Revisiting the 2021 NHL entry draft - how did the Oilers make out?

1 of 5

Here we see the second pandemic draft taking place, with the same problems as in 2020. Although the vast majority of NHL players had all gotten their jabs and thus were safe to return to the ice, we had to wait until the vaccines had moved through the general population before it was safe for players to return to the ice and fans to return to the stands. Thus, most leagues around the world had a reduced season, but this time starting late instead of ending early. Again, I'd say keep expectations low and then be happy if things turn out.

The Oilers were once more playoff contenders at this point. So again they were drafting in the middle of the pack, specifically at the 20th spot.

First round - Xavier Bourgault, 22nd overall - Oilers actually swapped picks with Minnesota (previously 20th overall) and gained a third round pick as well in this draft for their trouble

Bourgault started his career for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL, and caught the Oilers' eye after three out of his four seasons in junior - his rookie season being the only exception - that he put up over one PPG every season - specifically 71 points in 63 games, 40 points in 29 games, then 75 points in 43 games, and putting up two seasons of 30 goals and a season of 20 goals in those seasons as well.

Bourgault's team also did well as a group, as the Cataractes won the President's Cup as QMJHL champions but lost in the Memorial Cup semifinals to the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs. (Fun fact - the Edmonton Oil Kings were the WHL champions that season). He also killed it on defens]ce too, putting up +8, +7, then +29 in those seasons.

Bourgault, however, thus far has not been able to find that success at the pro level. He put up a modest 13-21-34 in 62 games for Bakersfield in his rookie season. Albeit with a +10, so far the only element of his junior game he's been able to find at the pro level. He followed that up last season suffering an injury and thus limiting himself to 8-12-20 in 55 games.

It also didn't help Bourgault's cause, that he's played four playoff games for the Condors over the past two seasons and produced no offence in any of those games. This then led the Oilers to trade Bourgault and Jake Chiasson to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a more NHL-ready Roby Jarventie and a 2025 fourth round pick, which was then flipped to San Jose in the Cody Ceci trade.

Bourgault's ELC expires after this season, so it remains unclear whether or not he has an NHL future. He better hope the fresh start -- which likely means he'll suit up for Ottawa's farm team the Belleville Senators -- pans out, otherwise there's a good chance he might have to continue his career across the pond in Europe.

Trending up or down? Definitely down

Who did the Oilers miss out on? Only one impact player was drafted after Bourgault - Wyatt Johnson (Dallas), a guy who is a rarity at this point in the draft who went straight from junior to the NHL, putting up 24 then 32 goals in the process. The fact he was picked only one selection after Bourgault at 23rd overall hurts a little.

Second round - no pick, traded away to Detroit with Sam Gagner and a 2020 second round pick in exchange for Ryan Kuffner and Andreas Athanasiou. Detroit ended up flipping the pick to the New York Islanders who would use it.

Third round - Luca Munzenberger (drafted with Minnesota's third round pick as the Oilers had sent their own to Calgary in the Milan Lucic/James Neal trade. Thanks for that, Calgary, that was swell of you.)

With this pick it seemed the Oilers were hoping to recapture some of the German magic they captured when they drafted Leon Draisaitl in 2014.

Munzenberger has chosen to cross the Atlantic and go the US College Route. The left defenceman has so far been unremarkable from an offensive standpoint, putting up a mere combined 11 points in 92 games for the University of Vermont over three seasons, and scoring the lone goal of his college career just last season.

There are two areas of interest for Munzenberger, though, as his PIMs have shot up from 45 then down to 24 then up again to 51, a career best for him at that level so far. His +/- has also improved dramatically, from a crazy -17 in his rookie season to -9 and then +2 last season. At this stage the German is 6'3" and 190 lbs, and with time and the proper conditioning there is no doubt he'll build on that. At this point it looks like Munzenberger may carve out a career as the next Vincent Desharnais, a physical stay at home guy not to be counted on for offence, unless of course he breaks open either in the minors or what is likely his last season of US College hockey.

According to Munzenberger's scouting report though, he already possesses a good shot but doesn't use it enough. Could more offence be in his future with his coach coaxing him to shoot more? Maybe.

Munzenberger remains unsigned. However he is on the reserve list, and I would bet that depending on how he does in his last season at Vermont will help determine what his next contract in the organization looks like, or if he even has one. If he uses that shot more and increases his boxcars, he's a surefire bet for a two-way ELC in the near future.

Trending up or down? Up.

Who did the Oilers miss out on? There were a few guys the Oilers missed out on in the second round. Forward Matthew Knies (Toronto) played his first full season for the Leafs last year and put up 15 goals and 35 points. This season he's slated to play next to Auston Matthews on the Leafs' first line.

The other player is left D JJ Moser (Arizona) who has already played 200+ NHL games and was included in the trade for Mikhail Sergachev coming to Utah from Tampa Bay. Information is spotty about Moser - he's not slated anywhere on the big league roster, and his contract - which he supposedly signed in July with the Lightning - is not listed on Puckpedia anywhere. He's not listed as a blue-liner going to their minor league team nor is he on the reserve list. Weird. He might've been nice cheap help for the bottom pairing allowing the Oilers to trade Brett Kulak. However, the contract he supposedly has with Tampa is $6.75 million over two years. Which means Tampa is oddly paying a guy almost $3.5 million a season to play on their third pairing - they're usually so good with cap space I wasn't expecting that.

Anyway, an honourable mention goes to Shane Doan's son Josh, who was drafted by Arizona in this round going after all the feels. He's slated to play on their third line next year with Nick Bjugstad. In terms of the third round, no one of any consequence has emerged yet, although it's worth noting that current bottom six prospect forward Jayden Grubbe who's currently playing on the Condors, was drafted by the Rangers in the third round.

Fourth round - Jake Chiasson, 116th overall

The ultimate "thrown a dart at the dartboard and see what happens" pick, Chiasson played for five seasons in the WHL, most of them for the Brandon Wheat Kings. However, he was traded mid-season to the Saskatoon Blades. In his entire junior career he never cracked the point-per-game mark, although he did come close in his last three seasons - 20 points in 23 games, then 18 points in 20 games, then 30 points in 33 games for the Blades.

Chiasson followed that up with a single game in Bakersfield, where he didn't register a point and finished at -1. Then he joined the Oilers' ECHL affiliate in Fort Wayne, putting up 9-11-20 in 68 games with a -12 to boot.

One season hardly makes or breaks a player's career, so it's hard to say much since Chiasson only has a single pro season under his belt. He was the lesser prospect included in the aforementioned Roby Jarventie trade, and although it's much too early to call him a bust, his rookie pro season is not encouraging. He is going into year two of his ELC and like Bourgault, will be suiting up for the Belleville Senators next season, or if doesn't impress at the AHL team's training camp then it's off to the ECHL for him again.

Trending up or down? Down, albeit in short sample size.

Who did the Oilers miss out on? No one immediately afterwards, like everyone drafted after him in this round no one has, as of yet, played any NHL games. The closest player is left D Emil Lilleberg (Tampa Bay), who played 37 NHL games last season, only four more than he played in the AHL (34). He put up 0-5-5 in those 37 NHL games with a -15, so clearly he needs more seasoning.

If the Oilers are looking to trade Kulak, maybe they trade him to Tampa for this guy plus something else. Lilleberg is listed as on the big league roster in Puckpedia, but doesn't have a roster spot at this point. Only $870k against the cap, he might be a good trade chip to the Oilers, someone they should keep an eye on.

Fifth round - no pick, traded away to Ottawa for Tyler Ennis, which was flipped to Anaheim who made a selection with it.

Sixth round (two picks) - Matvey Petrov, 180th overall

Petrov took a rather unorthodox development route. He started in the Russian junior leagues, and caught the Oilers' eye when he put up 22-20-42 in 58 games in said league. He was brought across the pond to play in the OHL for the North Bay Battalion the following season. He absolutely lit up the OHL in two seasons played, putting up 40 goals and 90 points in 63 games in season one, followed by 27 goals and 92 points in 65 games in season two. His playoff boxcars are equally impressive - 10 points in 13 games in season one and 22 points in 20 games in season two.

Petrov then made his pro debut last season, where he put up 9-5-14 in 53 games. Not impressive for a rookie debut but hardly a condemnation, as the learning curve is steep for a lot of guys graduating from junior to the pros. With only one pro season under his belt, it's hard to judge him one way or the other. We need to see him play more games before we know for sure.

Petrov at this time has an ELC under his belt and will suit up again for the Condors next season. Hopefully he can harness his inner junior player and put up more offence with more experience under his belt.

Trending up or down? Jury's out at this time.

Shane Lachance, 186th overall - pick acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the signing rights to John Marino (who was never interested in signing with the Oilers organization anyway, I might add).

Ken Holland did a lot of good things and a lot of bad things in his time as GM of the Oilers, but this selection may go down as one of his better picks.

Lachance is looking more like a diamond in the rough everyday, as to start he already is a player with size at 6'5" and 218 lbs. He began his career in a lower tier US junior league, putting up 15 points in 25 games for the Boston Jr. Bruins of the NCDC. He then graduated to the USHL, putting up 11-12-23 in 55 games with 67 PIMs - showing already that's he's not afraid to get physical and throw his body around on the ice. He followed that up with a whopping 33-21-54 in 62 games played with 53 PIMs and a further 3-3-6 in 9 games, as his Youngstown Phantoms ended up winning the USHL championship that season.

Lachance has since chosen to go the US College route, putting up 13-14-27 in 40 games for Boston University. Although his PIMs weren't that impressive, -- only 12 on the season -- he's already shown an amazing ability for defensive play as he put up a +15 to go with that offence, a two point improvement on his last season in the USHL. It is 100 percent rare for a player to improve his defensive play at the next level from juniors in his rookie season (the hardest skill for NHL players to master), and Lachance has absolutely accomplished it. I can't wait to see what he does for an encore next season. If he can improve on those boxcars over the next couple of seasons, the Oilers may offer him an early ELC.

Trending up or down? Up.

Who did the Oilers miss out on? Literally no one. In the fifth round only two players have even played NHL games, and both are simply AHL bubble players at this time, which of course may change over time but that's what they are right now. In the sixth round no one has played any NHL games. I'm satisfied with the team's use of draft assets in these two rounds.

Seventh round - Max Wanner, 212th overall

This is another great pick that Holland and his scouts appear to have pulled a rabbit out of their hats with. The right-shot blue-liner was definitely looking like a seventh round reach, as he only put up four assists in 17 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL, albeit with a +2.

However, what Wanner's done since then seems to have justified the Oilers' pick. He followed that up with 23 points in 55 games with 53 PIMs and a -4, with 3-4-7 in 9 playoff games with 10 PIMs. He followed up that season with 8-22-30 in 44 games for the Warriors and redeemed his defensive play from the season prior with a sparkling +23, with a further 2-5-7 in 10 playoff games with 17 PIMs.

Wanner then turned pro the next season in Bakersfield, putting up 7-10-17 with 37 PIMs and a +13. He also played two playoff games, contributing no offence but 7 PIMs. He may not have set the AHL on fire but that's a pretty solid pro debut, and shows future potential.

Although I have no way of officially confirming this since the AHL doesn't publish line combos like the NHL does, word on the street is Wanner will be playing a key role for the Condors defence corps going forward. He will play either on the first or second pairing with fellow prospect right shot blue-liner Phil Kemp the likely tandem on the other pairing, so it appears the Condors have the right side of their defense set until one of these two graduates to the NHL with the Oilers.

Overall verdict

Well through the research I had to do for this piece, I'm pleasantly surprised that this draft turned out much better than I expected. Although it's a bummer that the Oilers' first rounder (especially after they hit on our first rounder in 2020) and fourth rounder didn't pan out, Holland worked his magic and was able to use them as trade chips. Jarventie, by the way, played seven games for the Senators last season, putting up a single assist in that time with a -5. Then he went back to down to Belleville and putting up 20 points in 22 games before suffering a injury that prematurely ended his season, which was too bad because he was rolling along. The Oilers, of course, are betting two stagnant prospects that Jarventie will report to the Condors this season healed from his injury and ready to pick up where he left off in Belleville last season.

Next. Oilers knew double offers sheets were coming well ahead of time. Oilers knew double offers sheets were coming well ahead of time. dark

Unless Munzenberger completely implodes in his last year of college, he'll be signed to an ELC, as the Oilers have a dearth of prospects at left D. (All of the Condors left D are outside hires at this point in time, and AHL bubble players at best.) The bottom of this draft looks very good - Petrov may have started his pro career with a whimper, but those crazy junior numbers show some potential and I'm excited to see what he can do for an encore. Ditto for Lachance and Wanner, who right now are looking like found $$.

Expect to see lots of picks traded in the next few drafts as Holland loved to use picks to tinker with the roster, especially at bottom six forward. Missing out on Johnson in the first round kind of sucks, but the Oilers seem to be doing fine without him.