The Draft weekend came and went for the Edmonton Oilers with the team making all six selections that they came into the draft with. Holland made no trades; no NHL players or even trading down to acquire more picks. One could say it was an underwhelming weekend for the Oilers but let's break down the picks and see how Edmonton faired.
8th Overall Pick - Philip Broberg LD
Likely the most controversial pick the Oilers made all weekend. When Edmonton came to the podium, the likes of Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield, and Matthew Boldy were still available to be selected. With Edmonton's desperate need for scoring wingers it seemed like a given that the team would go with one of these players. Regardless Holland chose instead to go with the big fast left shooting defenseman, adding to the ranks of defensive prospects that include Samorukov, Lagesson, and Jones.
I think Edmonton will come to regret not selecting Matthew Boldy (I believe he could end up being a top 3 forward from this draft) but Broberg is a fine selection and Edmonton has still added a very good young player to their ranks.
In defense of Broberg, while Edmonton needs more talented forwards on their roster...they need those players now. Even had the Oilers drafted Zegras or Boldy, neither player should have been counted on to make an impact for at least two seasons.
38th Overall Pick - Raphael Lavoie RW/C
There were a number of good skilled forwards available when Edmonton stepped up on the second day and the team made a strong pick with the QMJHL centre Raphael Lavoie. Lavoie was expected to go somewhere late in the first round (Bob McKenzie had him ranked 19th) but ended up still available on Day 2.
The big power forward skates very well, using his size to keep opponents off the puck and he is a high volume shooter, and will shoot from any area of the ice. Enjoy some highlights
Lavoie was last years recipient of the Mike Bossy Trophy, given to the QMJHL's most professional prospect. Credit to HockeyBuzz poster MaximumBone for pointing out yesterday some of the previous winners of the awards
2017–18 Filip Zadina
2016–17 Nico Hischier
2015–16 Pierre-Luc Dubois
2014–15 Timo Meier
2013–14 Nikolaj Ehlers
2012–13 Jonathan Drouin
That's some good company for Lavoie to be in.
85th Overall - Ilya Konovalov G
A pattern with this draft was the Oilers selecting older players, Lavoie was one of the older 18 year olds of the draft and the Russian netminder Edmonton selected in the 3rd round will turn 21 next month.
Though not as tall as most goalies (he is only 6 feet) the KHL netminder was named the KHL rookie of the year after posting a .930 sv% with a 1.89 GAA in 45 games. His athletism and ability to track the puck has made him extremely successful. Next season he will play for the team that Craig MacTavish is coaching.
100th Overall - Matej Blumel RW
In the fourth round the Oilers selected another overager, this time the 19 year old Czech winger who had 30 goals and 30 assists in the USHL last season. Like many of the players the Oilers selected, he is known as a blazing fast skater and a strong puck mover. Similar to Ostap Safin, this is a high risk high reward player that could never turn into anything or be a long term steal.
162 Overall - Tomas Mazura C
Another Czech winger and good friends with Matej Blumel, the smooth handed centreman missed the cutoff for the 2018 draft by only a week. Collarbone injuries hurt his 2017-2018 season but he came back last year with 54 points in 37 games.
193 Overall - Maxim Denezhkin C
The 5'9 small forward was the Oilers last selection in this years draft. Despite being small, the Russian forward plays with an edge and has been praised by his coaches for a strong work ethic. It's a 7th round selection so at this point that is all I can really say about him.
GRADE
Overall for the drafting of the team I would give the Oilers a B. Edmonton walked away from the draft with a player who projects as a top pairing defender, a top 6 scorer, and a goalie who scouts believe does have real NHL potential. No picks that Edmonton made this weekend were massive reaches or head scratchers.
Ken Holland clearly focused on players who were strong skaters, able to play on both sides of the puck and when possible, drafted players who had size and skill. Taking overagers can be a risk as older players will almost always look better at the junior level against their peers, but Holland is betting on having acquired some players that can make an impact sooner than later.
The next big step for the Oilers will be navigating free agency. With the cap officially announced at 81.5 million, the Oilers have roughly 9 million right now in cap space. Rumours currently have the Oilers interested in goalie Petr Mrazek and forward Brett Connolly. If Edmonton can dump a contract they will obviously have more options.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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