Prospects aren’t something many Oilers fans think of much anymore. Gone are the days of wondering who the first overall pick is going to be because, instead, we are all dreaming of lifting Lord Stanley. With that said, it’s looking like Edmonton hit the ball out of the park with this past draft class.
Credit deservedly goes to director of amateur scouting Rick Pracey and his staff, in what was their first for the organization. Although we’re still years away from knowing the final verdict on the players selected, it was a draft that set a new standard. Perhaps it wasn’t too difficult for them to follow up the previous act in Tyler Wright, whose only selection to play an NHL game for Edmonton was Dylan Holloway.
Now, as noted in the past, once a player is selected it comes down to the development staff to get him prepared for the NHL level. However, going 1 for 19 in your selection isn’t ideal either. Under Pracey’s guidance, while nobody has played an NHL game yet either, things look promising.
“This is one of there better classes, if not there best, of the last ten years,” said Bruce Curlock on Oilersnation Everyday.”It’s a deep class. They obviously traded up for Sam O’Reilly, which looks like it’ll be a very good pick. The goalie (Eemil Vinni) has back issues, so we will see, but the skaters selections for them look absolutely outstanding.”
As Curlock mentioned, Edmonton traded up to get O’Reilly at the end of the first round, which means they’ll have to send either this year’s or next year’s first-round pick to Philadelphia. O’Reilly was one of only two picks the Oilers had in the first four rounds with Vinni going 64th overall.
The bulk of their selections came in the later rounds starting with the 160th overall pick and Connor Clattenberg. Clattenberg is a left-shot forward playing for the Flint Firebirds in the OHL. He only had 13 goals split between Flint and the Soo Greyhounds heading into the draft, but the Oilers took a swing.
“There are kids like Connor Clattenberg, who probably turns pro next year, who is going to make an immediate impact at the next level,” continued Curlock. “(Connor) Clattenberg was an overager, but big body who skates well and tough as nail. They made a bet that he could score and he’s proving them right.”
Edmonton had more picks in the final two rounds than they did in the previous five. They may have found themselves a steal in the 7th round, too, at 196th overall. William Nicholl has emerged as a top contributor to an elite London Knights team. Nicholl has 15 goals and 45 points in 50 games behind Denver Barkey, Sam Dickinson and Sam O’Reilly, who are all considered top prospects. The Oilers took a flier on him too after only scoring 20 points in his draft year.
“It wasn’t until the playoffs (last season) that he got the chance to play with quality linemates,” said Curlock. “He is absolute buzzsaw on the ice, he never quits and is an incredibly quick skater. He’s also a pain in the ass to play against in a 200-foot game. The question around him in his draft year was could he score? Now he’s close to a point per game player and, for the 7th round pick, those are really good numbers. What fans will like about him is that he doesn’t take one second off nevermind a shift off.”
It’s going to be a few more years before we see the true impact this draft class can have. However, for an organization that has struggled to draft in recent years, it’s looking they Rick Pracey hit the 2024 draft out of the park. The Oilers are obviously in Stanley Cup mode and will do whatever it takes but, with that said, hopefully, we can see a few of these talents play in Copper and Blue someday.
