilers don’t do anything we know they pick at 56 in round two.

Over the past month, we have been giving our predictions on who the Oilers could take with that pick. Today, we went through a mock draft simulation over on FC Hockey and have five spins here is what is predicted for the Oilers at 56.

The only rule made for this sim was that the highest-ranked player available was the one selected.

Carson Rehkopf has the mould of a Ken Holland player standing at 6’2″ and 194 lbs. Draft experts have described Rehkopf’s shot as “NHL-like” after he fired home 30 for the Kitchener Rangers last season. He projects to be a potential 2nd line winger someday, but if that doesn’t work out then you have a bottom-six forward that can add depth scoring.

Caden Price is a player we have liked here at Oilersnation. You can read more about him by clicking here. For now, here is what Steven Ellis from Daily Faceoff had to say about him:

Gracyn Sawchyn is someone that has risen up the draft rankings as of late. He played on a stacked Seattle Thunderbirds team that won the WHL championship but fell just short of Memorial Cup glory. Despite being on a team with ten NHL draft picks, Sawchyn found ways to shine becoming a point-per-game player in his rookie season. Considering he knows how to produce with high-end talent, perhaps Sawchyn is the guy for the Edmonton Oilers.

Andrew Strathmann is a left-shot defenceman that played for the Youngstown Phantoms, the USHL champions, this past season. He finished with 38 points (3 goals, 35 assists) in 56 games for the Phantoms and is committed to the University of North Dakota. By all accounts, Strathmann needs more time to develop in the USHL before taking the step to college and then the NHL. Oilers draft pick Shane LaChance played for the Phantoms this season too so there’s a good chance Edmonton has watched Strathmann play fairly often.

The only man to appear twice was Caden Price. Could this be a sign?!

There you have it!

Despite not picking in the first round, Ken Holland and his scouting staff will have some good options available at 56th overall. It won’t be somebody we see join the NHL roster next season; however, in a few years, perhaps the Oilers will have another Ryan McLeod on their hands.

Another thing watched for in this exercise was where Matevi Michkov landed. The Russian forward only fell to San Jose at four in three of the mock drafts and went to Anaheim at two twice. Of course, Michkov won’t sniff the Oilers at 56, but he is the most intriguing player to watch in this class.

The draft gets started in Nashville on June 28th and who knows, maybe we will see some Oilers activity on that day. Until then, we can continue to speculate on who they select at pick 56. If you were Holland, who would you be taking with the 56th selection?