More Oilers.
There is no disputing the fact that the landscape has changed for Stu MacGregor and his scouting staff as they head into another NHL draft. For the first time since 2009, the Edmonton Oilers will not have the first pick of the day.
But MacGregor is adamant that that is where the differences end.
“Having No. 1 is always a big deal, but we still have to prepare the same way and be prepared for anything,” the Oilers head amateur scout said. “Before, we just had to prepare in case we moved back, so it’s not we’re that far out of our realm.
“The grouping of players is still the same as we had covered. There are just a few more scenarios involved.”
The Oilers will head to Sunday’s entry draft — a one-day event in Newark, N.J. — with the seventh pick overall, two picks in the second round, none in the third or fourth, and one in each of the remaining three rounds.
They have the Anaheim Ducks’ second-round pick, a selection they acquired when they traded Andrew Cogliano in 2011.
In January, the Oilers surrendered their third-round pick to the Dallas Stars to acquire defenceman Mark Fistric. Then on trade deadline day, they moved their fourth-round selection to the Florida Panthers for centre Jerred Smithson.
Whether or not the Oilers pick seventh is another matter. Craig MacTavish is now in the general manager’s chair and has stated he has every intention of making some deals to improve his current roster. After missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons, the Oilers have to make changes, but whether or not that means MacTavish moves the first-round selection or moves a second-rounder remains to be seen.
The Colorado Avalanche have the first pick, followed by the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, but all bets are off now as to what might unfold. Joe Sakic, the new Avalanche executive vicepresident of hockey operations, recently stated Colorado will pick a forward if they don’t trade the selection.
That would mean the Avs will pass on defenceman Seth Jones, NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked player. The 6-foot-3, 205-lb. defenceman also has ties to Denver, which made him more of a lock — at least until Sakic took over. When his father, Popeye Jones, was playing for the Denver Nuggets, Seth got hooked on the game of hockey.
Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, teammates with the Halifax Mooseheads, and Aleksander Barkov, who has been playing in Finland, are the top three forwards who will be on the Avs’ radar. New head coach Patrick Roy would have seen plenty of MacKinnon and Drouin in the Quebec Major Junior League, where he had been coaching before he joined Sakic.
“It sure could change things,” MacGregor said. “(But) this is a good draft. There are some great players at the top end, but teams will get good players right through the second round. I know Craig’s going to have us in a good position, where we’ll be able to select a good player. If he can work something he feels is going to help our team, then he will, so we’re ready for that.”
The Oilers spoke to 92 ranked players at the NHL combine, then later brought a few prospects into Edmonton, a list that included Ottawa 67s centre Sean Monahan, Sault Ste. Marie defenceman Darnell Nurse and London Knights centre Bo Horvat.
Before MacTavish replaced Steve Tambellini on April 15, he was the team’s vice-president of hockey operations and had spent a lot of time working with the amateur scouts.
One of the things he spoke to them about was the importance of zeroing in on players with skill in the later rounds. Bulk can be added, skating can be refined, but skill can’t be taught.
His move from the hockey ops post to the general manager’s chair didn’t result in more changes to MacGregor’s department.
“He already had a lot of input in his previous position,” MacGregor said. “Craig was out seeing a lot of games on the amateur side. He had a real interest in it and felt he could have a real impact in that area, and I think he has, but it never affected anything we did. He was just part of the group that evaluated players.
“A lot of the things we’ve been talking about and building toward, he’s been involved with, so things really haven’t changed dramatically.”