With the season officially over, the NHL Draft is next on the agenda for the league, and teams are preparing to welcome the next wave of young talent to their organizations. Every year brings a new and unique class, especially for a team like the Edmonton Oilers. This is a team that had a lot of high picks throughout the 2010s, which resulted in some big names for them later on. But which class was the best for them after all these years?
Related: 3 Times the Edmonton Oilers Drafted an All-Star in the Third Round
The past 15 years have brought in some of the most recognizable faces in the NHL, but also arguably some of the biggest busts the league has seen. Which year did Edmonton management pick perfection? Here’s the top five draft classes for the Oilers since 2010.
5. 2017 – Kailer Yamamoto and Stuart Skinner
There weren’t any real flashy picks that came out of the 2017 NHL Draft for the Oilers like the other classes, but they managed to have some success. They started out by choosing Kailer Yamamoto at 22nd overall, a small forward from the Spokane Chiefs. He stuck with the team through the 2022-23 season, hitting a career-high in points a season before with 41. He has 137 career points to this point and is currently in the Utah Mammoth organization.
The other notable selection in this draft came in the third round, when the Oilers stayed in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and picked none other than Stuart Skinner. After spending a few years developing, Skinner made his NHL debut in the 2020-21 season and would slowly integrate himself into the starting role through the following seasons. He has a career .906 save percentage (SV%) and ranks second in Oilers history for playoff wins (26) and shutouts (four). Skinner has backstopped Edmonton to two straight Western Conference titles and was also selected to the All-Star Game in 2023. He has certainly made his mark in Oilers’ history.
These two players alone solidify it as a top-five class in the past 15 years. A pair of solid picks that contributed to a contending Edmonton team. But don’t worry, it gets better.
4. 2014 – Leon Draisaitl
The Oilers made six selections in this draft, with just two of…
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