Finally, it’s here!

For two months Oiler fans have argued in favour of Taylor or Tyler, and in less than two hours we will finally know who the Oilers will pick first overall. The Oilers know who they are taking, but they’ve done a pretty good job of keeping it quiet.

The sense in LA is that the Oilers will take Hall, but few are willing to stake their reputation on it at this point. I saw Bruins GM, Peter Chiarelli having lunch in the lobby of the JW Marriot at 1 p.m. PST, and he wasn’t sharing a table with Steve Tambellini.

The rumblings about the Oilers and Bruins making some sort of deal that sees Seguin an Oiler and Hall a Bruin continues to float around, but the cost of that deal varies from Blake Wheeler to draft picks to the Oilers needing to swing another deal first to sweeten the pot.

While I would love to see some massive deals transpire that would send Oiler fans into a state of disbelief: Mouths open as Tambellini left the podium walking behind Hall and Seguin, while the cameras panned to bent-over-vomiting-into-a-bucket Brian Burke while simultaneously Wanye, Ender, David S, Jessica, Rubbertrout, Dakin, Archaeologuy, Hemmertime, Cable Guy, Menacer, Quicksilver Ballet, Esa Tikkanen, Homie, Rindog, I;m a Scientist, Baggedmilk, Jeanshorts, Milli, DeepOil, Madjam and the rest of the Nation sit in silence marveling at the brilliance of Tambellini, I just don’t see it happening.

I will update the Nation with quotes and snippets once the draft gets going and let’s hope there are some trades. Until then Nation, enjoy the buildup and dream about the Oilers actually making the playoffs again.

The good news for Oilerville is that the last team to win the Cup without a top-five pick on their team was the 1994 New York Rangers. Whoever the Oilers pick later today he should give you hope that the Oilers will eventually become a legitimate contender again.

Dare to dream Oiler fans, but the reality is that today is a major step, regardless of who they choose, towards the road to respectability.