As we enter the 2026 NHL Draft, the Edmonton Oilers have a lot of free time on their hands as they are currently not slated to choose until day two on Saturday.
As of right now, they have the 52nd overall pick in the second round and that is the first time they are expected to make their selection. Given the current state of their prospect pool, it would make a lot of sense for the club to make the selection and draft a player to develop and hopefully inject into their lineup.
The player we are going to highlight, is Red Deer Rebels centre, Beckett Hamilton.
Beckett Hamilton scouting report
Hamilton is a high-risk/high-reward potential player who saw a big uptick in production year-over-year. In his rookie season in the WHL he scored 25 points (14 goals, 11 assists) in 67 games for the Rebels in 2024-25, increasing this to 62 points (24 goals, 38 assists) in 67 games this past season. This made Hamilton by far the leading scorer for his team this year, an impressive feat for a draft eligible player, despite this he is ranked 61st on the eliteprospect.com consolidated list.
Hamilton provides a lot of utility capable of playing centre and wing, who can play proficiently at both ends. He is a very supportive player in his own end, occupying the middle and being available to aide his teammates. He is most lethal as an offensive player, capable of pulling off exciting maneuvers with the puck while creating offence and even finishing chances himself.
He could serve to become slightly more involved in the play at times as he can be too passive but other than that, he has a decent motor and shows a willingness to forecheck and backcheck.
NHL projection
As I said before, Hamilton can be seen as a high-risk/high-reward who has all the talent in the world but who has some concerns specifically relating to his size and projectability. A good comparison for Hamilton might be former WHL forward, Ben Kindel who is a high IQ but diminutive forward who faced some similar criticisms. However, Kindel showed how being a smart player can help you overcome many obstacles.
If Hamilton can get into the right situation, I would not bank on him becoming a top-nine NHL forward next year but he could be a useful utility piece going forward inside an NHL top-nine. He also shows the real potential to be more and with the Oilers, given his ability to play multiple positions and play higher up in a lineup, he could be a very good value addition at 52nd overall.
Add us as a preferred source on Google