By Dropping the Mitts

Will Draisaitl be an Oiler? The experts think so

Jun 26, 2014 | 3:11 PM

Prince Albert Raiders’ Leon Draisaitl is in Philadelphia, wondering which NHL team will take him Friday at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft in Philadelphia, Pa.

According to the draft experts, there is a very good chance Draisaitl would land in Edmonton and be the newest Oilers pick.

TSN’s hockey talent scout Craig Button, Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino, Guy Flaming of the Pipeline Show, SB Nation, USA Today’s Kevin Allen and Yahoo’s Live Mock Draft all are predicting that Draisaitl will be presented with a navy and copper jersey on draft day.

Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com also had Draisaitl going to Edmonton, but NHL.com’s Steven Hoffner had the King of Leon going to the Buffalo Sabres with the second overall pick.

The Bleacher Report also has Draisaitl sliding to the fourth spot to the Calgary Flames. So it’s not quite unanimous, but pretty close.

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Of course, anything can happen on draft day. The Florida Panthers are reportedly open to trading down from the first overall pick, which could change the whole dynamic of the draft. Will the Oilers stay at the third pick? Will Draisaitl go in the first two picks?

At this point, all scouts, experts and mock drafters can do is guess—but ‘Draisaitl to Edmonton’ is an educated guess at that.

The Edmonton Oilers have made no secrets in their interest as they were sure to send scouts to the Art Hauser Centre throughout the season. Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish and head scout Stu MacGregor were both in attendance March 1 when Draisaitl and the Raiders did battle with the Kootenay Ice and Sam Reinhart, another top-end prospect in this year’s draft.

They even had a picture of him on the cover of their site, a day before the draft!

Draisaitl would likely be a good fit with the Oilers. He’d complete a great 1-2 punch at centre with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and would complement all the natural scorers on the team like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov. 

Of course, it’s no question that the Oilers defence has been a garbage fire over the last several years. Since 2007-2008, the Oilers have finished dead last in goals against twice, including last season giving up 3.26 goals per game. They highest they’ve finished in that span is 19th, the only time in the seven-year-span they weren’t in the bottom 10.

MacTavish told the Canadian Press on Tuesday that upgrading their defence this offseason was a priority, but that doesn’t necessarily mean in the draft. With the third spot, it’s likely top defenceman prospect Aaron Ekblad will be gone, and it will be a long reach to get another defenceman at that spot.

The Oilers also acquired Nikita Nikitin from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, so that will help their blueline. They also picked hulking blueliner Darnell Nurse seventh overall in last year’s draft and have young guns like Justin Schultz, Oscar Klefbom and Martin Marincin who are all developing. Adding another young promising name to that list won’t necessarily make a world’s worth of difference.

At the third overall pick, you as well take the best player available, and that is very likely Neon Leon. Two studs from the OHL in Kingston’s Sam Bennett and Oshawa’s Michael Dal Colle will also be options for the Oilers.

He scored 105 points in the 2013-2014 season this year with the Raiders, and was tied for ninth in CHL scoring. The season before, Draisaitl was nominated for the WHL Rookie of the Year, but lost to then-Portland Winterhawk Seth Jones.

The Raiders are having a Drasaitl Draft Party Friday at Original Joe’s, starting at 4:30 p.m. Fans that attend will have a chance to win a Draisaitl jersey from any team that drafts him.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea