In the film “Field of Dreams…, Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella refers to the glove of legendary disgraced baseball great “Shoeless Joe… Jackson as the place where triples go to die. Surely, if that were used to describe the Edmonton Oilers, it would be the place where first overall picks travel to expire.
That analogy has been accurate over the last five years, as Edmonton have continued to wallow at the bottom of the NHL standings in spite of selecting Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov first overall in three successive drafts, defenseman Darnell Nurse seventh in 2013 and Leon Draisaitl with the third pick in 2014, but that may be coming to an end, as the Oilers earned the right to select first overall on Saturday and will select phenom Connor McDavid first overall at the 2015 NHL Draft in Sunrise, FL this June.
Edmonton entered Saturday with the third-highest chance of winning, but after the first three Ping-Pong balls came out 5, 14 & 6, it was the Toronto Maple Leafs who had the best statistical chance to win and select the Erie Otters center.
According to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, Toronto had four of the 11 remaining numbers (36.3%), Buffalo had three(27.2%), while Edmonton had two(18.1%), but the right number came out for the Albertans, who be selecting first overall for the fourth time in six years.
McDavid said before and after the lottery to Hockey Night In Canada’s George Stroumboulopoulos that he would go to whichever team selected him, but the look on the 18-year old’s face immediately following the results did not exactly seem joyful.
Barring any secret overtures from McDavid’s camp that he does not want to play in Edmonton, the Oilers will select him first overall and could move either Nugent-Hopkins or Draisaitl to acquire some long needed help on the blueline.
Before you start dreaming up trade scenarios, it is high improbable that the Oilers would entertain trading the top pick unless they had a gun to their head like the Quebec Nordiques had with Eric Lindros in 1991 and even if that happened, the cost might be more than any GM would pay.
Imagine Craig MacTavish asking for both first round picks, Morgan Rielly and William Nylander….and that might not be enough.
The Leafs will select fourth and have over two months to determine what direction they will go. McDavid to Edmonton and Boston U’s Jack Eichel to the Buffalo Sabres are etched in stone as the top two picks, but it is unknown whether with the third pick Arizona favors Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifin or Erie center Dylan Strome.
If the Coyotes select Hanifin, it is likely that Toronto takes the OHL scoring champ, but if Arizona takes Strome, it is unknown whether the Leafs will take Hanifin or go with London center Mitch Marner.
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While completely understanding Don Cherry extolling the virtues of Ontario-born players, his comments during Saturday’s Coach’s Corner regarding the Maple Leafs drafting of William Nylander eighth overall instead of Soo Greyhounds forward Nick Ritchie border on the absurd.
“The guy that has nine goals in eight(OHL Playoff) games, he’s 6’3…, he’s a Junior Gold winner, can throw them and he plays for the Soo and they could have had him.…Cherry said. “(The Leafs) picked a little Swede.…
“I will bet any dough that (Ritchie) plays for Anaheim next year and you are wondering why Brendan Shanahan fired all those guys.…
The 18-year-old Nylander scored a goal in the Toronto Marlies 5-2 win over Chicago in their season finale on Sunday, ending with goals in three straight games and 32 points(14 goals, 18 assists) in 37 AHL games. That tops a year in which the slick-skating Swede scored at a point-per-game pace with MODO of the SHL and a put up a standout performance in January at the IIHF World Junior.
On the other hand, the 19-year-old Ritchie split time between Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie this season and had a lower goals-per-game average than his career-best 39 goals for Peterborough in 2013-14.
It is also a misnomer to say that Shanahan used the selection of Nylander as the reason for firing most of the Leafs scouting staff, as he was Team President for over two months prior to the Leafs selection and the pick is considered by most as being a smart choice.
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