2018 NHL Draft: Report card grades for every team

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadians pose for a picture of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Evan Bouchard poses after being selected tenth overall by the Edmonton Oilers during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Edmonton Oilers – B

First Round Pick: Evan Bouchard (D) (10)

I don’t think anyone expected Evan Bouchard to be on the board at No. 10. Everyone knew the Oilers were going defense in the first round. There were certainly plenty of good choices out there. But Bouchard falling to them just further hammers home how lucky this team is between the months of April and June. Bouchard is a player who will likely make the Oilers right out of training camp because they thought Adam Larsson was the answer on their blue line. He’s a player who can turn defense into offense and he’s going to make Connor McDavid’s life a lot easier going up the ice. He’s going to be very good for Edmonton for three seasons before they decide to trade him for Elias Lindholm.

Other Notable Picks: Ryan McLeod (C) (40), Olivier Rodrigue (G) (62)

McLeod is going to be a stud and the Oilers were very fortunate he fell to them so late in the second round. What kind of draft voodoo magic do the Oilers have and how come they can’t save some for the regular season or playoffs? Olivier Rodrigue was the top rated North American goalie by Central Scouting. The Oilers can only hope he solves their net woes in a coupe of seasons.

Things broke perfectly for Edmonton in this draft. They were able to get McLeod and Bouchard in the first two rounds. Neither player should have been there when the Oilers were on the clock. Consider this a high B that would be an A if the Oilers history of screwing up draft picks wasn’t so rich.

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