Edmonton Oilers Top 5 Draft Busts in Franchise History
By Ryan Ritchie
Edmonton Oilers Top 5 Countdown: Biggest Busts in Franchise History
Edmonton Oilers are the next team in a series dedicated to the top five draft busts in franchise history. Over the next while, we plan to explore all 30 teams (in alphabetical order) big misses on the draft floor since their inception.
For those expansion teams from the early and late 1990s into 2000, their franchise draft history is obviously skewed in comparison to older teams. Even with a limited sample size to choose from, each and every franchise has been victimized by the imperfect art of selecting 18-year-old prospects.
The Edmonton Oilers have a rich history that dates back to their dynasty era in the 1980s with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, among many others.
What most general hockey fans don’t realize is that Edmonton has a terrible track record in the first round.
Since 1979, the Oilers have missed on 22 first round draft picks. They actually hit a bust in the first round every year between 1984-2000.
Honorable Mentions:
Jim Playfair – 20th overall in 1982
Selmar Odelein – 21st overall in 1984
Scott Metcalfe – 20th overall in 1985
Kim Issel – 21st overall in 1986
Peter Soberlak – 21st overall in 1987
Francois Leroux – 19th overall in 1988
Jason Soules – 15th overall in 1989
Scott Allison – 17th overall in 1990
Tyler Wright – 12th overall in 1991
Joe Hulbig – 13th overall in 1992
Nick Stajduhar – 16th overall in 1993
Michel Riesen – 14th overall in 1997
Jani Rita – 13th overall in 1999
Alexei Mikhnov – 17th overall in 2000
Jesse Niinimaki – 15th overall in 2002
Marc-Antoine Pouliot – 22nd overall in 2003
Rob Schremp – 25th overall in 2004
Edmonton Oilers Top 5 Draft Busts
5. Michael Henrich – 13th overall in 1998
Add Michael Henrich to that list of highly touted Barrie Colts prospects who turned into complete flops. He joins names such as Alexandre Volchkov, Daniel Tkaczuk, Jan Bulis, Sheldon Keefe, Brian Finley, Denis Shvidki, the list goes on.
Henrich never played a single NHL game before leaving North America in 2005-06. He spent time in Germany, Italy, Austria, and England before finally retiring after 2013-14.
Picks after Henrich: Martin Skoula (COL) – 17th overall, Dmitri Kalinin (BUF) – 18th overall, Robyn Regehr (COL) – 19th overall, Simon Gagne (PHI) – 22nd overall, Scott Gomez (NJ) – 27th overall
4. Magnus Paajarvi – 10th overall in 2009
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Paajarvi made some excellent early impressions during his time in Edmonton. He even took the league by storm during the preseason one year and seemed destined for stardom.
After a promising 34-point rookie season, Magnus struggled to stay in the lineup the next two seasons and saw significant time with AHL Oklahoma City. He was eventually traded to St.Louis where he has spent the past three seasons.
Magnus Paajarvi has 80 points in 276 career NHL games.
Picks after Paajarvi: Ryan Ellis (NSH) – 11th overall, Calvin de Haan (NYI) – 12th overall, Dmitry Kulikov (FLA) – 14th overall, Nick Leddy (MIN) – 16th overall, Chris Kreider (NYR) – 19th overall, Marcus Johansson (WSH) – 24th overall, Kyle Palmieri (ANA) – 26th overall
3. Boyd Devereaux – 6th overall in 1996
If he were a late 1st round pick, he would likely be omitted from this list, but with a 6th overall pick comes with high expectations.
Devereaux managed a lengthy 627 game career (172 points), but Edmonton realized the need to cut their losses early after posting what would be a career-high 27 points in 1999-00.
He spent time with Detroit, Phoenix, and Toronto before playing his final season in 2008-09.
Picks after Devereaux: Ruslan Salei (ANA) – 9th overall, Derek Morris (CGY) – 13th overall, Marty Reasoner (STL) – 14th overall, Dainius Zubrus (PHI) – 15th overall, Marco Sturm (SJ) – 21st overall
2. Steve Kelly – 6th overall in 1995
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A point-per-game WHL power forward at the time he was drafted, Steve Kelly wrapped up his final year of junior posting 101 points with Prince Albert. Unfortunately, after four short seasons, it became clear that Kelly would be nothing more than career minor leaguer.
He spent time with Tampa Bay, New Jersey, and Los Angeles before leaving North America in 2004-05 to play in Germany.
Kelly would later return to NA signing with the Minnesota Wild in 2007-08 (appeared in two games) – 48 games with AHL Houston. He would play one more season with AHL Syracuse in 2008-09 before retiring from pro hockey.
Steve Kelly had nine, 12 assists (21 points) in 149 career NHL games.
Picks after Kelly: Shane Doan (WPG) – 7th overall, Kyle McLaren (BOS) – 9th overall, Radek Dvorak (FLA) – 10th overall, Jarome Iginla (DAL) – 11th overall, Jean-Sebastien Giguere (HRT) – 13th overall, Jay McKee (BUF) – 14th overall, Martin Biron (BUF) – 16th overall, Petr Sykora (NJ) – 18th overall
Next: Las Vegas Mock Expansion Draft
1. Jason Bonsignore – 4th overall in 1994
What would an Edmonton draft bust countdown be without Jason Bonsignore? The Oilers struck gold two picks later with Ryan Smyth, but can you imagine if EDM selected Jeff O’Neill who went sandwiched in between to Hartford at 5th overall?
Bonsignore played a grand total of 79 games over his NHL career. He spent the majority of his time in the minors (AHL, IHL, ECHL), with a few years over in Europe. Jason wrapped up his pro hockey career following the 2007-08 after splitting time between ECHL Fesno and Trenton.
Picks after Bonsignore: Jeff O’Neill (HRT) – 5th overall, Jason Wiemer (TB) – 8th overall, Jeff Friesen (SJ) – 11th overall, Mattias Ohlund (VAN) – 13th overall, Ethan Moreau (CHI) – 14th overall