The Edmonton Oilers entered Day 2 of the 2026 NHL Draft with just four selections but wasted little time making moves.

Instead of getting themselves involved and making their first pick of the draft, Edmonton shipped the 52nd overall pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning, sliding back just six spots to No. 58 while acquiring a fifth-round pick, No. 133, in the process.

When they finally stepped to the podium, they selected Latvian centre Rudolfs Berzkalns. It wasn’t necessarily the flashiest pick on the board, but it certainly fit the Oilers’ identity.

Berzkalns is a physically imposing centre who plays the game with an edge. He’s aggressive in all three zones, finishes his checks, kills penalties, and rarely takes a shift off. Offensively, there probably isn’t enough there to project him as a top-six NHL forward, but players with his compete level and willingness to do the dirty work often find themselves carving out bottom-six roles.

Perhaps the biggest selling point is that he seems to elevate his game when the stakes are highest. His playoff performances have consistently been among the best of his career, and it’s easy to see why they appealed to an Edmonton organization built around postseason success.

When asked who his game resembles, he was quick to name a current Edmonton Oilers player: Zach Hyman.

Was there more offensive upside available? Probably, but midway through the second round, Berzkalns feels like a perfectly reasonable value.

The Oilers stepped up at 84th overall, where they continued to lean into competitive level over raw offensive upside.

Their choice was Swedish forward Malcom Gästrin. The younger brother of Washington Capitals 2025 draft pick Milton Gästrin, Malcom, projects as more of a long-term project than an immediate candidate. We are in the third round, after all. His offensive ceiling may be somewhat limited, but his work ethic and hockey sense make him an intriguing developmental bet. Several scouts around the draft floor felt Edmonton reached slightly for the Swedish forward, but there wasn’t much disagreement about the type of player they were getting.

Simply put, Gästrin is a worker. He forechecks relentlessly, supports the puck well, and has built a reputation for constantly trying to improve his game. Those types of players don’t always reach the NHL, but organizations rarely regret adding them to the development pipeline.

Using their newly acquired fifth-round selection from Tampa Bay, Edmonton turned its attention to the blue line by selecting Windsor Spitfires defenceman Andrew Robinson. He doesn’t immediately jump off the scoresheet, finishing the season with 24 points in 63 OHL games after making the jump from the OJHL. Instead, his projection comes from the underlying tools.

He’s a smart puck mover who handles retrievals well, makes efficient first passes, and plays a relatively calm two-way game. Defensively, his active stick allows him to disrupt passing lanes without relying solely on physicality. At 6-foot and roughly 190 pounds, he doesn’t possess overwhelming size, but there are enough projectable tools to envision him developing into a reliable No. 4-to-No. 6 puck-moving defenceman if everything comes together.

Edmonton doubled down on Windsor players at 180th overall, selecting forward Caden Harvey. He produced 34 points in 68 games this season and profiles similarly to several other Oilers selections throughout the draft. He plays with a strong motor, competes consistently, and flashes enough offensive ability to suggest there could still be another level waiting to emerge. While he likely projects more as a complementary offensive player than a true scoring threat, those are exactly the types of swings worth taking in the sixth round.

The Oilers wrapped up their draft at 212th overall by selecting Cedar Rapids Roughriders goaltender Ryan Cameron.

Cameron handled the starter’s workload in the USHL this season, posting a 24-11-5 record while appearing in 40 games. Although his .882 save percentage won’t immediately grab attention, Edmonton is clearly betting on the raw tools. Standing 6-foot and 174 pounds, Cameron is undersized by today’s NHL standards, but he’s athletic and remains early in his development. He’ll spend next season with the Sioux Falls Stampede before heading to Boston College for the 2027-28 campaign.

At the end of the day, the Oilers weren’t stocked with a plethora of picks, and considering the number, they made out relatively well. They did make some decent swings on some “diamond in the rough” types, and more importantly, they landed a perfect addition to their bottom-six future (maybe more?) in Rudolfs Berzkalns.

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