Revisiting the 2016 NHL entry draft - how did the Oilers make out?

We come to the second in the series of a look back at the Oilers drafts in the Connor McDavid era. The first look at the 2015 draft is here. Here's what Peter Chiarelli did for an encore in 2016, at a time when he had more of a stamp on the team as not only had he been in charge for a full season but the new scouting staff that he hired after doing a housecleaning of staffing personnel that had largely failed to draft anyone meaningfully outside of the first round. Of course, we can't put all the hindsight in one draft as it takes on average five years for a draft pick to make it to the NHL, so this is merely a taste of what is to come.

Round one - Jesse Puljujarvi, fourth overall

The big hype at the time was whether the Oilers would take Pierre Lub-Dubios or Puljujarvi. Then Columbus then-GM Jarmo Kekalainen made the decision for us by unexpectedly taking Dubois instead of Puljujarvi with the third pick in 2016. Once it came time for the Oilers to pick next, Chiarelli was practically tripping over himself with glee picking Puljujarvi, a player pegged by many to fill a hole that at the time was present at RW. Well, that glee with Chiarelli was short lived, as both the player and the team would prove to mismanage Puljujarvi's development and subsequent pro career.

Seeing that Puljujarvi had already played two seasons in the Finnish pro leagues, the Oilers assumed that Puljujarvi was NHL ready from the get-go. This turned out to be not true, as in his rookie season he would play 28 games. Although he didn't do badly, putting up boxcars of 1-7-8, he certainly would've benefited more from time started earlier in the AHL rather than a belated send down to Bakersfield later that season. Since he had already played 28 games in his rookie season, that meant that the Oilers had effectively burned through a year of his ELC (a player is only allowed nine games in his rookie season in order for his ELC not to count until the year after), a terrible use of a rookie player. They mercifully sent him down to Bakersfield after realizing that, predictably, he was having trouble adjusting to both life in North America off the ice and trouble adjusting to the NHL game on the ice.

Of course, Puljujarvi himself did plenty to torpedo his own NHL career. The Oilers arranged for English lessons for him as at the time he spoke very broken English which in later interviews only marginally got better, and he effectively blew them off. He got his agent to start a public spat with the team, who rather than tuning in his entitled attitude as he should've, he enabled it, releasing public statements that Puljujarvi believed he was too good to play in the bottom six forward group in the NHL or the AHL, that he belonged in the top six forward group. This, of course, was not true, and Puljujarvi had gotten plenty of ice time in the top six as it was, and his play was found wanting. He didn't seem to realize that the NHL is a meritocracy (it's the best pro league in the world for a reason) and thus players have earned their keep every step of the way.

First, a forward has to cut his teeth ideally in the AHL, then prove he can play in the NHL, on the fourth line, then the third line, and then and only then in the top six once he's proven he can play both offence and defence against easier competition in the bottom six. But Puljujarvi came to the Oilers with an attitude problem, and developed baggage because he believed he was entitled to a spot in the top six right away despite the fact it wasn't a good place for him to start. Once Puljujarvi's ELC was up, and the NHL season had ended early due to COVID, JP went back to Finland to play and refused to come back to play for the Oilers, a move that ultimately proved futile because as a rookie just ending his first contract, and struggling to stay in the lineup never mind produce consistently he had literally no leverage. The Oilers held onto his playing rights and they weren't going to trade them away for nothing. The Oilers predictably - and rightly so - took a hard line with the player and essentially kept him in a stalemate, telling him if he wanted to stay in Europe then that was just fine with them. His NHL rights were retained by the Oilers and thus his NHL career was in limbo. Chiarelli rightly asked for a first round pick in return for Puljujarvi in trade, something his counterparts all balked at.

This didn't change until Chiarelli was fired and the Oilers hired Ken Holland to take his place. One of Holland's initial moves was to meet with Puljujarvi and his representation and to convince him to come back to Edmonton and resume his NHL career - but under certain conditions and with more open communication and understanding. Puljujarvi seemed to have learned his lesson and came back to the Oilers to resume his career in the 2020-21 season with more humility and less entitlement, and did the same thing as before - he put up OK results and played up and down the lineup trying to find a fit.

This continued for two more seasons before he finally got some leverage in contract negotiations the year prior and forced the Oilers to sign him for $3.25 million lest he take the team to arbitration and pay an even more inflated price for his services. By this time the Oilers had become playoff contenders and thus were hugging the cap ceiling and needed some cap space to load up at the trade deadline, so they shipped Puljujarvi off to Carolina for a prospect they had no intention of re-signing, where predictably he didn't fare much better, at which point Carolina didn't offer him a QO as an RFA and thus he became a UFA. The Pittsburgh Penguins eventually signed him to a PTO, which then turned into a modest full blown deal in the NHL. You can take a look for yourself here, but his career with the Pens so far has followed the same pattern as his time with the Oilers - able to score in the AHL, but score only sparingly in the NHL. Right now JP is nothing more than a bottom six forward for the Pens, and he only has this season remaining on his contract with the Pens, with his NHL future unclear as he has so far failed to deliver on his draft promise. Both the player and the Oilers deserve blame for this. Unless things drastically change for him this season, JP could be looking at the end of his NHL career and will have to be banished to play in lesser leagues in Europe until he retires from the game completely.

Hit or miss? Massive miss.

Who did the Oilers miss out on? Prepare yourself, because this is a very long list - Matthew Tkachuk (Calgary), Clayton Keller (Arizona), Mikahil Sergachev (Montreal), Michael Mcleod (New Jersey), Charlie McAvoy (Boston), Luke Kunin (Minnesota), Jakob Chychrun (Arizona), Brett Howden (Tampa Bay), Trent Frederic (Boston), Sam Steel (Anaheim). Some of these names are some of the best players in the game today - Tkahuck, Keller, and Chychrun especially hurt. Imagine how loaded the Oilers would be today if any of them suited up for us in the forward ranks (or in the case of Chychrun, the D corps). McAvoy or Sergachev would be welcome additions to the defence corps, even today. Even Michael Mcleod (Ryan Mcleod's brother) was rolling along in New Jersey right up until he was revealed as one of the perpetrators of SA in the London Knights incident from 2018 and is thus barred from playing in the NHL until he's cleared of charges. Man did missing on this pick ever hurt - especially considering Boston had two picks in this round and hit on them both.

Round two, Tyler Benson, 32nd overall

There isn't much to say about Benson. He never really amounted to anything more than an AHL bubble player. He had three separate callups over three seasons and failed to permanently grab a roster spot in any of them. 38 NHL games later at this point he is nothing more than an AHL veteran playing for the Vegas Golden Knight's AHL affiliate in Henderson, Nevada.

Hit or Miss? Miss.

Who did the Oilers miss out on? Sorry again in advance folks, this will again be a long list. Andrew Peeke (Boston), Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis), Alex Debrincat (Chicago), Nathan Bastian (New Jersey), Samuel Girard (Nashville), Carter Hart (Boston), Ryan Lindgren (Boston), Filip Hronek (Detroit), and Dillon Dube (Calgary). The names aren't as big this time around, but Alex Debrincat would definitely clean up playing next to McDavid or Draisaitl. Ditto Kyrou. If the Oilers had drafted Girard this year maybe they might've been able to trade away Darnell Nurse before he'd been due that big boy contract of his. Dube and Carter Hart were both involved in the Knights incident of 2018 as well. Hronek would've looked good on our D corps too. We'll see lots of Lindgren I imagine as the Flames just signed him as a free agent a month or so ago. Also, why does Boston keep hitting on all their picks? Do they have a time traveller on their scouting staff or something? Three for three in this draft....wow.

Round three (three picks) - Markus Niemelainen, 63rd overall

Niemelainen is an interesting case. On paper, he looks like an NHL defenceman but hasn't been able to grab a roster spot. He had two callups over two seasons and due to the fact that he's a physical stay at home d-man we can't really judge him by his boxcars. He did finish close to the top of the heap in hits/60 one year in a limited sample size but that's about as good as he can get. Philip Broberg, Vincent Desharnais, and Phil Kemp all were callup options before Niemelainen the last couple of seasons, so I think the Oilers have soured on him as a prospect. He's currently listed as a Group Six free agent, meaning he hasn't played enough NHL games to accumulate RFA status. I'm sure another NHL team will take a short term flyer on him at some point, but somehow I doubt it will be the Oilers. Might have a career as an AHL veteran at this point.

Hit or miss? Miss

Matthew Cairns, 84th overall pick - pick acquired from Florida in exchange for winger Teddy Purcell

Not much to say about Cairns. Since graduating from the US College System in 2020-21, Cairns has bounced around between the AHL and the ECHL his entire career, none of it in the Oilers system which means they declared him a lost cause and never signed him to an ELC before his signing rights came up for grabs. Never got anywhere near the NHL and at the age of 26, I doubt he will.

Hit or miss? Miss

Filip Berglund, 91st overall pick - pick acquired from Pittsburgh in exchange for blueliner Justin Schultz

Also, not much to say on this one. After some time in the Swedish pro leagues, Berglund came over to Bakersfield where he underperformed for one season (0-6-6 in 53 games played, although a +3 which is something) before heading back to Sweden where he continues to play to this day.

Hit or miss? Miss

Who did the Oilers miss out on? In the Oilers defence, there was really only a single impact player taken in this entire round, and that was Adam Fox (Calgary). Considering how much of a failure he was for the Rangers in this past season's playoffs maybe in the end we dodged a bullet there. Interesting to note that defenceman Cam Dineen and goalie Connor Ingram, who are now both playing in the Oilers system, were drafted by opposing teams in this round.

Round four - no picks, Oilers traded away their fourth round pick in this draft along with Martin Gernat to Anaheim for Patrick Maroon

Round five - (two picks), Dylan Wells, 123rd overall

Wells was taken when the Oilers had a bit of a black hole in terms of prospect goalies. The well was literally dry for decent drafted goalies for the Oilers from the days of Devan Dubnyk until Stuart Skinner came along. Wells himself turned out to be nothing special, bouncing around between Bakersfield and then-ECHL affiliate the Wichita Thunder before the organization didn't re-up him after his ELC and he's bounced around the AHL and ECHL ever since, punctuated only by a single period's appearance in a game for the Chicago Blackhawks where he let in three goals on 12 shots. Hasn't even had a sv% above .900 since.

Hit or miss? Miss

Graham McPhee, 129th overall - pick acquired from St. Louis along with Niklas Lundstrom for goalie Anders Nilsson

Not much to say about McPhee either. He played for a few seasons in Bakersfield without earning a callup before becoming AHL veteran fodder for the Belleville Senators, Ottawa's farm team.

Hit or miss? Miss

Did the Oilers miss out on anyone in either rounds four or five? Not really, only bottom six forwards Brandon Duhaime (Minnesota), Noah Gregor (San Jose), and Ross Colton (Tampa Bay). In the fifth round, it was bottom six forwards Michael Eyssimont (LA) and Beck Malenstyn (Washington).

Round six - Aapeli Rasanen, 153rd overall

Again, not much to say here. Rasanen was never signed to an ELC due to a US College career and time in the Finnish pro leagues, a time where he never really made an impact in either case.

Hit or miss? Miss.

Who did the Oilers miss out on? Top six forwards Brandon Hagel (Buffalo) and Jesper Bratt (New Jersey), with an honourable mention to bottom six forward Michael Pezzetta (Montreal). The fact we could've had Hagel or Bratt stings a little.

Round seven - Vincent Desharnais, 183rd overall

You gotta appreciate the irony of a draft where the Oilers miss on literally every single pick except this one where they literally save the best for last.

The hulking 6'7" bottom pairing blueliner made the team in his first callup in the 2022-23 season, where he didn't produce much offensively but did make an impact physically, finishing 19th on the team in hits with 45 and sixth on the team in blocked shots with 48. In 36 games he finished with 0-5-5. Desharnais also became known for his defensive play and PK abilities, as he finished with a sparkling +15 - a phenomenal number for a rookie - and third on the team in PK ice time per game with 2:14. He followed that up with 2:02 in PK ice time per game and 1-10-11 in 78 games, with a +3, this time doing spot duty on the second pairing. Physically he kicked it up a notch, vaulting up to 135 hits (fourth on the team), and second on the team in blocked shots with 122 (second only to Darnell Nurse, in case you're wondering).

Unfortunately for the Oilers Desharnais's team friendly contract was up after this past season and he became a luxury they couldn't afford. He would go on to sign a two year, $4,000,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks - I guess they liked what they saw when they played against him in the second round of the playoffs.

Hit or miss? Hit

Did the Oilers miss out on anyone? No, in fact, the Oilers got the one impact player that was drafted in this round. Only three other players even played NHL games, a combined 34 between the three of them.

Overall verdict

This was Peter Chiarelli's encore draft, and overall I'd say he failed miserably. He missed out on a lot of impact players in the first, second, and fifth rounds - missing on the third and fifth rounds where they had multiple picks hurts even more. The first round especially - most teams hit on their selections but the Oilers missed. Oy vey, let's hope 2017 is better.

It is kind of cool to hit in the seventh round - and to pick the one player out of 31 who was any good, but that's merely a sliver of hope and nothing more.