The Edmonton Oilers have made a change to their amateur scouting department, after mutually parting ways with head of amateur scouting Tyler Wright and hiring Rick Pracey to take over. Wright is a former NHL player with 613 career games under his belt who had been with the organization since 2019 when he came over with Ken Holland – Holland had hired him to join the Detroit Red Wings organization in July 2013.
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Pracey has been a scout for the last two decades; he spent 13 seasons with the Colorado Avalanche as their director of amateur scouting before joining the Philadelphia Flyers in 2014 as an amateur scout, where he has been ever since.
After five seasons as a goalie for Sir Wilfrid Laurier University, he spent one season as a goalie coach with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2000. He began his career as an amateur scout at the NHL level with the Avs in 2001, but that was after a stint as a goaltending consultant for the Minnesota Wild between January 2000 and June 2001.
Pracey’s Impressive Drafting With The Avs
With the Avalanche, Pracey oversaw the NHL drafts, including when superstar Nathan Mackinnon was selected first overall by the organization, as well as selecting Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly, and Tyson Barrie, who have all become huge parts of their respective NHL teams. Between July 2001 and October 2014, Pracey gained a reputation as a really smart scout who has an eye for future stars and helped the Avs build the core they have today.
Landeskog was named captain at just 19 years old and has put up 571 points through 738 games with the Avs, although he has been hampered by injuries recently. MacKinnon has put up over a point per game, with 759 points through 709 games, while O’Reilly, Duchene, and Barrie have all joined new teams since being drafted.
O’Reilly, now with the Nashville Predators, is nine games away from his 1,000th and has 702 points. Barrie is also a Predator, with 490 points through 768 career games. Lastly, Duchene recently joined the Dallas Stars and has 744 points through 976 games.
With Pracey at the helm, the Avs also selected defenseman Will Butcher – who has become a serviceable depth blueliner – in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, as well as goaltender Spencer Martin in the third round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft – he has slowly worked his way into being a decent backup at the NHL level.
In the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Pracey was an amateur scout when the Flyers selected Ivan Provorov seventh overall, who became a top-pairing defenseman. In 2019, he was also with the team when they selected Bobby Brink in the second round. He is now one of the team’s best prospects and will likely make it onto the NHL roster this season. Lastly, he was part of the most recent draft when the Flyers took a gamble on forward Matvei Michkov, who has the opportunity to be a superstar but is committed to playing in the KHL for a couple more seasons.
Pracey has proven himself to have an eye for prospects who have the ability to become impact players in the NHL. While the Oilers don’t have any high draft selections next season and likely won’t for the next couple of seasons as they look to contend for a Stanley Cup, adding Pracey will give them a fresh face with tons of experience.
Why Did This Move Happen?
This move provides the Oilers with some stability in the upcoming drafts. While the big names Pracey has picked up have come mainly in the early rounds, it never hurts to bring in a guy who has an eye for talent. Even in the first round, it takes a very smart scout to see the full potential in players, and that’s a skill Pracey has.
The Oilers will be looking for their first Stanley Cup since 1990 this season and have the roster to pull it off. They begin their season in Vancouver on Oct. 11, before hosting the Canucks in their own home opener on Oct. 14.
