It looks as if the Edmonton Oilers may have found a diamond in the rough late in the 2024 NHL Draft.
On Monday, Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis looked at five late-round picks that look like steals from the 2024 draft, with Oilers’ prospect William Nicholl ranking on the list. 
“Taken 196th overall, Nicholl has emerged as the London Knights’ second-line center alongside Easton Cowan and is on pace for more than 60 points. He was a depth forward with just 20 points in 65 games last year, but his game started to come alive as the team won the OHL championship. Nicholl is an excellent skater who brings speed and energy to every shift. I think his ability to handle the puck on the rush – and at speed – has improved, making him more dangerous in the process. Given that he was one of the last picks in the draft, there’s a lot to like, and I think he’ll push his way up the Oilers’ depth chart as time progresses. Once known more for his off-puck play, I’m glad Nicholl has taken control offensively, too.”
The Oilers picked two players in the 2024 draft from the London Knights, the other one being Sam O’Reilly, who came at a big cost as they moved their 2025 first-round selection for the forward. However, it has been Nicholl who has truly broken out with the Ontario Hockey League’s best team this season.
In 39 games this season, Nicholl has 12 goals and 36 points, six goals and four points behind O’Reilly’s numbers in the same number of games. Nicholl is fourth in points for the Knights, while his 12 goals is seventh. This season, the Knights have a 34-6-1 record with 69 points, tops in the Ontario Hockey League, and Nicholl has played a big role in their success.
It was hard to see this coming for the 18-year-old forward, as he scored six goals and 20 points in 65 games last season for the Knights. In the postseason, he played all 18 games the team played and scored a goal and seven points as the Knights went on to win the Ross Robertson Cup.
Facing off against fellow Oiler prospect Matthew Savoie in the Memorial Cup, he was held pointless in the four games he played as the Knights fell to the hosts, the Saginaw Spirit, in the Memorial Cup final.
The last Oilers seventh-round pick to play an NHL game was Philip Kemp, who they selected 208th overall in the 2017 draft. Kemp played a single game with limited ice time in 2023-24. The last time the Oilers selected an impact seventh-round selection was the year prior in 2016, when they selected Vincent Desharnais 183rd overall. Desharnais has gone on to play 145 games in the NHL, scoring a goal and 19 points.
Before that, it was an even longer stretch where an Oilers seventh-round pick played a game, as you have to go all the way back to the 2003 draft when they selected Kyle Brodziak and Mathieu Roy in the seventh-round.
All in all, it’s way too early to determine how Nicholl will play in the NHL if he even makes it there. However, less than a year after he was drafted, Nicholl’s selection is looking like an absolute steal for the Oilers.
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