The Edmonton Oilers recently held their 2024 Development Camp, bringing together 17 prospects for three days in Alberta. Six of Edmonton’s seven selections in the 2024 NHL Draft were in attendance: Sam O’Reilly (No. 32 overall pick), Connor Clattenburg (No. 160), Albin Sundin (No. 183), Dalyn Wakely (No. 192), William Nicholl (No. 196), and Bauer Berry (No. 218). Only netminder Eemil Vinni (No. 64) was absent.
Related: Edmonton Oilers: 2024 Development Camp Recap
For the newest Oilers, Development Camp provided their first opportunity to see Rogers Place. And for Oilers fans, it offered the first chance to get to know the members of Edmonton’s 2024 Draft Class, whose names were largely unknown in Oil Country until less than two weeks ago.
During Development Camp, each of the Oilers’ 2024 draft picks who were in attendance spoke to the media. Here’s the most interesting thing we learned about each:
O’Reilly Has a Unique Nickname
While hockey nicknames are notoriously unoriginal, usually just a derivative of the player’s surname ending in a suffix like “er” or “ie”, London Knights forward O’Reilly has a relatively unique moniker: everyone calls him “Peanut”.
O’Reilly was given that nickname when he first moved to London and former Knights defenceman Logan Mailloux, a 2021 draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens, found out that O’Reilly is allergic to peanuts.
“He caught on to that pretty quick, and came up with that nickname,” O’Reilly says. “Since then I haven’t really been called Sam. It’s kind of just stuck, so I’m happy with it.”
Clattenburg Was Originally Going to Kings’ Camp
This was the second year of draft eligibility for Clattenburg, who went unselected in 2023, and there was no certainty he’d hear his name called this year, either. So prior to the 2024 NHL Draft, the Flint Firebirds forward accepted an invite to attend the Los Angeles Kings’ Development Camp from July 1-3.
Clattenburg, who is from Ottawa, was actually at the Toronto airport on June 29, waiting to take a flight to California when he found out the Oilers had taken him in the fifth round.
“I had to get all my gear off the plane and ended up back in Ottawa to come (to Edmonton),” Clattenburg says. “It was pretty exciting.”
Sundin’s Father Wants to Keep Focus on Son
Swedish defenceman Sundin has grown up in the shadow of his father Ronnie Sundin, who is a hockey legend in their home country. Ronnie is the all-time leader in games player for Frolunda HC, one of the flagship clubs of Swedish pro hockey. Albin made his debut with Frolunda HC as an 18-year-old in 2022-23, and played 18 games for the club last season.
In 2006, Ronnie helped Sweden win just its second-ever Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey, but Albin doesn’t really talk to his father about that experience at the Turin Winter Games. “Dad wants me to not focus on him and other people talking about him,” Albin explains. “He wants me to have my own career.”
Wakely’s Parents Were Overcome During Draft
June 29 was the date that dreams finally came true for Wakely, who had gone unselected the first two years he was eligible for the NHL Draft in 2022 and 2023.
And when the Oilers called his name in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, it became clear how much everything affected his mom and dad. The North Bay Battalion forward says, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them cry,” before that moment.
“It’s been a long time coming, I think for them too,” Wakely, 20, says. “I think it probably wears on them a little bit more than it might weigh on me because they want to see me happy and reach my goals, so I think it was a big relief for all of us the other day, and I can’t thank them enough for their support. They’re amazing, and they’ve done everything to get me to this point, so they’re the best.”
Nicholl Believes Oilers Have NHL’s Top 2 Players
Oilers captain Connor McDavid indisputably ranks as the best player in hockey today. But No. 2 on that list depends on who you ask, and could be any number of worthy players, including Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl.
When asked what it’s like to be in the same arena that McDavid and Draisaitl call home, Knights forward Nicholl made his opinion clear.
McDavid and Draisaitl are “the two best hockey players in the world, right?” Nicholl said with a huge smile. “They’re two guys I’ve been watching my whole life and looking up to my whole life, so to be here knowing that they live here too is unbelievable.”
Berry Comes from a Family of Oilers Fans
Berry’s father, former NHLer Brad Berry, is from Bashaw, a central Alberta town about an hour and a half’s drive from Edmonton. While Beau grew up in North Dakota, the Berrys still have a lot of family in Bashaw, and they’re all huge Oilers fans, he says.
So it’s not surprising to hear that Beau owns a lot of Oilers apparel, including a McDavid jersey, which he acquired during the Oilers’ incredible run through the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I actually got it when they were in the third round series from my dad’s best friend in Bashaw,” says Beau, “and then sure enough I get drafted (a few weeks) later here.”
It won’t be long before the newest members of the Oilers family get to know more about Edmonton, and Oil Country gets to know more about them: Rookie Camp gets going in September.
