PRINCE ALBERT IN A CAN

9 years ago

The Edmonton Oilers drafted Leon Draisaitl from the Prince Albert Raiders at No. 3 overall in the 2014 draft. Draisaitl is the fifth Raider Edmonton has drafted, and the fourth taken in the first round. It is NOT an all-star cast.

THE PA CONNECTION….

What can I say? In the history of the Oilers, Prince Albert does not inspire good memories. Here’s the list:

Emanuel Viveiros, 106th overall in 1984—He played 29 games in the NHL, but never for the Oilers. Edmonton traded Viveiros, Marc Habscheid and Don Barber to Minnesota in
exchange for Gord Sherven and Don Biggs on December 20, 1985. He was a ridiculous offensive defenseman at the junior level, and MacT keeps trying to grab a Viveiros when he hires Brad Hunt and Phil Larsen.
Kim Issel, 21st overall in 1986—He played 4 games in the NHL, and was traded by the Oilers in 1991 for Brad Aitken. Issel was a huge winger (6-4, 200), had some talent
(played on a Mem Cup winner) but the Oilers had so much depth in those
days it was tough for even the first rounders to make an impact on the
major league roster
Scott Allison, 17th overall in 1990—A big, physical winger taken in the days after Edmonton’s final Stanley, he was a good junior player but never made it to the NHL. Played pro forever, retiring in 2005.
Steve Kelly, 6th overall in 1995—The speed demon, and for Oilers purposes a little extra emphasis on demon. Kelly was chosen ahead of Shane Doan with chants of “DOAN! DOAN! DOAN!” reaching deaf ears. If we’re making a list of wasted 6th overall selections, the Oilers did very well (Coffey, Smyth), and also drafted Sam Gagner, Steve Kelly and Boyd Devereaux.

…and now Leon Draisaitl. I think he’ll pass this group by Christmas.

NAGELVOORT?????????

Zach (the Oilers have drafted only two Zach’s, Stortini and this young man) was plucked from the University of Michigan, and the Oilers have enjoyed success there. Mike Comrie, David Oliver and Mighty Dwight Helminen all came via Michigan and played in the NHL.

ELSEWHERE….

Vernon Vipers: Liam Coughlin joins Kyle Bigos and Kellen Jones.
Omaha Lancers: Tyler Vesel joins Jason Platt
Val d’Or: Keven Bouchard joins Jonathan Fauteux and Mathieu Roy

OILER TOTALS, BY LEAGUE, SINCE 2008

WHL 15 picks out of 55 overall (27%)
SWEDEN 6 picks out of 55 overall (11%)
NCAA 6 picks out of 55 overall (11%)
QMJHL 5 picks out of 55 overall (9%)
BCJHL 5 picks out of 55 overall (9%)
USHL 1 pick out of 55 overall (2%)

The Oilers avoided the OHL (7 total, 2008+), Finland (4) and Russia (2) this time around.

FINALLY….

Lots of talk about Edmonton not getting great value from this year’s draft, but I think it’s completely reasonable to include the value from the draft picks sent away.

1st round: Leon Draisaitl
2nd round: traded (with Magnus Paajarvi) for David Perron
3rd round: Ben Scrivens
4th round: William Lagesson & Zach Nagelvoort
5th round: Liam Couglin
6th round: Tyler Vesel
7th round: Keven Bouchard

Chances are that the picks we’ll be talking about 5 years from now are Draisaitl, Lagesson and Nagelvoort. Let’s not forget the trades that brought in actual NHL talent.