Edmonton Oilers Draft Day Report

All Edmonton Oilers fans will be focusing their attention on Steve Tambellini this coming weekend as he experiences his first draft day as an Oilers general manager. In the past Edmonton fans were used to seeing former GM and now Oilers President Kevin Lowe being aggressive and trying to move up in the draft. Tambellini who in the past was in management with the Vancouver Canucks has a reputation of being more conservative but is still open to making moves if it will help their position in Montreal where on Friday they are scheduled to pick 10^th overall. “I think every team will tell you they would love to have a chance to move up in the draft,” Tambellini whose Oilers are coming off a disappointing season which saw them miss the playoffs with 85 points said. “We will try, we have been trying like most teams, (to move up) but you never really know until you get close to the draft day or on the floor.” Edmonton who two years ago almost swung a draft deal that would have seen them land the second overall pick have many options going into Friday. One option that has been rumored is Edmonton giving up that high pick to the Ottawa Senators for Alberta born Dany Heatley who will provide Edmonton with the offence they badly need. Other names being rumored as possible draft selections include former QMJHL Drummondville Voltigeurs defenceman Dmitri Kulikov who the Oilers scouts are high on. This rear guard likes to crash and bang and also provides lots of offence. Other names include Sweden’s Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi who is considered one of the strongest skaters in the draft. His stalk soared after enjoying a standout world junior. Defenceman Ryan Ellis’ formally of the Windsor Spitfires is another player who has peeked the Oilers interest along with former Brandon Wheat Kings’ goal scorer Scott Glennie who processes a deadly shot. Besides for scoring and help on the blue line the Oilers are also rumored to be in the market for improving their goaltending situation. Making a trade or drafting a young promising goaltender isn’t out of the question. You can bet that all Oilers fans will be watching every move that Tambellini makes between now and draft day on Friday in Montreal