Oilers come away empty-handed from Day One of cringe-worthy NHL draft
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First overall in 2010. First overall in 2011. First overall in 2012. First overall in 2015.
Darnell Nurse seventh overall in 2013. Leon Draisaitl third overall in 2014. Jesse Puljujarvi fourth overall in 2016. Evan Bouchard 10th overall in 2018.
The last weekend in June was Edmonton's time to shine.
Now, fans in Edmonton barely know the draft is even happening, mostly because the Oilers had nothing to do with the first day.
Edmonton had to sit out the first round Friday night and, barring a trade, won't pick in Saturday's second round, either.
This is the other side of going all in to chase a Stanley Cup.
They didn't have a first rounder in 2023 and don't have a first-round pick next year.
Edmonton's first pick this year doesn't come until 83rd overall in the third round on Saturday — their compensation for deciding that Dylan Holloway wasn't worth $2.29 million and refusing to match the St. Louis Blues offer sheet.
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Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Yet no one has had a bigger week — or a bigger year — than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Hamilton. He's NBA MVP, NBA scoring leader, NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP. He's one of only four NBA stars to have ever accomplished that feat. And he's certainly the first Canadian to pull off two or more of those milestones and he's done it in a year that will go down as one of the most dominant and consistent in NBA history. Most impressive of all, he's done it as the smiling leader of his Thunder, a thoughtful and articulate spokesman for the game and as a poster child for sportsmanship. 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