The Edmonton Oilers’ first pick in the 2025 NHL Draft is the 83rd overall selection.
This is not the Oilers’ third-round pick, as they traded it with Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks for Ty Emberson last summer. Instead, this pick was acquired from the St. Louis Blues as compensation for signing restricted free agent Dylan Holloway. Something tells me we would all rather have Holloway, but I digress.
In their franchise history, the Oilers have made four selections with the 83rd overall pick: In 1982, 1995, 2000, and 2013. No player selected 83rd overall has played 1,000 games, but 15 players have played 100 or more games.
In this article, we’ll look at the history of the 83rd overall pick, both for the franchise and around the league.
Oilers draft Jaroslav Pouzar in 1982
The Oilers’ first-ever 83rd overall pick came in the 1982 draft and they used it on Jaroslav Pouzar. He was one of the 15 players picked 83rd overall that went on to play at least 100 games, but Pouzar also happened to win three Stanley Cups with the Oilers during their dynasty days.
Pouzar was drafted at the age of 31, joining the Oilers for the 1982-83 season, where he scored 15 goals and 33 points in 74 games. In 1983-84, the forward scored 13 goals and 32 points in 67 games, as the Oilers won their first Cup. He followed that up with a four-goal, 12-point season in 33 games, as the Oilers won their second Stanley Cup in 1984-85.
The Czech national played the 1985-86 season in Germany, but returned to the Oilers in 1986-87, where he scored two goals and five points in 12 regular-season games, returning just in time for Edmonton’s third Stanley Cup in four seasons.
That was Pouzar’s final season in the NHL, as he played the rest of his career in Europe, finishing with 34 goals and 82 points in 186 games.
Oilers draft Mike Minard in 1995
The next time the Oilers drafted 83rd overall was in 1995, selecting Mike Minard from the Chilliwack Chiefs. Unlike Pouzar, Minard didn’t have an extensive NHL career, playing just one game where he saved 33 of 36 shots in a 6-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Apr. 8, 2000.
Minard played the majority of his career in the American Hockey League, with stints in the International Hockey League, ECHL, the Central Hockey League, and the Elite Ice Hockey League in the United Kingdom.
Oilers draft Alexander Lyubimov in 2000
Of the four players selected 83rd overall by the Oilers, the only one who didn’t play at least one NHL game was Alexander Lyubimov. They selected him in 2000, a few months after Minard’s only NHL game.
Lymbimov spent the majority of his career in Russia’s second division, playing some games in the Kontinental Hockey League early in his career. The defenceman played one season in North America for the Central Hockey League’s Odessa Jackalopes, where he scored three goals and 23 points in 56 games, with 112 penalty minutes. He retired after the 2008-09 season.
Sep 24, 2014; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Bogdan Yakimov (39) scores a goal against Winnipeg Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson (34) during the second period at MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
Oilers draft Bogdan Yakimov in 2013
There were two 13-year gaps between 83rd overall picks for the Oilers. Their most recent 83rd overall pick was in 2013 when they coincidentally drafted another Russian, Bogdan Yakimov.
Not to be confused with Nail Yakupov, Yakimov played one lone game in the 2014-15 season, being held pointless and finishing with a -1. He played parts of two seasons in the American Hockey League, one with the Oklahoma City Barons in 2014-15, where he scored 12 goals and 28 points in 57 games, as well as the Bakersfield Condors in 2015-16, where he scored five goals and 15 points in 36 games.
The 6’5” centre played the majority of his career in Russia, most recently for Sochi HC and Moscow Dynamo in 2021-22, where he scored eight goals and nine points in 29 games. He retired after that season.
Other notable players selected 83rd overall in the NHL Draft
There have been 25 players selected 83rd overall who have played at least one game. No player drafted 83rd overall has played in the All-Star game, much less made it to the Hall of Fame. That said, there were a handful of notable players who were selected 83rd overall.
Matthew Barnaby played the most games of any player selected with the 83rd overall pick. A nuisance by trade, Barnaby played 834 NHL games with 113 goals and 300 points, playing for the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, and Dallas Stars over his 15-year career.
Anton Šťastný is the leading scorer for all players selected 83rd overall, scoring 252 goals and 636 points in 650 games, all with the Québec Nordiques in the 1980s. Šťastný was also the first Slovak-born player to play in the National Hockey League.
Speaking of players who were first, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Belgian netminder Wouter Peeters 83rd in the 2016 draft. Peeters never played a professional game in North America, and his playing days are long gone, but he was the first Belgian to be drafted.
Joe Corvo had a lengthy career, playing 708 games with 92 goals and 310 points. He spent time with the Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, and Boston Bruins, with three stints in Carolina and two in Ottawa. Corvo went to the Stanley Cup Finals with the Senators in 2007.
Four Stanley Cup winners were selected 83rd overall. We already looked at Jaroslav Pouzar, who won three with the Oilers. Jim Weimer was selected in the 1980 draft and won the Cup with the Oilers in 1988.
Netminder André Racicot was selected in the 1989 draft by the Montréal Canadiens and won the Cup with the team as a backup netminder in 1993. He only played 11 more NHL games before spending the rest of his career in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League.
The most impactful 83rd overall pick on a Stanley Cup team is Matt Murray, a player who is still active. The netminder won the Cup in his first two NHL seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, posting a .928 save percentage in his first 32 postseason games.
Murray isn’t the only notable 83rd overall selection still playing. Los Angeles Kings’ forward Alex Laferriere is the most notable of the bunch, as he scored 19 goals and 42 points in 77 games last season.
Other players who played in 2024-25 are Timo Pielmeier (2007), Kevin Connauton (2009), Andy Welinski (2011), Jens Looke (2015), Zachary Gallant (2017), Riley Stotts (2018), Anttoni Honka (2019), George Fegaras (2022), Dylan MacKinnon (2023), and Pavel Moysevich (2024)
There are 15 players with 100 or more NHL games played. Those who haven’t been mentioned are Niclas Hävelid, Paul Kruse, Patric Kjellberg, Matt Walker, Hnat Domenichelli, Garry Lariviere, and Dan Hodgson.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
