The Edmonton Oilers have two picks late in the draft.
In the sixth round, the Oilers selected 191st overall and selected Finnish netminder Daniel Salonen. In the seventh round, they drafted 233rd overall, using the penultimate pick to select Aidan Park.
Funnily enough, the Oilers had never picked with either of these selections in franchise history. That said, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some diamonds in the rough picked with the 191st and 223rd overall picks.
Let’s take a look at some players who were picked at the two spots! If you missed it, you can learn the history of the 83rd overall pick here!
History of the 191st overall pick
As noted earlier, the Oilers had never drafted with the 191st overall pick before Saturday. Not just that, but no player selected 191st overall pick has even played for the Oilers… yet.
The most notable of the 191st overall picks is Martin Erat. He was selected in the 1999 draft by the Nashville Predators and scored 176 goals and 545 points in 881 games played, all three categories leading the 191st overall picks. Erat was also involved in one of the most lopsided trades in history, as the Washington Capitals sent Filip Forsberg to the Predators for Erat, yikes.
There is only one Stanley Cup champion selected 191st overall, Vladimir Malakhov. The defenceman was selected by the Islanders in 1989, and he played 13 seasons in the NHL. He was traded to the Montréal Canadiens alongside Pierre Turgeon in April 1995, and was once again on the move before the 2000 trade deadline, this time to the New Jersey Devils, as the Canadiens received Sheldon Souray.
Malakhov won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2000, then joined the New York Rangers to complete the tri-fecta of New York Metropolitan teams. During the 2003-04 season, Malakhov was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, with a 2005 second-round pick being moved to the Rangers. That pick was used to select Ondrej Pavelec. Before the 2006-07 season, Malakhov was traded alongside a 2007 first-round pick, with the pick eventually being used to select David Perron.
Ian Cole played 503 games, scoring 45 goals and 179 points while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks, and Detroit Red Wings. Antti Laaksonen fell 17 games short of the 500-game mark, as he scored 81 goals and 168 points in 483 games, playing for the Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, and Colorado Avalanche.
One active player who was selected 191st overall is Dominik Kubalík, who most recently played in Switzerland. From the 2019-20 season until 2023-24, Kubalík played 357 games with 93 goals and 176 points. Kubalík is the most recent 191st overall pick to play in the NHL and h,e was selected in the 2014 draft.
Other players selected 191st overall who have played NHL games are Robert Nordmark (1981), Karri Ramo (2004), Tyler Graovac (2011), Gary Burns (1875), Brad Moran (1998), and Dave Chartier (1980). Of the six players listed, Graovac is the only one who still plays.
On top of Graovac and Kubalík, there are 10 other players selected 191st overall still playing. They are: Rico Gredig (2024), Luke Coughlin (2023), Zakary Karpa (2022), Xavier Simoneau (2021), Viktor Persson (2020), Carter Gylander (2019), Otto Kivenmäki (2018), Travis Barrons (2016), Gustav Olhaver (2015), and Mac Carruth (2010).
As for the Oilers’ 191st selection on Sunday, they used it to select Finnish netminder Daniel Salonen. The 19-year-old played eight games in Finland’s second tier, posting a respectable .909 save percentage and 2.53 goals against average. One of these goalies the Oilers have drafted the past few seasons has to pan out, right?
History of the 223rd overall pick
The 223rd overall pick is an interesting one, as the first 223rd overall pick was in 1974, followed by the 1978 draft. From 1982 until 2005, there was a 223rd overall pick. After the 2005 draft, it didn’t emerge again until the Seattle Kraken joined the NHL ahead of the 2021 season.
Since the 223rd overall pick returned, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had the last two picks, selecting Finn Harding and Kalle Kangas, both players are still active. Dyllan Gill was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 draft, and the Arizona Coyotes selected Sam Lipkin the year before that.
The last time a player selected 223rd overall to make the NHL was 2001 draftee Brandon Bochenski. He played parts of five seasons in the league for the Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks, Nashville Predators, and Tampa Bay Lightning, compiling 28 goals and 68 points in 156 games. In Bochenski’s post-NHL days, he played eight seasons with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Astana Barys, where he was a productive scorer.
Speaking of Russians, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected defenceman Danil Markov with the 223rd overall pick in 1995. He played nine seasons in the NHL, playing for the Maple Leafs, Phoenix Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, and Detroit Red Wings. Markov finished his career in the KHL.
Two other players selected 223rd overall have played at least one NHL game. Dave Goertz, selected by the Penguins in 1983, played two games with them in the 1987-88 season. The New York Rangers selected Dan McCarthy in the 1978 draft, where he scored four goals in five NHL games. He probably should’ve gotten a longer look. McCarthy also played for a team called the Toledo Goaldiggers, so that’s cool.
The most notable player by far selected 223rd overall is Craig Adams, and oh boy, what a story. Adams was selected by the Hartford Whalers in 1996, the penultimate pick of the team before relocating to Raleigh after the 1996-97 season.
The winger played 14 seasons in the NHL, scoring 55 goals and 160 points in 951 games, playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, and Chicago Blackhawks. Of the 29 players selected 223rd overall, Adams is the only player to win a Stanley Cup. In fact, he won two Stanley Cups, one with the Hurricanes in 2006 and one with the Penguins in 2009.
But the story gets weirder. Thanks to his father’s work, Adams was born in the small country of Brunei. Of course, he didn’t grow up in the country, eventually moving to Calgary, but he’s the only player born in Brunei. Adams also attended Harvard University for four years.
As for Park, he grew up a short distance away from where the 2025 draft was held. He showed up on the first day to support teammate Ryker Lee, but decided to show up on Saturday because he was close by. Well, the Oilers drafted him with the penultimate pick with him in attendance, something that rarely happens for a player selected as late as Park.
And it’s not like the Oilers just drafted Park because he was there. The 19-year-old right-shot centre is a legitimate talent, scoring 33 goals and 66 points in 55 games last season for the United States Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers in 2024-25. Park will play for the Calgary Hitmen in 2025-26 after playing three postseason games with them in 2025.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
