Former Oilers’ chief scout lands in Kamloops as GM
Former Edmonton Oilers chief amateur scout Stu MacGregor says he’s moved on.
MacGregor, who took the bullet for some draft pick choices in his time with the NHL club when he was fired in late June, is going back to the future to be the general manager of the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers 20 years after he first got the junior job.
“You are always disappointed, but you have to win games or as an organization changes will be coming,” said MacGregor, who was let go by Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli.
“I have no ill feelings,” said MacGregor in his first interview since he was fired.
MacGregor replaces Craig Bonner in Kamloops, B.C., who is moving to the Dallas Stars to be on their pro scouting staff. (Ironically, MacGregor first left the Blazers in 1998 for the Stars to be part of their scouting roster).
MacGregor joined the Oilers in 2000 as an amateur scout, then replaced Kevin Prendergast as chief amateur scout in 2007 when Prendergast move upstairs as assistant GM
MacGregor was at the helm when the Oilers drafted Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov first overall; also when they took Swedish defenceman Oscar Klefbom at No. 19 in 2011, winger Tobias Rieder (now in Arizona) in the fifth round the same year and defenceman Brandon Davidson in the sixth round in 2010.
He also oversaw drafting Darnell Nurse at No. 7 and Leon Draisaitl No. 3, along with some swings and misses with second-rounders Curtis Hamilton and Martin Marincin. The jury is still out on David Musil, Tyler Pitlick and Marco Roy, other picks in Round 2. Those moves cost him, in the end. “The bottom line is changes are made when you don’t win games,” he said.
Most scouting changes happen after the draft, but MacGregor was fired about a week before the draft in south Florida. The Oilers’ list of players they liked had long been compiled by the scouting staff, but MacGregor wasn’t calling out the names.
“You don’t have control over timing,” he said. “Was I disappointed I didn’t get a chance to go to the draft? Yeah, sure. But I can’t worry about what’s happened in the past.”
MacGregor wouldn’t talk of the Oilers’ scouting staff’s decision to pick the winger Yakupov first in 2011 rather than high-end defencemen like Columbus’s Ryan Murray or current Oilers defenceman Griffin Reinhart or Toronto’s Morgan Rielly.
“I can’t say anything,” said MacGregor.
McGregor was part of the Oilers’ scouting staff when Ales Hemsky was drafted at No. 13 in 2001 and chief scout when fellow winger Jordan Eberle was picked at No. 22 in 2008. He was chief scout when they took current Oiler Anton Slepyshev in the third round in 2013. No. 88.
“Hemsky was obviously a really good move … I was in the scouting group then. Eberle was a great draft. Anton Lander’s been a good draft (second round 2009). I know they’re early picks but I think Nuge is going to be a great player, Taylor Hall will come through. Yak’s making strides. I’m really pleased with (Bogdan) Yakimov and (Anton) Slepyshev, both picked in the third round (2013),” he said.
McGregor had talked to a couple of NHL teams about scouting work this season but nothing came about.
The Kamloops junior offer came out of the blue.
MacGregor was the Blazers’ assistant GM and director of player personnel in 1991, then moved up to be their general manager in 1995. He was there when ex-Oiler coach Tom Renney and his righthand man, Don Hay, were behind the bench. Current Blazers’ partowners Jarome Iginla, Darryl Sydor and Shane Doan were playing when MacGregor was part of their management and scouting group.
“This Kamloops thing happened extremely fast, the opportunity opening up with (GM) Craig Bonner going pro with Dallas. I’ve known Craig since he was a player in Kamloops. I’ve known (current head coach) Don Hay since he was working here with Tom Renney,” said MacGregor. “Returning to junior was no issue for me. I’m returning to my roots, and I’ve lived in Kamloops for a long time, which makes it easy.”