The NHL Draft begins tonight, and as things stand, the Edmonton Oilers won’t make their first selection until No. 52 overall.

Picking at No. 52 could change at a moment’s notice, as the Oilers could use the pick as part of a trade package or attempt to move up in the draft. Yet, as it stands, they still own the pick, and Liam Horrobin recently made a case for what they should do with it, suggesting the Oilers select Edmonton Oil Kings’ defenceman Ethan MacKenzie at that spot after he put up 58 points in 59 games in the WHL last season.

With that in mind, since the Oilers still hold the pick, let’s take a look at the five best players ever taken at No. 52 overall.

Defenceman Sean Durzi was selected 52nd overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2018 NHL Draft, but was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in January 2019, along with Carl Grundstrom and a 2019 first-round pick, in exchange for blueliner Jake Muzzin.

Durzi developed into a decent point producer from the back end, registering 65 points in 136 regular-season games with the Kings from 2021-23. He also appeared in 13 playoff games over two seasons with the Kings, all against the Oilers, including a series in which former Oiler Zack Kassian was fined for delivering a vicious cross-check to the blueliner’s back.

Durzi was then traded to the Arizona Coyotes in June 2023 in exchange for a second-round draft pick, where he put up a career-best 41 points during the 2023-24 season and, fun fact, scored the very last goal in Coyotes franchise history before the team moved to Utah, putting home an empty-netter against the Oilers in a 5-2 Coyotes victory.

Now a Utah Mammoth, Durzi has registered 144 regular-season points in 302 games, and has a 0.48 points-per-game average — the highest of any player selected 52nd overall in NHL Draft history.

Former enforcer Sandy McCarthy was drafted by the Calgary Flames 52nd overall in the 1991 NHL Draft and played five seasons with the Flames, where he piled up 730 penalty minutes (PIM) in 276 regular-season games.

He went on to play with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins throughout his 11-season NHL career, playing in 736 regular-season games, registering 148 points, while racking up an astonishing 1,534 PIM — the most of any player taken at #52 overall.

According to hockeyfights.com, he fought 133 times, including 19 times in his rookie season, and in his prime, McCarthy was known as one of the league’s premier fighters.

Goaltender Manny Fernandez was drafted 52nd overall in the 1992 NHL Draft by the Quebec Nordiques, but before playing for them, he was traded to the Dallas Stars for Tommy Sjödin and a third-round draft pick.

Fernandez played in 33 NHL regular-season games with the Stars before being traded to the Minnesota Wild in June 2000, along with Brad Lukowich, in exchange for a package of draft picks, where he began to make an impact.

During the 2000-01 season, he split netminding duties with former Oiler Dwayne Roloson, starting 42 games, going 19-17-4, and posting a .920 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.24 goals-against average (GAA). In the 2002-03 season, he and Roloson helped the Wild reach their first-ever playoff appearance, where they defeated the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks before falling in the Western Conference Final to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

Fernandez played six seasons in Minnesota and finished his last two with the Boston Bruins, finishing with a 143–123–35 record, a 2.50 GAA, and a .912 SV%. He won the William M. Jennings Trophy twice (2006–07 alongside Niklas Bäckström and in 2008–09 with Tim Thomas), awarded to the goaltender(s) on the team that allows the fewest goals during the regular season.

Goaltender Bill Ranford was selected 52nd overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1985 NHL Draft and played in the Bruins organization from 1985-88, appearing in 45 NHL games while also playing with their AHL affiliate.

But on March 8, 1988, the Bruins traded Ranford and forward Geoff Courtnall to the Oilers for veteran netminder Andy Moog, and as Lowetide once described:

After appearing in 35 games with Edmonton from 1987–89 and winning his first Cup in 1988, Ranford moved into a starting role in 1989-90 after serving as backup to netminder Grant Fuhr, and made his biggest impact with the Oilers in 1990.

During the 1990 playoffs, Ranford played in 23 games and was solid throughout Edmonton’s run, posting a .903 SV% while backstopping the Oilers to their fifth Stanley Cup and earning Conn Smythe Trophy honours.

Ranford played six seasons with the Oilers before being traded back to the Bruins in 1996 in exchange for Mariusz Czerkawski, a 1996 first-round pick (Matthieu Descoteaux), and the rights to Sean Brown.

Overall, Ranford played in 642 regular-season games, with additional stops with the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Red Wings, before finishing his career back with the Oilers during the 1999–00 season. He finished with a career record of 240–279–76, along with a 3.59 GAA and a .888 SV%, and was also named an All-Star in 1991.

Goaltender Corey Crawford was selected 52nd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2003 NHL Draft.

Crawford played 13 seasons with the Blackhawks, where he posted a 260–162–53 record, a 2.45 GAA, and a .918 SV% over 488 NHL games, while recording the most playoff wins (52) in franchise history.

He helped lead the Blackhawks to two Stanley Cup championships (2013, 2015), and in those championship seasons, he was a co-recipient of the William M. Jennings Trophy. He was also named to the All-Rookie Team in 2011, won a gold medal at the 2016 World Cup as Team Canada’s backup netminder, and was named an All-Star on two occasions (2015, 2017).

Crawford retired after the 2019–20 season and, as per PuckPedia, earned an estimated $55.43 million over his career, and is the most accomplished player ever selected at No. 52 overall.

All in all, the No. 52 pick hasn’t produced many high-end scorers, but based on how the top three players at that spot have shaped up, there’s an argument the Oilers should consider selecting a goaltender there if they keep the pick. Options could include Dmitry Borichev of Yaroslav (MHL), Michal Orsulak (WHL), and Tobias Trejbal (USHL), all projected to go in the second round.

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