The ping-pong balls did not go in the Edmonton Oilers’ favor on Monday night. Instead, the New York Rangers won the first overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft in October. The Oilers still moved up, however. As a result of their loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Oilers will select 14th overall.
The draft is tentatively scheduled to take place on October 9th and 10th. It will be held virtually this year.
The Oilers have not picked 14th overall since 2004, when they selected Goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. Prior to that, they held the 14th overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. That year, the Oilers traded the pick to Montreal, moving down to the 15th overall pick. The Canadiens selected forward Chris Higgins, while the Oilers picked defenseman Jesse Niinimaki.
If GM Ken Holland wants to add some much needed skill to his prospect system, he’ll have a chance to do it with the 14th pick.
Forwards like Seth Jarvis, Jan Mysak, Noel Gunler, Dylan Holloway, Dawson Mercer, Mavrik Bourque, Jack Quinn, Connor Zary and Jacob Perreault all could be on the board with the 14th overall pick. They all represent skilled options who would fill a hole in the club’s pipeline.
Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov is also expected to go in that range, and is the only goalie expected to go in the first round. He too could be an option for an Oilers team with a shaky group of goaltending prospects at the AHL/ECHL and junior levels.
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