Oilers' Draft Misses Cost Championship Dreams

0:00It's April 17. This is NHL News today, your AI-powered team coverage. Edmonton Oilers got Conor McDavid and Leon Drysaddle, a duo that's straight fire, but championships need more than two stars. From 2012 to 2017, their first round draft picks missed the marked big time, skipping top defensemen and a franchise goalie win. Those were the real holes. In 2012, they grabbed Nell Yackepaw first overall, a speedy winger, but passed on Morgan Riley and Hampus Lindholm right after. Realeigh's Toronto's power play boss, with over 946 games, and Lindholm's been shutting down stars for Anaheim and Boston. Fans are still salty because this pattern heard deep. The Oilers stack offense when defense crumbled, forcing pricey free agent deals and trays that cramped their cap. Teams like the Bruins and Lightning built winners from those same drafts. Fast forward to 2016 and 2017, they took Jesse Pullger-Jarbe over Mikhail Sergachev and

1:00Charlie McAvoy, elite D-men who won Cups with, Tampa and Boston, then in 2017, Kaila Yamamoto instead of Jake O'Edinger, Dallas's playoff Diffin Net, or even Jason Robertson's scoring touch. These whiffs mean Edmonton's window, with McDavid and Drysaddle stays risky in a cap world. Hitting drafts builds lasting contenders, and fixing that blueprint could finally get them the cup they've chased so close.