Overall verdict
Although the Oilers fared better in this draft then in 2016, it still wasn't as good as 2015. Nonetheless, a starter-caliber goalie and a bottom pairing d-man is not a bad haul for a draft. Not great, but not bad. A bit frustrating to miss on the first round pick again. We'll find out in my next article if they made out any better in 2018. A bit satisfying to hit on the seventh round pick two seasons in a row, though. I wouldn't say Peter Chiarelli made up for last year's draft, but at least he fared a little better.
This and that
Scroll down this article in the Edmonton Journal and you'll see some tidbits of Oilers news in the dog days of summer.
Of particular note, it looks like Carter Savoie, one of two Restricted Free Agents for the Oilers not issued a Qualifying Offer, is off the Finnish pro leagues to continue his pro career. There's a twinge of irony here that he is departing the Oilers organization while his brother Matt is just entering it.
Meanwhile Evander Kane, who apparently lives in the downtown core, is getting into the wine business, partnering up with a Calgary winery. This raises two questions for me - First of all, when did Calgary get wineries and second of all, why isn't he calling it FAFO? That would be more appropriate branding for Kane himself instead of a generic name like Dovetail. I mean, Wayne Gretzky called his wine 99 Estates, an obvious homage to him and his hockey career. I have to wonder why Kane isn't doing something similar.
Lots of good candidates to go into the Oilers' Hall of Fame, too, listed in the article.
It looks like the Condors also have replacements for departed goalie coach Sylvain Rodrigue and assistant coach Nate DiCasmirro. The latter of which is going to the same position with Minnesota's farm team in Iowa, and DiCasmirro grew up in Minnesota, so I can see the pull for him to go there. I can't find any information on where Rodrigue is going next.