SenShot 2014 NHL Mock Draft Picks 1-5

#3 Edmonton Oilers

Apr 12, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers left wing

Ryan Smyth

(94) is acknowledged after his last game as an NHL player and Edmonton Oilers player after a game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Chris Austin-USA TODAY Sports

The Oilers, as I stated earlier, really need to do what it takes to try to pry the #1 pick from Florida to get Ekblad.  Defense is their biggest need as they have been trying to get by with a patchwork blue line and that simply hasn’t been working.  Justin Schultz is a start, Darnell Nurse is coming, but they need more blue chip defensemen in the system.

Antother option would be to trade down to get to an area that Haydn Fleury might be available (closer to 8-10), but picking him in this spot could not be justified. That being said, if they do elect to kepp the  #3 pick, they will add yet another young forward to the bounty they possess and have to try to get that blueliner elsewhere through trade or free agency.

The Oilers should stay relatively close to home and go with Sam Reinhart, centre from the Kootenay Ice of the WHL.

Reinhart would add another smallish but skilled forward to the ranks that include Sam Gagner and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  To compete in the West, they are going to have to get much bigger up the midde.