Five Prospects To Target With The Oilers’ First Round Pick

The NHL draft is an event the Edmonton Oilers are used to having one the draft lottery more than a few times in the past. This season though they will be picking a little bit later than normal.

Edmonton as of now has the 19th overall pick in the draft. Even though they were one of the first teams to exit the playoffs getting swept by the Winnipeg Jets, they still had a pretty good record which now means they will be picking 19th.

Here is the complete NHL draft order as of now via NHL.com

1. Buffalo Sabres

2. Seattle Kraken

3. Anaheim Ducks

4. New Jersey Devils

5. Columbus Blue Jackets

6. Detroit Red Wings

7. San Jose Sharks

8. Los Angeles Kings

9. Vancouver Canucks

10. Ottawa Senators

11. Chicago Blackhawks

12. Calgary Flames

13. Philadelphia Flyers

14. Dallas Stars

15. New York Rangers

16. St. Louis Blues

17. Winnipeg Jets

18. Nashville Predators

19. Edmonton Oilers

20. Boston Bruins

21. Minnesota Wild

22. Detroit Red Wings (from Washington Capitals)

23. Florida Panthers

24. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Toronto Maple Leafs)

25. Minnesota Wild (from Pittsburgh Penguins)

26. Carolina Hurricanes

27. Colorado Avalanche

28. Semifinal losing team with fewest points

29. Semifinal losing team with most points

30. Stanley Cup Final losing team

31. Stanley Cup winner

The remaining four picks will be established when the playoffs are complete. This will be the first draft to include the Seattle Kraken, and it will also be the fifth time Edmonton has drafted 19th overall, can you name the players Edmonton took with the 19th pick?

With the 19th overall pick in team history, Edmonton has taken four defencemen, here they are: Jeff Beukeboom in 1983, Francois Leroux in 1988, Matthieu Descoteaux in 1996, and Oscar Klefbom in 2011. Not a bad group of players by any means. So without further delay let’s dive in with who the Edmonton Oilers should consider drafting with the 19th overall pick assuming they are still on the board and the team has not traded the pick away.

Sebastian Cossa (6-6, 210), G, Edmonton (WHL)

Sebastian Cossa could go anywhere in this draft. If he manages to fall to the 19th overall pick then the Edmonton Oilers should really consider grabbing him. Cossa has been playing with the Edmonton Oil Kings for a while and has really established himself as a great goalie prospect.

At 6’6″ it definitely is a good idea to consider signing a big goalie like Cossa. While obviously goalie prospects take a little bit longer to develop, Cossa is someone that I wouldn’t be shocked is an exception to that.

Here are his rankings:

Ranked #28 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #24 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #23 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #15 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #1 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Goalies)
Ranked #23 by SPORTSNET’S
Ranked #43 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #36 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #24 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #24 by SMAHT SCOUTING
Ranked #32 by THE PUCK AUTHORITY
Ranked #14 by TSN/McKenzie

The stats show that Cossa has just gotten better every year he has played. His goals-against average and save percentage are great, and he is someone the team would be better off having around.

I could see Cossa spending a year or two in the AHL and then getting a real chance with this team. Considering how young the entire league is it definitely shouldn’t be a shock that goalies will start making the jump sooner as well.

Daniil Chayka (6-3, 187), D, Guelph (OHL)

It would not be right if we did not include a defenceman on this list considering Edmonton has only taken defencemen in the past with this pick.

Daniil Chayka is a big guy at 6’3″ and at just 18 years old there definitely is no question that he could get bigger. The team does have a pretty good blue line and Chayka would be a nice addition to it later down the line.

Take a look at his rankings:

Ranked #30 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #39 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #23 by NEUTRAL ZONE
Ranked #44 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #5 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)
Ranked #24 by SPORTSNET’S
Ranked #32 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #25 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #29 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #39 by SMAHT SCOUTING
Ranked #13 by THE PUCK AUTHORITY
Ranked #19 by TSN/McKenzie

Chayka is a player that could get taken anywhere in this draft, a lot of different platforms have him going right around where the Oilers are picking, so if he is available maybe the team should add him to their organization.

Simon Robertsson (6-0, 190), RW, Skelleftea (SWE)

Simon Robertsson stands out to me for a couple of different reasons. 6’0″ and 190 pounds I think he has a pretty good frame that could translate to the NHL sooner rather than later.

In the world junior championships, this past season Robertsson had three goals in seven games for Team Sweden. Robertsson is another guy that could go anywhere in the draft, probably a little later than where Edmonton is picking, but if he is their guy they could trade down a few picks and add another draft pick for later in the draft.

Ranked #17 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #29 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #14 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #26 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #11 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)
Ranked #27 by SPORTSNET’S
Ranked #20 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #8 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #36 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #18 by SMAHT SCOUTING
Ranked #19 by THE PUCK AUTHORITY
Ranked #28 by TSN/McKenzie

So we looked at two wingers that both have a great shot and can play physically without the puck, now let’s look at another defenceman.

Stanislav Svozil (6-1, 182), D, Brno (CZREP)

Stanislav Svozil might be a little less known than some of the other players we have talked about, but he is someone that could be a big part of the NHL someday. Svozil admires the way Erik Karlsson plays in the NHL and adding a defenceman that wants to play like that wouldn’t hurt Edmonton at all.

Here are his rankings:

Ranked #22 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #17 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #33 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #14 by NEUTRAL ZONE
Ranked #30 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #16 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)
Ranked #16 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #18 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #32 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #19 by SMAHT SCOUTING
Ranked #28 by THE PUCK AUTHORITY
Ranked #34 by TSN/McKenzie

Svozil has great hands, he is someone that can move the puck as good as anyone in this league, and I think Edmonton would be adding a great future part of the blue line if they choose to draft him.

Now assuming Edmonton has already missed out on the four previous players on this list, then I think that Svozil would be an excellent pick for the team. Not only would it follow the tradition of picking a defenceman, but it would allow the team to add an excellent pick that can help the team for years to come.