Revisiting the 2018 NHL entry draft - how did the Oilers make out?
By Phil Gretzky
Round two (two picks) - Ryan McLeod, 40th overall
Ryan McLeod showed his potential with point totals of 70 and 62 (in 68 and 63 games, respectively) in junior. Since he was a 20 year old overager at the time, the rules against McLeod jumping from the CHL to the AHL didn't apply, so he joined the Condors for five playoff games in 2018-19, putting up three assists in those five games - a good start albeit in short sample size. Mcleod then joined the Condors full time the next season, putting up 23 points in 56 games, showing signs that he could have a career as a solid bottom six forward or middle six forward. He joined the Swiss pro leagues in the covid shortened 2020-21 season, putting up 11 points in 15 games. He really broke out when he got back to Bakersfield that season, though, putting up 28 points in 28 games. That earned him a 10 game callup where he put up an assist in those 10 games as well as four playoff games, a ballsy thing to do to a raw rookie. After following up that season with five points in a short seven game stint in Bakersfield, his point totals then increased to 21 points (71 games), 23 points (57 game shortened post-covid season), then 30 points in 81 games last season. His point totals in the playoffs have likewise increased but stayed largely steady - 3-1-4 in 16 games in his second season, 0-5-5 in 12 games the season after, and 4-0-4 in 24 games this past playoffs - although he was largely relegated to the wing or a healthy scratch after the trade for Adam Henrique, who eventually ended up taking over at third line center.
Most recently, of course, after Jeff Jackson re-upped a more veteran presence in Henrique for the third line center position, that left Mcleod as expendable and he was subsequently traded to Buffalo with prospect Matthew Savoie coming back as the centerpiece. This trade for Buffalo fans was much maligned, as illustrated here. There is great irony that is coming from a Toronto Maple Leafs blog. I don't know how Jeff Jackson pulled that off, but I'm glad he did. At any rate, this was a solid pick.
Hit or miss? Hit - also the first hit in the second round since 2015, mirroring first round results.
Olivier Rodrigue, 62nd overall - pick acquired from Montreal in exchange for the Oilers' third and fifth round picks in this draft, a pick which originally belonged to Washington who traded it to Montreal for Lars Eller
Olivier Rodrigue's resume doesn't look that impressive on the surface, but he's knocking on the door of the call-up this season and likely a roster spot within 2-3 years. He's not as old as last year's seventh round pick Phil Kemp but is showing the same pattern of being a late bloomer.
Rodrigue's selection was originally criticized since he was the son of the organization's AHL goalie coach of the day Sylvain Rodrigue so accusations of nepotism rained down - and to be fair, the Oilers did set a precedent for that for a while, by hiring Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish to move up the ranks, while at the same time maintaining too much loyalty to what for years was an underperforming scouting staff. Paul Coffey's initial role with the team as a skills coach was roundly criticized as well, although he's since redeemed himself as an assistant coach on Kris Knoblauch's staff.
Anyway, back to Rodrigue. He did earn a draft pick on merit by finishing his junior career in the QMJHL with a .918 sv% and a 2.32 GAA so there was potential shown there. He struggled his first two seasons with the Condors, finishing both years with sv%'s below .900 and a GAA above or near 3.00, all the while playing only 11 and 13 games respectively, as well as a stint being banished to the ECHL, where he didn't fare much better, going .907 with a 3.57 GAA. But, since the minors are primarily for development, Rodrigue obviously worked on his game and has since redeemed himself, with the past two seasons producing sv%s of .912 and .916 - with a sparkling .939 in the playoffs last season for the Condors, with the GAA predictably falling as well, from 2.77 to 2.73, going down to 2.07 in the playoffs for the Condors. Rodrigue's father has since departed the organization, and Rodrigue is looking more and more like he'll cover the bet going forward, likely eventually supplanting the older Calvin Pickard by the time Pickard's contract is over. Hopefully, the Oilers can deal Pickard from a position of strength by then and perhaps replenish their draft pick selection even more.
Word on the street is the Oilers wanted to give Rodrigue a cup of coffee style call-up last season, but with the team flying on three winning streaks and trying to make up for lost time from a slow start to the season, there was simply too much risk in starting Rodrigue for a game, even against the bottom feeding teams. I would wager if the Oilers get off to a better start and can stay at the top of the division then conditions are primed for Rodrigue to get a start against a bad team probably around mid-season - assuming of course that Rodrigue can build on his breakthrough this season, as with the improved play he's shown the past couple of seasons he's earned a promotion to defacto starter in Bakersfield and organizational #3, prompting the Oilers to let Ryan Fanti, a former college free agent signing, walk out of the organization.
If Skinner or Pickard get injured, you can bet that Rodrigue will get the call in their absence to fill in if that happens too.
Hit or miss? Tough call, but I'm going to call this a hit because OR looks right on the cusp of an NHL career - and what else can you ask of a second round pick?
Who did the Oilers miss out on? As far as Rodrigue is concerned, he was the final pick in the second round so the answer to that one is no. As far as after McLeod, there was one prospect of note that we could call an upgrade on McLeod - blueliner Sean Durzi (Toronto). The Leafs would go on to trade Durzi to the LA Kings who would go on to trade him to Arizona, where he broke out this past season with 41 points and will start the season for Utah next year as the incumbent top pairing blue liner on the right side opposite Mikhail Sergachev. The only other player of note is bottom pairing blueliner Michael Fehervary (Washington). I'm actually glad they picked McLeod over Durzi despite this as Durzi would be buried under Bouchard here, so they would've had to trade him away anyway just like Toronto and LA did. McLeod came in to fill a role at a critical time for the organization when they were lacking a legitimate third line center, and they've since turned him into a player via trade who projects to be an NHL star if he lives up to his hype.