Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman’s astute signings of college and European free agents last spring is on display, and many are flourishing currently in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors. Josh Samanski, who spent last season playing in Germany’s top league (DEL), played so well in the minors that he is currently with the big club. Quinn Hutson, who spent last season with Boston University, has emerged as an impact winger in the AHL and has played in four NHL games this season. Other spring 2025 signings, like Damien Carfagna and Viljami Marjala, are top performers in Bakersfield and could see a recall in the months to come.

For Bowman, these signings fill in the hole in the prospect pool that resulted from weak drafting by Edmonton combined with a massive number of picks dealt during the 2021, 2022 and 2024 drafts. This coming year, the club is without the first-round selection (gone in the Jake Walman deal),

Oilers general managers have been moving out top prospects for over a decade without pause.

Edmonton’s 2026 second-round selection, currently estimated to be around pick No. 50, will be the first opportunity crack the microphone for Bowman and his scouting staff. The third-, sixth- and seventh-round picks are also owned by Edmonton currently, meaning four selections in the seven-round draft.

Luck

There’s an element of luck involved in any NHL Draft. An easy example is the difference between the Oilers winning the draft lottery in 2012, when Nail Yakupov was the No. 1 pick, and winning the 2015 lottery when Connor McDavid was the top prize. Mind-blowing luck sent the Oilers into an elite window of opportunity, and that window remains open because of McDavid and several picks (Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard) in surrounding years.

If we know that luck is a major factor in all draft picks every year, would it behoove Bowman to trade this year’s second-round selection for additional picks later in the 2026 selection?

It’s been done before, famously by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021. Each team is allotted seven picks, one in each round, but Carolina’s management dealt down for shares and accumulated an astonishing 13 selections. That shows faith in the scouting staff but also recognition of a key element of draft luck: the more shots you take in the draft after the first round, the better chance good fortune comes to your town.

The Hurricanes dealt the No. 27 selection (Zachary L’Heureux, now at 62 NHL games) for a second-round pick (No. 40, Scott Morrow has played in 43 NHL games) and No. 51 pick Ville Koivunen, who has appeared in 35 NHL games. The Hurricanes used Morrow as a piece in the acquisition of defenceman K’Andre Miller from the New York Rangers in July 2025, and Koivunen was shipped out in March 2024 in the Jake Guentzel deal.

Draft assets can be used as trade pieces effectively, and sometimes those prospects can be acquired later in the draft. Jackson Blake was drafted No. 109 by the Hurricanes and is in his second season as a productive regular.

What does success look like? 

There are three kinds of teams at the deadline and the draft. Teams that are offloading futures (picks and prospects) with an eye to winning it all immediately; the group of teams that are selling off unrestricted free agents and players deemed expendable in search of a better tomorrow; and a group trying to manage both (Carolina is a prime example) and take advantage of opportunity.

Edmonton is in the first group, but could be more productive in joining the third group. The successful teams in the third group have better intel and are betting on themselves. It doesn’t mean those teams will win every deal, but over time, the quality of the system should improve.

Carolina is competing for the Stanley Cup just as aggressively as Edmonton, but the team’s talent pool is superior. Scott Wheeler at The Athletic ranked the Hurricanes No. 16 of 32 organizations in January 2025; Corey Pronman at The Athletic ranked the Hurricanes No. 18 seven months later. Meanwhile, the 2025 rankings from Wheeler (No. 29) and Pronman (No. 31) were well off the pace set by Carolina.

The advantage is obvious. Whether it’s having the torque to acquire a plug-and-play difference-maker like Miller, who plays monster minutes against elites every night (via PuckIQ), or having an overflow of prospects pushing for NHL roster spots, it’s a huge advantage.

Oilers past

The Oilers have dabbled in trades that deal a higher pick for several later options. In 2013, the club dealt No. 37 (Valentin Zykov, 55 career NHL games) for picks that were used on William Carrier (498 games and counting), Anton Slepyshev (102 NHL games) and others. That deal was the first indication that the Oilers as an organization were buying in to the idea that analytics could be married to old-fashioned scouting and work to a team’s advantage. Perhaps it’s time for another try.

Oilers future

The second-round pick in the 2026 draft is estimated to land around No. 51 currently. Chances are that Bowman uses it as part of a package for winger Bobby McMann or a similar plug-and-play addition to the current NHL team. There is another way.

The Hurricanes’ way, like the Craig MacTavish trades in 2013, has appeal in giving an organization a larger possible pool of talent from which to draw when making deals or trying to find solutions to NHL roster problems. If Carolina and Edmonton are competing for the same player, the Hurricanes have a much wider range of assets to deal.

Bottom line

The Oilers under former general manager Ken Holland signed free agents to long-term contracts with no-movement clauses, slow-played prospects to the point that offer sheets found fertile ground and mortgaged the future by dealing multiple draft picks.

Bowman still deals picks for rentals, but things have changed in important areas. Matt Savoie is averaging over four minutes more per game than Dylan Holloway in his rookie season. The Condors have been stocked with early 20s prospects who have been highly productive in the AHL.

Perhaps there is one more tweak available for Bowman. In an effort to widen the prospect pool, using the 2026 second-round pick on the draft floor (if it still belongs to Edmonton) to acquire multiple selections or a pick and prospect could result in more room to wheel in the future.

Bowman has retained the 2027 first-round selection and both the 2026 and 2027 second-round picks. Adding some picks by dealing down once or twice may give the organization a better chance to compete against teams with more attractive prospects to trade at the next two or three deadlines.

It’s an idea worth pursuing. Carolina’s management didn’t invent the idea, but has used it to full advantage in recent years.