Round one is hours away, and while most NHL teams are gearing up to make their pick(s), the Edmonton Oilers are left to sit and wonder what could have been if they weren’t selecting until the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh rounds.
What their future could have looked like if Stan Bowman hadn’t traded away picks in the name of winning a Stanley Cup this year and embracing the cost of what he believes to be, ligitimate cup contendention.
Now, the Oilers are staring down the barrel of a very uncertain future, with an even more uncertain prospect pool.
It resembles something similar to making their bed, and now lying in it.
They could make a reach for a first-round pick, backtrack on what the last two seasons have set in place, and add a talented player to the mix.
But consider the logistics of such a move.
Who could they get? What do they have to give up? Is it worth it now or later? Is it even a possibility?
What do the Oilers need?
The Oilers have identified several areas from the 2025 postseason that they were happy with, and a few areas that they plan to make improvements on.
A strong veteran core—check.
Defence they’re happy with—check.
Goaltending—not coming from this draft.
Young, fast, hungry players ready for the NHL—that’s what they could achieve if they were to make a gamble today.
They had that in Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, but lost them to offer sheets to the St. Louis Blues in the 2024 offseason.
They have that in Vasily Podkolzin but nowhere else on the active roster.
The Oilers could trade for a pick in the top 20 and hope that in 2-3 years, he might be a roster player.
Anything less, and we’re assuming that the Oilers will still be making it to the Stanley Cup finals five years from now. It’s a possibility, but not worth betting important players on.
Which leaves the question:
What will the Oilers have to give up, and is it worth it?
A trade for a pick in the top 10 and up, and the Oilers are looking at giving away Zach Hyman, but younger, and just like aging backwards—that’s not happening.
Any trade for a pick in the top five, and the giveback for the Oilers would be to great that we’d all hope Stan Bowman wouldn’t consider it.
The real fact of today’s draft is that the Oilers have nothing they could give up for a valuable pick without costing them too much next season.
So, just like all other areas this offseason, the draft has backed the Oilers up into a corner.
They’re an older team, with not much value in their prospect pool. The free agent market is weak, forcing teams to overpay, which isn’t doable for a team already struggling with cap space. And to get a pick that could make a difference now, the Oilers will have to give up a franchise player, which they won’t, and shouldn’t, do.
The benefits of drafting in round one for the Oilers
Any benefit of drafting in the first round means adding one good player to the Oilers’ prospect pool. That’s it.
But one well-drafted player will not undo years of weak draft capital and suboptimal picks.
Real improvement will come from trades and salary cap relief.
The alternative
Let’s go back to the beginning; The Oilers need young, fast, hungry players ready for the NHL.
The only player of such calibre ready for next season is Matt Savoie—a top 10 pick in the 2022 NHL draft to the Buffalo Sabres. 19-35-54 in 66 games with the Bakersfield Condors. And ready to jump into the Oilers’ bottom six.
The Oilers can spend the offseason signing more European players to send to Bakersfield, testing the waters of free agency, and lining up trade packages.
Further additions from in-season trades for goaltending and support players in their mid-twenties to short-term contracts could add another layer to their next playoff run.
But the quieter the Oilers are today, the better.
