Oilers focus on skill, competitiveness in late rounds of NHL draft

National Post

10 hours ago

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Their other picks in rounds six and seven were the right-catching Salonen, 19 — the fourth straight year, after Finn Eemil Vinni, Nathaniel Day and Samuel Jonsson, and 10th time in the last 12 drafts the Oilers have taken a goalie and with their second-last pick of the draft — and the centre Park. His uncle Richard played 738 NHL games.
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Salonen was goalie of the year and top player in the U20 junior league in Finland with a .933 save percentage and a 24-1 record for Rauman Lukko this past season. He was also 9-2 in the playoffs.
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Park, 19, who is from Hermosa Beach, about 40 minutes from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles where the draft was held, was actually in the seats wearing a hoodie and shorts when his name was called, and got a loud cheer when the Oilers called his name. He once played for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, and last season was with Green Bay in the USHL, notching 33 goals and 66 points in 55 games, and later with the Calgary Hitmen for three playoff games. He's also going to U of Michigan in the fall.
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'He's been a big scorer going back to when he was at Shattuck (St. Mary's prep). I've known about him for a while. For whatever reason, he's been passed over, but we feel he's got a lot of game. Later in the draft, you're looking for guys with a lot of upside,' said Bowman.
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Apart from the Oilers picks, the junior Oil Kings' best player, defenceman Blake Fiddler, was Seattle's first selection in Round 2. The Kraken traded with Philadelphia to move from 38 to 36 to take the former NHL winger Vern Fiddler's son. Fiddler was projected to be a late first-rounder but sat through five hours at Peacock Theatre in L.A. without his name called.
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It was a nervous time but Fiddler shrugged off the rejection Friday.
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'Me and my dad always say the draft doesn't matter. He was undrafted. It doesn't matter where you go, it's the work you put in after,' said the 6-foot-5, 220-pound 17-year-old, who played for USA at the U18 worlds this spring.
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Vern played 877 NHL games.
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Why did the right-shot, big-body Fiddler get through the first round?
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'I think teams maybe want to see a little more bite to his game,' said Oil Kings GM Kirt Hill, who chatted with the Kraken before Round 2 started and had a feeling they would try to trade and move up to take Fiddler.
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Can you teach aggressiveness? Or is inside a player?
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Fiddler will figure it out.
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'I think not going in the first round might be motivation,' said Hill.
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This 'n that: The Oilers hope to get Lewandowski over from Germany, and maybe Salonen from Finland for Monday's development camp … Good move by Vancouver, taking Sherwood Park's Braeden Cootes with the 15th overall pick. Cootes was captain of Seattle Thunderbirds. 'An all-around guy who can play in all situations,' said Hill of the 18-year-old centre … Former Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff's son Will, who plays at University of Michigan, went 24th overall to Pittsburgh. You're entitled to say 'Horc has a son old enough for the draft?' Yup, Shawn is 46. The scouting book on Will Horcoff is big kid, nice hands, but has to work on his feet. They said the same thing about Shawn's footspeed, of course. Shawn, the assistant GM in Detroit, played 1,008 NHL games with a through-the-roof work ethic … Fort Saskatchewan's Kale Dach, who had 87 points in 54 games for Sherwood Park Crusaders this past season, was drafted by Pittsburgh in Round 7. He is not related to Kirby Dach.
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