Oil On Whyte
Fansided

Revisiting the 2022 NHL entry draft - how did the Oilers make out?

Ah 2022 - the end of the pandemic lockdowns. Finally most if not all of the jobs that were present prior to the pandemic came back. The NHL realigned it's divisions to cross border divisions once again, and a full capacity of fans were allowed back in, masking and vaccination protocols notwithstanding - and the players had to follow the same protocols. As for the Oilers, Ken Holland continued to weave his magic remaking the Oilers in his image - and considering that the Oilers had finally made the playoffs for two years in a row at this point, I'd say that was a good thing. Let's see how this draft worked out.

By Phil Gretzky

2024 Stanley Cup Final - Media Day
2024 Stanley Cup Final - Media Day / Bruce Bennett/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

First round - Reid Schaefer, 32nd overall - the Oilers were originally slated to pick 29th in this round but they swapped picks with the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Zack Kassian, a third-round pick in 2024, and a second-round pick in 2025 - this first round pick originally belonged to Colorado who flipped it to Arizona in exchange for goalie Darcy Kuemper.

Local Edmonton boy Schaefer originally caught the eye of Oilers scouts after going 32-26-58 with 88 PIMs and a +29 in 66 games for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, breaking out after only two assists in 18 games the previous season. He then wrapped up his junior career with a bang, going 28-33-61 with a sparkling +30 and 92 PIMs in 55 games. His emergence also helped the Thunderbirds the last two seasons in the playoffs, as he put up 21 points in 25 games for the Thunderbirds in his draft year followed by 19 points in 19 games the year after as the Thunderbirds lost in the WHL finals to the Edmonton Oil Kings, who would go on to be out early in the Memorial Cup tournament.

Schaefer's time in the Oilers organization wouldn't last long, however, as he was included as part of the trade package for Mattias Ekholm at the 2023 trade deadline. It was thus last season that he made his AHL debut with the Predators' farm team the Milwaukee Admirals, putting up 7-14-21 with 39 PIMs and a +1 in 63 games.

A very modest start to his pro career but one season does not make a player, thus I don't feel I can judge him as a prospect at this point.

Fun fact - Matt Savoie, now the Oilers' top prospect after they traded Ryan Mcleod to Buffalo for him, was drafted ninth overall by the Sabres in the first round of this year's draft.

Trending up or down? The jury's still out depends on how he does in his follow-up AHL season.

Did the Oilers miss out on anyone? Seeing as how this was literally the last pick of the first round, that would be impossible. It's possible the Oilers may miss Schaefer himself in the coming years, but it's worth noting that Savoie as a prospect is an upgrade on Schaefer.

Home/Editorials