A Bit More About the Oilers Picks

#31 Tyler Pitlick

With the #31 pick the Oilers selected centre Tyler Pitlick. Pitlick, who plays for Minnesota State, was ranked all over the place but as high as 18th by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau.

Pitlick was a choice that Edmonton always had on its radar and a good grab at the #31 spot. Other rankings included: ISS: 20, Redline: 30, Bob McKenzie: 25. Feels like a no brainer selection and with Edmonton having the night to sit on this choice, they feel they've got a keeper here.

Tyler Pitlick is the nephew of former NHL defenceman Lance Pitlick. He was an offensive player in the Minnesota high school system but will have to prove he can put up numbers with each step up in competition. Pitlick plays a solid enough all-around game to garner first round consideration so his slip to #31 was a bit of surprise.

Word is that Pitlick has speed, finess, an NHL calibur shot which he can blast off on the move or standing still and is a patient playmaker. Comparisons from James Neal and Ryan Kesler have been made.

# 46: Martin Marincin

The Oilers traded never to be Oiler Riley Nash to get this pick. Marincin is 6'4" and 187 pounds. He was ranked #34 in the Hockey News rankings and #40 with ISO.

Marincin competed for Team Slovakia at the 2010 World Junior Championships, as well as the 2009 and 2010 Under-18 World Championships and had a good showing at the Under 18’s this year which got him noticed.

Marincin is big and plays with an edge. This seems to keep with the philosophy of the Oilers mandate going into this years draft.

# 48: Curtis Hamilton

Another big kid, Hamilton is a prospect the Oilers really wanted and hoped to get as early as #48. Plays LW and comes in at 6'2" and 211 lbs.

The problem with Hamilton is his injury history. A broken collar bone twice and a separated shoulder, he's still be cleared to play in Canada's World Junior evaluation camp.

Saskatoon Blades Assistant GM Jarrod Brodsky says of Hamilton "a good skating winger with a powerful skating stride; good two-way player who is smart at both ends of the ice; takes puck to the net and is learning to use his size and strength more; has been out for majority of the season with a broken collarbone.”

Hamilton projects to be an effective third line winger who can compete hard and bring a physical element to his team.

# 61: Ryan Martindale

Martindale was taken right at where ISO had him ranked at #61. His coach Ottawa 67’s head coach Chris Byrne says "Ryan Martindale is a tall, skilled, swift-skating center who can play in all situations. Ryan has worked hard on playing a 2 way game this season. He has a nose for the net and can beat defenders one-on-one with his size, speed or skill.”

Martindale lacks one thing -- consistency. He has a knack for not showing up fully prepared mentally for games and that is something the Oilers hope he works on and improves.

#91: Jeremie Blain

Another big defender at 6'2 and 194 lbs. He was taken by the Oilers above his ranking.

Last season was a breakout year for Blain, who finished as the top-scoring defenseman for Acadie-Bathurst. He scored 4 goals and added 34 assists for 38 points in 64 games. He added 72 penatly minutes to his offensive totals. In 5 playoff games, Blain scored 2 goals and chipped in 2 assists for 4 points. (stats courtest of Hockey Futures)

#121 - Tyler Bunz

Tyler is the first goaltender taken in this years draft for Edmonton, who while they have Olivier Roy in the system aren't deep in goalie prospects.

At height 6.01 and 198 lbs, the Oilers have drafted all players this year who are over 6 feet tall. If you include the fact that one of these players is a goalie, that's a crazy stat.

In 57 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2009-2010, Bunz finished with a 31-19-3-2 record. He posted a 2.91 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage. In 12 playoff games, Bunz went 6-5-1 while finishing with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.

Bunz possesses good overall quickness, decent size and good footwork, but has a tendancy to go down early and get a bit scrambly. He's not looked at as ever really being a #1 goalie, but a quality back-up.

#162 Brandon Davidson

Brandon Davidson is a strong defenseman for the Regina Pats. Davidson provides production on both defense and offense.

Not the greatest skater in the draft, but can move the puck up ice and has strong hockey sense.

#166 Drew Czerwonka

According to Lowetide, Czerwonka is a sizeable left winger who likes to play physical and be a presence infront of the net. Needs a lot of work though.

#181 Kristians Pelss

Sizeable forward for someone who looks so young and really is only 17. Player comes from Latvia, which in and of itself might be a first. I'd have to look that up.

#202 - Kellen Jones

Small skilled 20 yr old forward out of the BCJHL. There are a few questionable picks in this years draft, but this would be the biggest one. He went down in points this past season and is a real project, but perhaps the scouting staff see something here. Time will tell -- I mean, a lot of time will tell.