The Edmonton Oilers struggles at the draft table have been well documented over the years. Poor drafting and developing had been a critical factor in why the Oilers had only made the playoffs just four times since the 2000-01 season. Edmonton even went through a well documented string where they had four first overall picks in six years adding Taylor Hall (2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011), Nail Yakupov (2012), and Connor McDavid (2015).
Having those high picks did not affect the team’s overall outcome at the time because they weren’t finding NHL caliber talent outside the first round. You can have stars, but you need to surround those stars with quality depth. Edmonton didn’t start improving their star draft picks until Ken Holland took over as General Manager in 2019.
It was not all on the scouting group as Edmonton’s had Kevin Lowe, Steve Tambellini, Craig MacTavish, Peter Chiarelli and Holland in the general manager’s chair. The addition of Keith Gretzky helped the Oilers get their 2017 class in order, and the picks made during Chiarelli’s tenure have percolated to the top. Only time will tell how new GM Stan Bowman will fare.
Recent draft picks Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway have given Edmonton hope for the future. And CEO of Hockey Operations, Jeff Jackson, helped restock the prospect cupboard this past summer when he traded Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio to the Buffalo Sabres for highly touted prospect Matt Savoie. The Oilers have had some incredible luck in drafting Leon Draisaitl third overall in 2014, drafting Stuart Skinner 78th overall in 2017 and Evan Bouchard 10th overall in 2018, but as the organization they’ve also collected their fair share of busts over the years.
Here are 10 of the biggest draft busts in Oilers history dating back to the 2000 NHL Draft.
#10 – RW Jesse Puljujarvi
Ht/Wgt: 6’4 201lbs | Birthplace: Alvkarleby, SWE
Draft: 2016 – 1st round – 4th overall | Projection: Top 6 Playmaking Forward
GM & Head Scout: Peter Chiarelli, Bob Green
NHL Totals: 356 GP – 54 G – 64 A – 118 PTS
Jesse Puljujarvi was an absolute beast at the 2016 World Juniors, helping Finland win gold and finish first in scoring. He seemed like a can’t-miss prospect. At the 2016 NHL Draft, the Oilers had their eyes on Matthew Tkachuk as it seemed like the top three prospects, Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Puljujarvi, would go to the three teams picking first – Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets. The Leafs, of course, took Matthews, the Jets took Laine but Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen decided to bypass Puljujarvi and chose Pierre Luc-Dubois third overall. So, with the Oilers on the clock, and what seemingly felt like Puljujarvi fell into their laps, they decided to forgo choosing Tkachuk and went with the player who would eventually become known as “The Bison King.”
This is one of those cases where both the player and the organization failed each other. The Oilers failed Puljujarvi by rushing him to the NHL and not properly handling him throughout his time in Edmonton. He failed the Oilers by not having the hockey smarts and instincts needed to be an elite scorer in the NHL. He has proven to be a popular, and marginal, NHLer at best. He’s strong in the defensive zone, which is great, but when a player is chosen as high as he was, he needs to show some offensive flair. My overall impression of Puljujarvi is that he’s a great kid who never built up the confidence needed to take his game higher. Injuries also plagued him as he’s had surgery on both hips and sadly never lived up to the high expectations placed on him in Edmonton.
Other Options: LW Matthew Tkachuk, D Charlie McAvoy, RW Alex DeBrincat
#9 – D Doug Lynch
Ht/Wgt: 6’3 214lbs | Birthplace: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Draft: 2001 – 2nd round – 43rd overall | Projection: No. 4 Shutdown Defenseman
GM & Head Scout: Kevin Lowe, Kevin Prendergast
NHL Totals: 2 GP – 0 G – 0 A – 0 PTS
Being a second-rounder doesn’t mean that Lynch wasn’t a bust. There were some lofty expectations pushed upon Lynch who a lot of people thought could’ve been a poor man’s Barrett Jackman. Lynch also had an excellent WHL career with the Red Deer Rebels. When Edmonton called his name with the 43rd selection in 2001, people believed the Oilers had one of the better second-round picks of that draft.
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Unfortunately, injuries had their way with Lynch, and his shot at a long-term NHL career was hampered. He lost a considerable amount of time in his development years, namely a wrist injury that would affect his puckhandling abilities. After investing four-plus years in Lynch, the Oilers moved him to acquire Chris Pronger from the St. Louis Blues before the 2005-06 season started.
Lynch would spend the next two seasons in St. Louis’ farm system and never played another NHL game. Six years after being drafted Lynch left for Austria and joined EC Salzburg and hasn’t returned since. He would sign with EC Salzburg for the 2007-08 season and primarily played all seven seasons in the Belarus league.
Related: 4 Trades That Doomed & Saved Franchises
He would also make pitstops with the Vienna Capitals and Frolunda HC. Lynch retired after the 2013-14 season after playing 11 pro seasons across various leagues. The highlight of his career was helping Red Deer win the 2001 Memorial Cup.
Other Options: C Mike Zigomanis, C Mike Cammalleri, RW Chris Thorburn, RW Jason Pominville, C Jay McClement
#8 – LW Magnus Paajarvi
Ht/Wgt: 6’2 205lbs | Birthplace: Norrkoping, Sweden
Draft: 2009 – 1st round – 10th overall | Projection: Top 6 Power Forward
GM & Head Scout: Steve Tambellini, Stu MacGregor
NHL Totals: 467 GP – 62 G – 62 A – 124 PTS
A stellar performance for Sweden at the 2009 World Juniors put a rocket on Paajarvi’s back during his draft year. He was a teenager playing competitive minutes for Timra in Sweden’s top league. When the Oilers got to the podium, they were naturally ecstatic to be landing a quick skating power forward.
By the time Paajarvi had played his first NHL game with the Oilers in 2010-11, he’d already collected back-to-back silver medals followed by a bronze at the World Juniors and a gold medal at the Ivan Hlinka tournament. Paajarvi looked like a real star in the making and issued in the next era for the Oilers along with Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.
Paajarvi posted 34 points in 80 games during his rookie year but never seemed to match or exceed that success in the years to follow. His stock began to dwindle and ended up splitting his minutes between the NHL and AHL. Paajarvi would put up 58 points in 163 games as an Oiler before being traded to the St. Louis Blues in a one-for-one deal for David Perron.
Related: What Happened To Oilers 2009 Draft Class?
Paajarvi would play parts of the next five seasons with the Blues while also spending time in the American League. In January 2018, the Blues waived Paajarvi who was claimed by the Ottawa Senators. He scored eight points in 35 games and signed a one-year extension for the 2018-19 season and currently remains unsigned. At best, Paajarvi is a borderline NHL player at this stage of his career despite showing so much promise as a high draft pick.
Other Options: D Ryan Ellis, D Calvin de Haan, RW Zack Kassian, D Dmitri Kulikov, D Nick Leddy, LW Chris Kreider
#7 – D Alex Plante
Ht/Wgt: 6’5 229lbs | Birthplace: Brandon, MAN
Draft: 2007 – 1st round – 15th overall | Projection: No. 4 Shutdown Defenseman
GM & Head Scout: Kevin Lowe, Kevin Prendergast
NHL Totals: 10 GP – 0 G – 2A – 2PTS
From the moment the Plante pick was made in 2007 people were skeptical. It also didn’t help that the 15th overall pick was part of the package Edmonton got in exchange for sending beloved Oiler Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders. Also included in the package were Robert Nilsson and Ryan O’Marra. All three players fizzled out.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, Plante had a respectable career as the Calgary Hitmen’s best defensive defenseman. However, Plante would miss most of his draft-plus-one season with a back injury. Plante’s development slowed after that. When he turned pro, he struggled with his mobility and overall footspeed.
Plante went from being a physically imposing defender to looking like an average minor league defender. Injuries would further complicate matters, including four concussions during his time in the AHL. He spent the next four seasons playing in the AHL with the Oklahoma City Barons and only played two NHL games for the Oilers.
Related: What Happened To Oilers 2007 Draft Class?
During the summer of 2013, the Oilers and Plante went their separate ways. Plante would end up signing with Dornbirner of EBEL, then Lorenskog in Norway. The past three seasons Plante has been playing in the Asia League for Anyang Halla. Plante also got his South Korean citizenship and even played for South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Other Options: D Ian Cole
#6 – G Jeff Deslauriers
Ht/Wgt: 6’4 203lbs | Birthplace: St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
Draft: 2002 – 2nd round – 31st overall | Projection: No. 1 Goalie
GM & Head Scout: Kevin Lowe, Kevin Prendergast
NHL Totals: 62 GP – 23 W – 3.24 GAA – 0.901 SV%
In his draft year, Deslauriers was ranked as the top North American goaltender by the International Scouting Service (ISS). He was also seen as the second-best goaltender in the 2002 NHL Draft behind Kari Lehtonen, who would go second overall. Deslauriers had great size for a goaltender, moved very well for a guy his size, and was a star in the QMJHL at the time.
He was always on the cusp of making Canada’s squad for the WJC. Edmonton looked like they had found their future No. 1 goaltender. In hindsight, the 2002 goaltending group wasn’t very deep. Lehtonen, Cam Ward, Josh Harding, and Curtis McElhinney were the only other goaltenders to have NHL careers.
Deslauriers struggled to gain traction amongst the pro ranks because the Oilers didn’t have a dedicated AHL franchise at the time. The Oilers shared the Hamilton Bulldogs franchise with the Montreal Canadiens in the 2005-06 season, and because Montreal was running the team, their goalies got the prime ice time. This was a majour blow to Deslauriers’ development. He never really had a fair chance and eventually lost his spot on the depth chart to Edmonton’s first-round pick in 2004 Devan Dubnyk. When Deslauriers finally got a chance to run with the No. 1 job in Edmonton, he struggled to claim the spot.
Related: History Shows Oilers Can’t Draft Goaltenders
After spending the majority of his career in the AHL, Deslauriers signed with the Anaheim Ducks in July 2011 and bounced around the AHL for the next three seasons before heading to Europe. He last played for the Lacombe Generals of the ChHL. He has since retired after the 2016-17 season and is now in commercial real estate.
Other Options: G Josh Harding, D Trevor Daley
#5 – C Jesse Niinimaki
Ht/Wgt: 6’3 196lbs | Birthplace: Tampere, Finland
Draft: 2002 – 1st round – 15th overall | Projection: Top 6 Offensive Center
GM & Head Scout: Kevin Lowe, Kevin Prendergast
NHL Totals: Never played
When the Oilers drafted Niinimaki, they were hoping that he, Alexei Mikhnov (17th, 2000), and Ales Hemsky (13th, 2001) would be big pieces in the club’s mid-2000’s turnaround. They had a power forward on the left wing (Mikhnov), and a silky playmaking right-winger (Hemsky), all they needed was a big, rangy center. They thought Niinimaki was that guy.
Related: Jesse Niinimaki – A Lesson In Why Not To Go Off The Board
It never quite worked out that way as Niinimaki never played a single game for the Oilers. In fact, Ninimaki’s only appearance in the North American pro system was when a 24 game stint in the AHL during the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Niinimaki suited up alongside many other Oiler prospects with the Edmonton Road Runners.
@dstaples Oilers have busted eight times in top-20 since 1995. Plante, Niinimaki, Mihknov, Rita, Henrich, Riesen, Descoteaux, Kelly.
— Robin Brownlee (@Robin_Brownlee) June 13, 2015
He suffered through a large chunk of the year with a shoulder injury and returned to Ilves in Finland to finish out the season. That was all she wrote for Niinimaki. He would stay in Liiga for the next ten seasons (he also did play sparingly in other leagues at this time). He hadn’t played since the 2016-17 season when he suited up for Yunost Minsk in Belarus.
Other Options: C Boyd Gordon, LW Sean Bergenheim, LW Alexander Steen
#4 – C Rob Schremp
Ht/Wgt: 5’11 201lbs | Birthplace: Fulton, New York
Draft: 2004 – 1st round – 25th overall | Projection: Top 6 Scoring Forward
GM & Head Scout: Kevin Lowe, Kevin Prendergast
NHL Totals: 114 GP – 20 G – 34 A – 54 PTS
When you’re given the legend of John Henry’s hammer, it’s more often than not you can’t live up to those lofty expectations. This couldn’t be truer about Schremp. While playing on the OHL juggernaut London Knights in the mid-2000s, Schremp was seen as an elite-level talent with great offensive skills.
In his draft year, Schremp was a point-producing machine on the power play. Of the 75 points Schremp piled up in his draft year, 63% of those points came on the power play. Thus you could go both ways on Schremp. Either you saw him as a high-caliber offensive forward, or he was a power-play specialist. There were also red flags about his overall foot speed.
He ended his junior career with a staggering goal-per-game average (57 goals in 57 games), and 145 points. Naturally, there was plenty of excitement, and it looked like Schremp could at the very least be a consistent top-six scoring forward. It didn’t work out as Schremp’s attitude, foot speed, lack of defensive awareness and all skills away from the puck were lacking.
Related: What Happened to Rob Schremp?
His game never evolved, and the Oilers only got seven NHL games out of him before waiving him. He would then spend time with the New York Islanders and Atlanta Thrashers. Schremp would eventually play for several European clubs over the next seven seasons. He tried to make a comeback in 2015-16 with the AHL’s Portland Pirates but ended up back in Europe. He played the 2017-18 season with EC Salzburg of the EBEL.
Other Options: G Cory Schneider, D Mike Green, C Dave Bolland
#3 – LW – Alexei Mikhnov
Ht/Wgt: 6’5 200lbs | Birthplace: Kiev, Ukraine
Draft: 2000 – 1st round – 17th overall | Projection: Top 6 Power Forward
GM & Head Scout: Kevin Lowe, Barry Fraser
NHL Totals: 2 GP – 0 G – 0 A – 0 PTS
This was Barry Fraser’s last year as Oilers head scout and deservedly so. Mikhnov was a massive swing and a miss on what Edmonton believed was a future power forward. Mikhnov took several years to come to North America, and the one season he did play, he left early to go back to Russia. It left a sour taste in the mouths of the organization and fan base.
He spent the majority of the 2006-07 season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Mikhnov produced decent numbers in that shortened campaign with 18 points in 27 games. He even played two unremarkable games with the Oilers that year. Essentially the Oilers gave Mikhnov an all-expenses-paid extended North American vacation with round-trip airfare.
Related: NHL Draft – History of the 17th Overall Pick
Other Options: D Brooks Orpik, LW Alexander Frolov, D Anton Volchenkov, RW Brad Boyes, RW Justin Williams
#2 – C Marc-Antoine Pouliot
Ht/Wgt: 6’1 187lbs | Birthplace: Quebec City, Quebec
Draft: 2003 – 1st round – 22nd overall | Projection: Top 6 Two-Way Center
GM & Head Scout: Kevin Lowe, Kevin Prendergast
NHL Totals: 192 GP – 21 G – 36 A – 57 PTS
At the time the 2003 draft class was pegged as the deepest class in history, deeper than the 1979 class. In hindsight, most of the NHL franchises got a player to build their team around. Some of the examples include Carolina getting Eric Staal, Nashville getting Ryan Suter, Chicago getting Brent Seabrook, and Anaheim getting both Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
One of the teams that missed wildly was the Oilers who took Marc-Antoine Pouliot with the 22nd overall pick. What hurts the most is that Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, and Corey Perry were taken just after. If you look at the Oilers late-2000’s struggles, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if Edmonton secured one of the others.
Related: Re-Drafting Oilers 2003 Draft Picks
Instead, they got a guy who got a lot of offensive rub from Sidney Crosby in junior. To make matters worse, they even traded down from 17 to 22. That 17th overall pick ended up being Zach Parise. Talk about a blunder. Pouliot never amounted to being much more than a fringe NHLer who got fourth-line minutes when he played.
Pouliot would play five seasons within the Oilers system, mainly in the AHL, before Edmonton relinquished their rights. He’d play the next two seasons within the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes organizations. He’s played the last six seasons in the NLA and is contracted with EHC Biel-Bienne for the 2018-19 season.
Other Options: C Ryan Kesler, C Mike Richards, RW Corey Perry
#1 – RW Nail Yakupov
Ht/Wgt: 5’11” 194 lbs | Birthplace: Nizhnekamsk, Russia
Draft: 2012 – 1st round – 1st overall | Projection: Elite Goal Scoring Winger
GM & Head Scout: Steve Tambellini, Stu MacGregor
NHL Totals: 350 GP – 62 G – 74 A – 136 PTS
Yakupov is hands down not only the Oilers biggest draft bust but the one of the most notorious first overall bust in NHL history. He’s right up there with Alexandre Daigle and Patrik Stefan. Yakupov was pegged to be a perennial 40-goal scorer when he was drafted. Scouts loved his scoring prowess and ability to do things at high speed.
This looked like a runaway pick for the Oilers. At the time they had Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and now a pure sniper in Yakupov. All the building blocks were supposed to be there. Yakupov had an impressive rookie season scoring 17 goals and 31 points in 48 games. He finished fifth in Calder Trophy voting and had 11 first-place votes on the ballot.
So what happened? Yakupov failed to break the 20-goal plateau, was a defensive liability, and never scored more than 33 points in a season with the Oilers. In the fall of 2016, Edmonton finally traded Yakupov for Zach Pochiro and a conditional third. That pick was later traded as the Oilers moved up to snag goaltending prospect, Stuart Skinner.
Related: Learning From Past 1st Overall Failures
Yakupov has since spent time with both the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. He had a dreadful year scoring just nine goals and 16 points in 58 games. When the playoffs rolled around, he was a healthy scratch for the Avalanche’s first-round loss against the Nashville Predators. At just 25 years of age, Yakupov has run out of NHL options and is now in the midst of his second full season with SKA Saint Petersburg in the KHL.
