2012 NHL Draft: Edmonton Oilers Win Draft Lottery and Will Pick No. 1 Overall

For the third consecutive year, the Edmonton Oilers will pick first overall at the NHL Draft. The Columbus Blue Jackets had the best odds for winning the lottery, but Edmonton came in at No. 1. The Oilers have picked their three current stars Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle with three of their last four first-round picks. Magnus Pääjärvi was the other first round pick going 10th in the 2009 draft.

With the No. 1 pick, Edmonton will have the option of selecting favorites Nail Yakupov, Mikhail Grigorenko or Ryan Murray. The Oilers could chose to add a defenseman in Murray or they could select star forward Yakupov.

Yakupov is a speedy sniper who would fit in great with the current core Edmonton has built through the draft. With this amount of scoring talent, the Oilers can always add defensive depth and goaltending through trades in the offseason.

On the other hand, odds are the Oilers could flip the first overall pick for another first-round pick and a second-round pick. Steve Tambellini is really in a great position heading into the offseason now that the Oilers have secured another No. 1 draft pick.

It is quite rare for a team to have the No. 1 pick for three straight years, but the Oilers will most certainly benefit from this win. 

For a better look at the top 10, check out Bob McKenzie's rankings.

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TSN's Top 10 Draft Rankings, Lottery Edition, as follows, here: bit.ly/HqwGs1

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) April 11, 2012

 

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Tom Urtz is an NHL Featured Columnist.

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