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You can always have too much of a good thing.
Coffee. Food. Money. Technology. Free Time.
And yes, even lottery draft picks in the world of hockey. Particularly the ones that come in the range of one to five.
Seems like a dumb notion right? You can never have too many standout world class players. Except, you really can, and we are bearing witness to it with the Edmonton Oilers each and every year.
Every new season is a season in which the Edmonton Oilers figure it out. This is the year. 2013 was the year, 2014 was the year also. Now, with the hyped Connor McDavid set to be taken by the Oilers with the No. 1 selection of the 2015 entry draft, 2015 is again, the year Edmonton turns it around.
Unfortunately, this sort of drafting, and these sort of draft positions have done little to help Edmonton actually solidify a style of play, a culture, or a trend in how they draft.
It would have taken a general manager of extreme brass manhood to go against the idea of selecting a Taylor Hall or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. It is hard not to blame the Edmonton management in that regard. They have plenty of other things to be criticized for, but drafting sure fire NHL talent in the 1-3 position is not one of those things.
Let's back up. This is, after all, a primarily Kings source of LA Kings news. Honestly, you could not get a more stark contrast in drafting strategy than the Oilers and the Kings.
By this we mean that the Kings have built through the draft, and more importantly built to an overall concept.
What do you think about when you think Kings hockey? Size, defensive responsibility, and versatility. The Kings also love their draftees to have that leadership ability. These are all pretty generic things right? Of course everyone wants this kind of player. However, few actually go out of their own way to draft them. Really, in the position of Edmonton, they almost CAN NOT go out of their way to draft the player of need.
When you ask most general managers out there about their draft strategy, it always comes back as "Draft the best player available."
It is a pretty standard answer.
However, that is subjective in a manner. The best player available to Team A may not be the best player available to team B in the same exact draft position.
Let's go back to 2007. The Los Angeles Kings were selecting inside the top 5, at No. 4 overall. With plenty of solid all-around defenseman available, namely Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Ryan McDonagh, the Kings opted to go well out of their way to select off the board pick Thomas Hickey. Fans who follow the minor leagues and the draft prospects were instantly puzzled. How could Lombardi select Hickey over the three aforementioned players? Easy, he fit the need. He was their best player available. Looking at the Kings 2007 roster should bring back Vietnam style flashbacks for many Kings fans.
The defensive corps was absolutely terrible:
Rob Blake Tom Priessing Jon Klemm Kevin Dallman Peter Harrold Jaro Modry Jack Johnson Lubo Visnovsky Brad Stuart
It was in 2007 that the LA Kings started a run of three seasons where they planned on re-tooling the blueline through the draft. Ten defenseman were selected by the L.A Kings from the years of 2007 to 2009. Thomas Hickey was just the first of many that were expected to be the next wave of LA Kings blueliners to replace the aging spare parts defense that plagued the mid to late 2000s.
As it turns out, some of those higher profile picks did not work out as planned. Hickey and Teubert did not surmount to much, but the thought process of Lombardi and crew was spot on. The Kings needed to retool the blueline. It was a head scratcher when he went off the board to select Hickey at No. 4 in 2007. The Kings were definitely going to need a solid puck mover to help out Jack Johnson. The Kings also landed Drew Doughty the next year. Doughty, Johnson, Hickey. Would have been quite a 1-2-3 punch right? Colton Teubert went right as expcted at 13, and was widely considered the best shutdown defenseman of the draft after Luke Schenn and Zach Bogosian. Again, you can hate how the pick turned out, but the thought process was there.
Drafting to need versus taking the best player available is always a debate amongst hockey fans that always comes up around the draft. Sometimes they are one and the same.
One thing the Kings had on their side though, was a little bit of bravery, and not so heavy a spotlight. When they went out of their way to get Hickey in 2007, it was a bold move. However, it was a bold move at No. 4 overall from a team in a market that wasn't hell bent on success like Edmonton or Toronto. The 2007 draft was considered a so-so draft overall in general, so it wasn't like the Kings passed on Patrick Kane to get him.
Enter the dilemma of Edmonton. The Oilers have had the No. 1 overall pick three of the last five years. They have had a top 10 pick seven out of the last eight years. They will get the No. 1 overall pick again in 2015.
This type of situation, while tantalizing in the pure idea of selecting some of the best overall players in the world year after year, has hurt them.
Think about it.
The Oilers have been saddled with a "Can't Miss" prospect for almost five years straight. They have been chained to "The next Gretzky/Lemieux/Crosby/Ovechkin" almost five years straight.
Unlike the Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Blackhawks of the last five years, the Oilers have not had the luxury of picking and choosing their own personal "Best player available". In recent history they have almost been unable to choose the best player available for them, they have been handed one.
The more harsh and unsympathetic critics out there will say, "Well that's the Oilers problem. Win more and you don't have to deal with it." True enough, but it still creates a curious scenario.
Like the example of Thomas Hickey, Colton Teubert, or even Anze Kopitar, the Kings have been able to pick and choose and draft according to how they want to built a team and what they really need. The only year in which the Oilers have been able to do as they please was 2013, 2009, and 2008. In those years they selected two outstanding picks in Darnell Nurse at No. 7 and Jordan Eberle at No. 22. Magnus Pajaarvi, for all intents and purposes, was a fine pick at No. 10 and a player that the Oilers really needed with proper development. Every other year though, the Oilers have had to select one of the best players in the world.
Nail Yakupov Taylor Hall Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Sam Gagner Leon Draisaitl
The only thing most of these players have in common is that they all have nothing in common. Oh, and they are all forwards, four of which can play center. The Oilers simply had no other choice but to select these guys. Sure, Edmonton needed defenders in 2012, but how mad would people have been had they passed on Yakupov and selected Ryan Murray or Morgan Reilly. In hindsight it wouldn't seem so bad, but at the time it would have been an inexcusable move from the Oilers management.
When you look at that group of picks there is no semblance of cohesion, no selecting of need. Those are just five great players who all play a very different style of hockey, all thrown onto the same team.
That more often than not will not end well for one or more of them. Sam Gagner has been moved along his way, last year we heard the extreme amount of trade rumors around Nail Yakupov, and even Taylor Hall's name is popping up places.
Now the Oilers face a similar problem with Connor McDavid. How do you pass on him? You simply can not do it. Whether they need him or not.
This is not a problem isolated to just hockey.
How many times have an NFL team with the No. 1 or 2 pick been saddled to a quarterback when they already have one or two legitimate starters?
In 2012 the Indianapolis Colts took Andrew Luck when they already had Peyton Manning. Four years in row the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Kyrie Irving (PG), Dion Waiters (SG), Anthony Bennett (F), and Andrew Wiggins (G/F) with Top 5 picks. Safe to say it led to an incredibly crowded backcourt, and Cleveland ended up moving three of the four players in trades.
Selecting that high in the draft repeatedly can be as stunting as it is beneficial. You do not get a chance to mold your roster. You do not get a chance to select what you actually need.
When we hit June 27th and the draft floor starts to populate in Sunrise, Florida, it is pretty well said and done that the Oilers are going to select Connor McDavid. The Kings, in the meantime, are selecting No. 13. From the 13th position they are going to have an opportunity to select from one of probably five or six very talented players. How they proceed is entirely up to them, what they feel they need, and what best suits their style.
The Oilers have no such luxury. The top pick has slowly become a drain on Edmonton and their rebuild efforts. At some point they have to either buck the trend of drafting the bonafide No. 1, or move some of these assets for players that they really need.
Take note NHL fans, drafting No. 1 or 2 overall isn't always what you need.
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