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Prized Pedigree: Edmonton Oilers have the best draft pedigree of top NHL teams

The 2022-23 Edmonton Oilers are picked to win the Stanley Cup by numerous NHL commentators, from ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski to Sportsnet’s Eliotte Friedman.

The Oilers also have the best draft pedigree of any of the top ranked NHL teams.

Coincidence?

Maybe.

Just because a player is drafted at or near the top of the first round doesn’t mean he will become a strong player, as those who watched Nail Yakupov’s NHL career arc can testify.

But most of the best players in the NHL are selected in the first round of the NHL draft, and most of the very best are taken near the top.

I got thinking about the draft pedigree of the Oilers after they signed Ryan Murray this summer. Murray was the second player taken in the 2012 draft, one pick after Yakupov. He’s had an OK NHL career since then, not a stellar one, but his high draft ranking made me wonder just how lofty the draft pedigree of this Oilers team was, especially compared to other top teams.

I ranked the Oilers against the three other teams in the Final Four last year, as well as Toronto and Carolina, two teams generally seen as league leaders.

When it came to teams with players drafted in the Top 5, Edmonton has six (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan Murray, Evander Kane and Jesse Puljujarvi), while the next best team, Colorado has five (Nathan MacKinnon , Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Johnson, Cale Makar and Bowen Byram), and Toronto, has four (John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly).

If we go with Top 20 overall picks in the draft, Edmonton has 11, Carolina and Colorado have 8, Tampa and the Rangers have and Toronto, 6.

Again, there’s no certainty that a team with so many top draft picks will do well. But there’s also no denying the raw talent assembled on this version of the Edmonton Oilers.

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Danielle Smith speaks after being sworn in as Alberta Premier-designate in Edmonton on Tuesday October 11, 2022.
Danielle Smith speaks after being sworn in as Alberta Premier-designate in Edmonton on Tuesday October 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

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