Oilers Draft Review

After moving their remaining two 2025 picks in the trade for Lawson Crouse, the Oilers wrapped up what was a busy draft and start to the offseason. The overall feedback from the boiler room is positive as the team was able to come away with a handful of solid prospects to watch over the coming years. Let's take a closer look at the selections:

Round 1 pick 25: Cameron Reid - the 6 foot puck moving dman had a strong year in Kitchener and should be back to continue working on his complete game next year. Oilers see him as a potential top 4 and PP guy down the road.

Round 1 pick 32: Eric Nilson - the Swedish pivot fell slightly in the NHL draft but not enough to leave any doubt that he could be a solid two-way player in the league with proper development. 

Round 2 pick 51: William Moore - the US center is multi talented as he also plays the piano. Oilers will want him to focus strictly on hockey over the coming years as the potential is there to be a big bodied two-way center in the NHL.

Round 2 pick 54: Luca Romano - selected slightly lower than where the Oilers took him, Romano is a high upside player that has all the tools to be an effective NHLer one day. The team sees him more as a winger though.

Round 3 pick 70: Vojtech Cihar - no cigars for this youngster yet until he makes it to the big show. Cihar was the first of two Czech defensive minded forwards taken in this draft and Oilers are excited to watch his development.

Round 3 pick 74: Ben Kevan - Oilers were pleasantly surprised Kevan fell to them at 74 as we see him as a high upside forward. With proper development and more consistency, there could be a top 9 NHLer here one day.

Round 4 pick 97: Teddy Mutryn - the two way center from the USHL will be a welcome addition to the Oilers prospect pool. He has all the physical tools in the world and with the continuous development of his offense game, he could make it.

Round 4 pick 102: Tomas Poletin - the final pick and second Czech forward was another player Oilers had ranked higher on their list. The 1st overall pick in the CHL import draft will have a chance to polish his overall game with Kelowna in the WHL, one of the Oiler's favorite development leagues.

That wraps up the draft's 8 selections. The team feels they addressed several areas in the prospect pool, but some feel there could have been more chances taken on some big bodied Dmen and goaltenders. As of this writing, the Oilers goaltending depth is fairly bare, and there is not a single goalie prospect in the system. This is something that will need to be addressed over the coming season.

Next is free agency where the team has a whopping 40 million in cap space to spend, or save.