Oil On Whyte
Fansided

Revisiting the 2019 NHL entry draft - how did the Oilers make out?

The 2019 entry draft was an interesting time for the Oilers. Peter Chiarelli had been fired the previous February and Ken Holland just hired a couple of months earlier, so this was the last draft that had Peter Chiarelli's fingerprints all over it. Of course Ken Holland would be relying heavily on the scouts this time around because he wouldn't have had time to scout anybody himself.

By Phil Gretzky

Jun 7, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland, left, and head coach Kris Knoblauch take questions during media day in advance of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 7, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland, left, and head coach Kris Knoblauch take questions during media day in advance of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next

Round two - Raphael Lavoie, 38th overall

Lavoie has already had one seven game call-up for the Oilers as of last year, where he put up no offence and a -2, par for the course for a guy on his first call-up. But after scoring 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games for the Condors last season, Lavoie's time has come and he's now in the conversation for a roster spot on the Oilers. He was also on the taxi squad for the Oilers during their Cup finals run this past season but didn't make it into a game - at least not this time around. Of course, Matthew Savoie, James Hamblin, and Noah Philp are all callup candidates as well, so Lavoie will have some competition come training camp. That being said, he might be the second best forward prospect in the Oilers system right now. What more can you ask of a draft pick five years into his pro career?

Hit or miss? Hit.

Who did the Oilers miss out on? Although I wouldn't classify Lavoie as a bad pick by any means, the Oilers could've done even better with the pick had they picked a couple of different people - Nils Hoglander (Vancouver) was taken two picks after Lavoie and not only is Hoglander an NHL regular, he scored 24 goals last season for the Canucks, and blueliner Alex Vlasic (Chicago) was taken five picks after Lavoie and he broke out playing on the other side of Seth Jones for the Hawks and putting up 2-14-16 with a -4 in the process. Of course, a big factor in this as well is that the Canucks and Hawks are both unfinished products and thus at this point there is more room for these youngsters on their roster compared to the Oilers roster, which is veteran laden and a cup favorite, thus less room for younger players. Though neither player was on the roster to close out the season for their respective clubs, I'll give honourable mentions to Nic Robertson (Toronto) and Brett Leason (Washington).

Home/Draft