Book excerpt: Inside the Edmonton Oilers’ history at the NHL Draft

Excerpted from “On The Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Edmonton Oilers at the NHL Draft” by Allan Mitchell. Copyright © 2022 by Allan Mitchell. Published by Triumph Books and in stores Sept. 27, 2022. All rights reserved. You can order the book here.

My interest in the NHL Draft goes back to the spring and summer of 1971, the only time politics, news and sports combined to make headlines across Canada. Since then, I’ve spent thousands of hours observing and reviewing the draft; many truths emerged over time. My thanks to Triumph Books for the opportunity to write a book that has been four decades in the making. Here are some excerpts.

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Beginning in June 1979, the first summer of the team’s NHL existence, and running through the 1980 and 1981 drafts, Edmonton Oilers director of scouting Barry Fraser delivered the heart of a hockey dynasty with just 23 picks.

Anyone observing Fraser and his scouting staff in the early years might have guessed that the club valued “saw him good” scouting reports supplemented with a credible reading of the player’s scoring numbers.

A scouting report from that era would have included birthday, height, weight, scoring numbers over the last two seasons. That would be followed by remarks and grades on skating, scoring, shooting, passing, puck control, positional play, use of body, checking, size and strength, aggressiveness, desire and hockey sense. Then a final grade.

Very little math in the scouting reports, despite how much math liked Edmonton’s 1979 selections.

The nucleus of the Oilers dynasty came from eight names among those first 23 selections, plus the acquisition of underage superstar Wayne Gretzky in 1978, during the dying days of the WHA. That upstart league, no longer acknowledged in any meaningful way by the NHL, breathed life into the Oilers organization and gifted it the best player in the history of the game.

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In the 40+ year history of the Oilers at the draft table, perhaps no single selection is more of a lightning rod for fans than the Miro Satan pick in 1993.

Satan scored 11 goals in 38 Czech league games during his draft year. The fact he was a regular in the league at 17 was impressive, but there were other, more impressive scorers (Ziggy Palffy scored 38 goals) for Trencin that season.

He exploded in year two, scoring 42 goals in 39 games to lead the entire league at 18. At that point, it was clear Edmonton had delivered a strong pick from the fifth round of the 1993 draft.

Satan arrived in North America in his draft +2 season, and tore apart the AHL. In Oilers draft history, no forward tore the cover off the ball like Satan as a member of the Cape Breton Oilers in 1994-95. To show how dominant Satan was in the AHL, here are the most impressive Oilers rookie pro forwards who played in the AHL during the 10-year period leading up to Satan’s arrival:

Inexplicably, Edmonton would not make room for the super scorer until 1995-96, and even then he was used sparingly. Sather traded Satan to Buffalo in March of 1997. He would score over 300 goals after leaving Edmonton, winning a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

The trade was probably the poorest in Sather’s career as Oilers general manager, considering the Gretzky transaction was a sale (massive dollars exchanged hands in the Gretzky deal).

It’s also a major reason why one of Edmonton’s best draft summers under Barry Fraser is rarely thought of as a success.

The Satan disconnect (scouts found him, but management and coaches didn’t see what he was despite clear evidence) created a chasm in the team’s pipeline. What happens if a scouting staff hits a massive draft home run and the evaluators at the other end (GM, coach) don’t recognize the talent and derail the asset?

Satan was the first. It would happen again.

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In the history of any sports franchise, there are relatively few earth-shattering moments. Most historic events, like the acquisition of Wayne Gretzky by the Edmonton Oilers, are not completely recognized in the moment they happen, then begin a rewrite of franchise fortunes in the days that follow.

The five Stanley Cups and Gretzky acquisition by the WHA Oilers aside, no event in Oilers history had a bigger impact than the 2015 draft lottery. It was instant euphoria for Oilers fans, the city of Edmonton, management and ownership.

The impossible dream made real.

On April 18, 2015 the Oilers moved up from No. 3 to No. 1 overall, meaning the team would draft first for the fourth time in six years (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015).

That’s only part of the story. The top pick in 2015 was a generational talent, far beyond the previous gems brought in by the organization. Connor McDavid was touted as the best draft pick since Sidney Crosby a decade ago and would deliver on that promise and then some.

It was the biggest draft event in the history of the Oilers. Great scouting and luck brought Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr and Kevin Lowe to the Oilers via the draft. The no. 1 overall pick landed Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov in Edmonton.

A No. 1 overall guaranteed to be the best, or close, player in the game? It was barely believable and set off a gigantic celebration in Edmonton.

The scouting reports on Connor McDavid were incredible. Craig Button, former NHL general manager: “Two words: unprecedented speed. Skating speed, hand quickness and mental processing that he executes simultaneously to threaten defenders and create opportunities. He would be the first pick at every draft since Sidney Crosby in 2005, perhaps even in Crosby’s draft year.”

Red Line Report: “Is the kind of player on the ice, and the kind of person off the ice, that you want associated with your franchise.”

Scouting report and legacy: McDavid’s speed is breathtaking, at first blush it’s not believable. It shocks the eye and delights the mind, and you’re left wondering if you can trust what appeared before you.

The first time I saw Connor McDavid was at Oilers’ orientation camp right after the 2015 draft. It was at Northlands Coliseum, a building I’d been to many times. In those visits, the best players of the 1980’s through 2010’s had been in action, many of them playing for the home side.

Nothing prepared me for McDavid’s speed and quickness. In short order NHL fans would witness NHL defensemen who were also not ready for him.

Perhaps his biggest contribution to the Oilers is his urgency. McDavid is not satisfied with a season out of the playoffs and the Oilers missed three times in his first five years. The desire to win that McDavid possesses is the chief driver of the organization.

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Before the 2017 draft, Kailer Yamamoto famously told Peter Chiarelli “you gotta draft me, otherwise I’m gonna come back and haunt you.” His intelligent play with and without the puck is the key to his success.

The Yamamato selection, was an historic one for the Oilers. For almost 40 years, through periods where skill was king and through periods where size was the priority, the team shied away from players as small as Yamamoto (5.08,153) in the first round, no matter how many goals they produced.

HockeyProspect.com said “An electric player with dynamic offensive ability, easily some of the highest skill of any forward I watched this year, he’s just so small and at times took some big contact when I was watching him. Love his aggressive nature and how he attacks puck carries from all angles, it puts players on edge.”

After decades of passing on small skills in the first round, the Oilers finally gave in and drafted Yamamoto. He was the smallest first round pick by the organization in team history.

Absolute proof the Oilers understood the importance of skill came during the ‘lottery decade’ with the undersized winger delivering fantastic offense despite being chosen No. 22 overall. His junior numbers predicted NHL success.

That’s the kind of draft list Edmonton needs to be looking at every year. A player is too small, but posted 1.50 points-per-60 in any of the CHL leagues? Draft that guy.

It goes deeper of course, but there does seem to be a recognition, beginning in the MacGregor era and then running through Green and Wright, of high-end skill being a priority.

In order to compete for the Stanley Cup annually, great drafting is vital. We’ll know the answer in 2025.

(Photo of Connor McDavid: Steve Mitchell / USA Today)