Edmonton Oilers Select Aidan Park Second To Last At The 2025 NHL Draft And He Was In The Building

Edmonton Oilers Select Aidan Park Second To Last At The 2025 NHL Draft And He Was In The Building

so how was that experience just sitting there waiting waiting watching
i mean yeah it was unbelievable um I actually came yesterday uh for Riker Lee and I thought we were going to hang out today but he flew out a private jet to Nashville this morning so I wasn’t really expecting to come today but I figured cuz I live here why not um so yeah I ended up getting picked it was super special moment and uh I’m super excited
do you have any idea it could happen yeah even especially as we’re running out of picks like you can do the math you know there’s not a lot of names left did you think maybe you know better luck next year or you confident that something would happen
um I was honestly kind of thinking better luck next year um I mean I didn’t get drafted last year so I kind of came into this year with the mindset of um was looking at the big picture um so uh even if I didn’t get picked I still have a lot of work to do so um it was a little a little bit of a surprise but I couldn’t be more happy how many friends family did you have here
yeah so I just went to the draft with uh you know my best friend from uh from here and his dad and uh a couple of my other buddies were here too i actually had a couple buddies working uh in the blue shirts um so yeah it was it was funny it was it’s cool to be around your friends and stuff uh for a moment like this so yeah it was special
were they saying anything to you just to keep you you know keep the stress down keep you relaxed
uh to be honest I wasn’t I wasn’t that stressed um I guess it’s easier to not be stressed when you don’t have as much uh expectation um but yeah it was just surreal moment super honored to be selected
assuming you’re a Kings fan where you were
no I’m actually was a Penguins fan okay
cuz my uncle played for the Penguins when I started getting into hockey so yeah
what was it like hearing your name in your hometown
yeah it’s I can’t even describe it it’s like I said it’s surreal um and I think you just think to everyone that helped you get to this point and I’m just super grateful and super lucky to have so many great people around me and yeah it’s special moment for sure
what’s the best advice your uncle’s given you just sort of along the way here on on or off the ice
yeah I think um you know last year after the draft he kind of told me um you know it’s it may feel like the end of the world and but it’s not i mean there’s a lot of ways to make the NHL um like nowadays you see a lot of uh college guys sign as free agents and um and there’s always uh you have two more chances at the draft so yeah just to really look at the big picture and just put in the work every day that’s and just give yourself the best chance possible
dustin Wolf kind of had a similar experience did you you know his story
yeah I mean I’ve uh I’ve skated with him a couple times because he’s a local guy
but the fact that he was fourth to last pick in the draft and he was still in the building in Vancouver and now you see where he is you know that you know it’s kind of giving you a feeling that just because my name got called second to last from the end doesn’t mean anything
yeah I mean you know the draft is is obviously a a cool accomplishment but there’s still a lot of work to do for everyone that was selected um so yeah uh I guess there’s a ton of work to do now and it’s really cool that uh Dustin was able to do that amy you came up and played in the Western Hockey League in the postseason what was that experience like for you and how cool was it you know you’re now just up the road in Houston so
yeah it was really cool i mean uh my season in Green Bay ended on Tuesday and Wednesday morning woke up uh with some missed calls and was able to make it work flew out Thursday morning got there Thursday night and played Friday um it was a crazy experience it was uh you know it’s a really good league really tough league so those games were good yes for sure and uh intense playoff hockey but it was yeah it was a really good experience and I was happy I went you only played a couple games in Green Bay the year before and then you know obviously after your draft experience you go back last year and have a monster year can you talk about maybe like the chip on the shoulder that you had or was it something else that helped you have a great year this year
yeah I think that was a big part of it i mean uh not getting drafted last year was a huge disappointment and I just challenged myself to have a really good summer uh put a ton of work in and just try to prove people wrong this year and um yeah I think I put myself in a pretty good spot i had a really good year was there one specific part of your game that improved this year in the USL
yeah I think I I worked on my skating a ton this summer and throughout the season and I think that was uh you know it’s still one of my biggest knocks and I still continue to work on it a lot um but I think that definitely improved a good amount how’s Green Bay and the USHL kind of helped you mentally just kind of get through season by season
yeah I mean uh you know junior hockey the USHL it’s it’s a grind of a year it’s a long year but I had a great experience in Green Bay the co my coaches teammates they were all awesome and yeah I think just I learned a lot about um you know what it what it takes every single day in practice to get better you know the extra reps after before practice um and those are things that I’ll carry with me um as long as I keep playing hockey
next is Michigan still that’s the plan
yeah going to Michigan next year
what’s the Where do you want to still get better in your game what’s the big focus of your offseason workout going to be
oh yeah so like I said skating is a big part and then you know just transitioning to college hockey just getting bigger faster stronger i know it’s cliche but it’s uh it’s true um so those are definitely the two biggest aspects that I’m uh focusing on this summer
uh you mentioned your uncle but is there anyone else whose footsteps you’ve maybe tried to follow in being from out here i mean there aren’t a ton of you know guys from out here that make it so anyone in particular
yeah I think a guy like Jason Robertson is a guy I look up to you know he’s from Pasadena not too far from here a local guy um and he’s having an unreal NHL career um but yeah it’s really cool to see uh players from here make it because growing up there there wasn’t really a lot of uh hockey players in LA but the game’s really grown here and that’s largely part uh because of those guys so it’s yeah it’s good to see
is it cool also to see Coach Nado in the building uh obviously
yeah yeah coach Nado and Coach Rassie i was I was just talk I was just talking to him in the box like uh round three four and uh he told me uh he told me I was going to get picked so I guess he was right how many uh missed messages do you think you have right now
uh I don’t know probably like 50 who knows and then what’s your favorite thing about the game of hockey
uh I think my favorite thing about the game of hockey is like the team camaraderie the locker room um just being with the guys uh in the locker room it’s it’s the best and you know when you talk to people that don’t play anymore that’s what they miss this uh just the team environment and uh that’s something I I won’t take for granted for sure
you might be the uh the first one to ever get picked at the draft in a sweatshirt
yeah um you know I was kind of in a unique situation in that way uh cuz I came cuz I’m I’m a local guy i live I live 8 miles from here um and Riker the guy I came with is not here anymore so yeah it’s kind of funny i guess it’ll be a funny story to tell

Aidan Park is from the Los Angeles area and was in attendance at the 2025 NHL Draft in a hoodie and shorts to support his friends as the Edmonton Oilers selected him 223rd overall.

#NHLDraft #NHL #LetsGoOilers #Oilers #Hockey #USHL #WHL #NCAAHockey #CollegeHockey #GoBlue

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