Oilers’ All-Time Best Pick in Every Round of the NHL Draft

The Edmonton Oilers hold just four picks in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, which is set to take place on June 26 and 27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Edmonton will pick in the second round (52^nd overall), third round (84^th overall), sixth round (180^th overall), and seventh round (212^th overall).

While the NHL Entry Draft currently consists of seven rounds, it has comprised as many as 12 rounds during Edmonton’s time in the league.

So as Oilers fans look ahead to this year’s draft, here’s a look back at Edmonton’s best draft pick in every round since joining the NHL in 1979.

Round 12 – Igor Vyazmikin (1987, 252^nd Overall)

Edmonton only made 10 selections in the 12^th round, and Igor Vyzamikin is the only one who actually made it to the NHL, albeit briefly: the winger suited up for four games with the Oilers during the 1990-91 season and never played again in the NHL after that.

Vyazmikin does have an interesting bit of trivia, however: the Moscow native is the first Russian player in Oilers history to record a game-winning goal, against the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 18, 1990, which also happened to be the lone goal of his NHL career.

Round 11 – Ilya Byakin (1993, 267^th Overall)

Ilya Byakin was age 30 and had already played pro for over a decade in his native Russia when Edmonton drafted him. He debuted with the Oilers on Nov. 6, 1993, notching a goal and two assists to set a franchise record that still stands for most points by a defenceman in his first NHL game.

Byakin went on to play 44 games with Edmonton in 1993-94, scoring eight goals and adding 20 assists. He then joined the San Jose Sharks for the 1994-95 season, before returning to Europe to close out his career.

Round 10 – Gord Sherven (1981, 187^th Overall)

Of the 11 players that Edmonton selected in the 10^th round, only Gord Sherven reached the NHL. He played a grand total of 100 games – 97 in the regular season and three in the playoffs – with three different franchises over five seasons from 1983-84 to 1987-88.

The 6-foot forward appeared in 44 games over a pair of stints with the Oilers, who traded Sherven to the Minnesota North Stars in January of 1985, only to reacquire him 11 months later in December 1985. He concluded his NHL career with the Hartford Whalers.

Round 9 – Kelly Buchberger (1985, 188^th Overall)

One of the most beloved, toughest, and respected players in Oilers history, Kelly Buchberger spent 12 seasons with the Oilers, appearing in 795 games. He suited up for another 78 contests in the playoffs and was a member of Edmonton’s Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1987 and 1990.

The all-time franchise leader in penalty minutes, he was voted Edmonton’s Top Defensive Forward five straight seasons, from 1992-93 to 1996-97. He served as team captain from 1995-96 to 1998-99, before exiting Edmonton when he was taken by the Atlanta Thrashers in their expansion draft.

Round 8 – Fernando Pisani (1996, 195^th Overall)

Fernando Pisani is one of the best underdog stories in Oilers history. The local product didn’t get to skate his first shift in the NHL until age 26, on Jan. 8, 2003, more than six and a half years after he was drafted and following two and a half seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL).

The forward stuck with the Oilers through 2009-10, playing 402 games, before concluding his NHL career in 2010-11 with the Chicago Blackhawks. Pisani’s overtime short-handed goal in Game 5 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final is one of the most famous moments in Oilers postseason history.

Round 7 – Andy Moog (1980, 132^nd Overall)

Andy Moog teamed with Grant Fuhr to form one of the great ‘tender tandems’ in NHL history. The duo backstopped Edmonton to championships in 1984, 1985, and 1987, before Moog was traded in 1998 to the Boston Bruins. Moog went on to also play for the Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens.

Over the course of his NHL career, Moog was selected to four All-Star Games, twice as a member of the Oilers. He ranks 20^th in NHL history with 372 wins. Moog also owns the best regular-season winning percentage among all goalies in Oilers history, with a record of 143-53-21 (W-L-T).

Round 6 – Steve Smith (1981, 111^th Overall)

Though he is best known, infamously so, as being responsible for the “own goal” that resulted in Edmonton losing Game 7 of the 1986 Smythe Division Final to the Calgary Flames, Steve Smith had a pretty good NHL career, including parts of seven seasons, 1984-85 to 1990-91, in Oil Country.

Over his Oilers tenure, Smith was a three-time Stanley Cup champion and one-time NHL All-Star Game selectee. He ranks sixth among all defencemen in franchise playoff history for both games played and points. After leaving Edmonton in 1991, Smith went on to play for Chicago and Calgary.

Round 5 – Miroslav Satan (1993, 111^th Overall)

Miroslav Satan is easily the best player ever selected by Edmonton in Round 5. Unfortunately for the Oilers, Satan achieved his great success elsewhere, after they dubiously traded the forward away during his second NHL season, 1996-97, to the Buffalo Sabres for Craig Millar and Barrie Moore.

Satan went on to play 1,050 NHL regular-season games, racking up 363 goals and 372 assists. He was a 10-time 20-goal scorer, including a career high 40 with the Sabres in 1998-99, and won a Stanley Cup as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008-09.

Round 4 – Jari Kurri (1980, 69^th Overall)

Over 10 seasons in Edmonton, 1980-81 to 1989-90, Jari Kurri never scored fewer than 32 goals and topped 100 points six times. On the Oilers’ all-time regular-season leaderboard, Kurri ranks second to only Wayne Gretzky with 474 regular-season goals and is fourth with 1,043 points.

The affable Finn is one of seven players who were members of all five Stanley Cup-winning Oilers teams. He was an NHL First- or Second-Team All-Star selection five times. In 2001, Kurri became the third player to have his number retired by the Oilers, a group that now stands at eight.

Round 3 – Mark Messier 1979, 48^th Overall)

Like Kurri, Mark Messier is also a five-time Stanley Cup champion as a member of the Oilers, and his number hangs in the rafters of Rogers Place. Messier served three seasons as Oilers captain, 1988-89 to 1990-91, and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1984 and Hart Trophy in 1990.

After being traded to the New York Rangers in 1991, Messier went on to win another Hart Trophy, for the 1991-92 season, and in 1994 captured his sixth Stanley Cup. The born-and-raised Edmontonian ranks third in NHL regular-season history for both games played, 1,756, and points, 1,887.  

Round 2 – Jeff Petry (2006, 45^th Overall)

Round 2 of the draft might be where Edmonton has historically had its least success, relatively speaking: over more than four and a half decades, the Oilers have only selected six players in the second round who have gone on to reach 400 career regular-season NHL games.

Jeff Petry, however, is the one who stands out. Over an incredible 16-season NHL career that is still going, the stalwart defenceman has suited up for 1,048 games with six different franchises. He was a member of the Oilers from 2010-11 to 2014-15, appearing in 295 games.

Round 1 – Connor McDavid (2015, 1^st Overall)

Connor McDavid is just 29 and already has a Hall of Fame resume. The Oilers captain just clinched his sixth Art Ross Trophy, as the NHL’s regular-season points leader, and is a 2025-26 finalist for both the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Trophy, which he’s previously won four and three times, respectively.

In 794 games over 11 seasons with the Oilers, the superstar centre has racked up 409 goals and 811 assists. His 1,220 points are the second most in Edmonton’s NHL regular-season history, and he’s closing in on Gretzky, who holds the record with 1,669 points.

Edmonton certainly isn’t going to be drafting itself another McDavid later this month. But if the Oilers can use one of their four picks to acquire a future Petry, then their 2026 NHL Draft performance will be looked back upon as a success.