Oilers draft – Edmonton used the 58th pick on Rudolfs Berzkalns in Round 2, aiming to add size at centre. The plan is for the left-shot centreman to play another year in junior hockey with Muskegon Lumberjacks before moving to NCAA with Boston College. The draft also set the
When the Edmonton Oilers’ pick came in at 58th overall, it landed on a player built for the kind of hockey the club says it’s trying to grow.
Rudolfs Berzkalns, a 6-foot-4, 204-pound left-shot centre-man, was selected in Round 2 as the first of five players Edmonton took in the NHL Draft. For the Oilers, the appeal was simple: they want more size up the middle.
“It’s a big centre, it’s important for us to add some size in the middle of the ice,” said Rick Pracey, Edmonton’s Director of Amateur Scouting. Pracey described Berzkalns’ game as “raw,” adding that the organization believes in “some growth in his game.”
Edmonton’s plan is for Berzkalns to play one more year of junior hockey before heading to the NCAA. Pracey said that step “would do a world of good,” positioning international development as a potential bonus rather than the whole blueprint.
The Oilers believe Berzkalns can develop in that next season and be ready for an international opportunity. With the realism of competition always sitting in the background. the expectation is that he could land on Latvia’s World Junior roster at Christmas. From there, the organization hopes the progression becomes part of a broader national program.
“It’s always nice to have those options in development,” Pracey said. “Him in particular, he was a depth, role player on a championship team this season (Muskegon Lumberjacks, USHL). Then he was a top-six kid and on special teams on a team that went right to the final.”
Pracey also pointed to the kind of profile teams pay attention to when a prospect moves through a winning environment. “So that’s of interest to us. Yeah, World Championships, they’re not arm-benders in decision-making. But clearly. advantages in development are things we looked at. and it was more of an interesting part of his profile than a check mark.”.
Berzkalns has already spent significant time in North America. The Latvian kid came over to attend school in Rochester, N.Y., and has built his hockey path from there, after which the Oilers moved to secure him at the draft.
Edmonton also used its largest-ever Latvian investment in the draft. The New York Rangers had set the bar earlier in the same draft year when they selected defenceman Alberts Smits at No. 5 overall, the highest ever drafted Latvian. The Oilers answered by taking Berzkalns at No. 58—two picks ahead of Alexander Kerch in 1992.
Even with international aspirations on the table, the immediate roadmap stays North American and structured. The plan is for Berzkalns to play another season at Muskegon, then move on to Boston College.
One of the quieter shocks of draft weekend was how much of Edmonton’s focus remained tied up elsewhere—despite the flurry of trade alerts moving around the league. In the trade alerts seen on Friday and Saturday, none were regarding the trade the Oilers appear most focused on.
The Darnell Nurse trade remained dormant through draft weekend. even as Edmonton’s offseason plans are expected to be shaped by it. Elliotte Friedman reported that Anaheim had shown fresh interest in Nurse. adding a fourth team to the three that Nurse had given the Oilers as possible trade destinations. Those suspected destinations were Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston.
The idea for the Ducks is that they could fit Nurse into a D-corps led by Jackson LaCombe. Anaheim also made a draft-day move involving defensive depth when the Ducks traded the negotiating rights of John Carlson to Carolina late in Saturday’s draft.
There is also room in Anaheim’s picture for Nurse’s profile. The Ducks may lose veterans and pending UFAs Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas, leaving space for a 31-year-old Nurse. Nurse is a veteran of 798 regular-season games, with another 100 games in the playoffs.
For Edmonton, the trade possibilities in play with Anaheim still include familiar pieces. It seems likely that forward Frank Vatarno. with two years remaining at $4.57 million. would be coming back in any deal with the Ducks. Defencemen Hampus Lindholm and/or Mason Lohrei are reportedly being dangled in the Bruins scenario.
Edmonton’s leadership, meanwhile, appears to be working through the kind of clock that makes offseason decisions sharper. With the possibility of gaining some cap space in any deal. and the certainty of bringing back at least one contract. Bowman will want to get this deal off his plate before free agency opens on Wednesday.
While the Nurse question sat in the background, Edmonton’s other draft choices carried their own logic.
Malcolm Gastrin was selected in the third round, 84th overall. Gastrin comes to Edmonton through the MoDo Hockey Ornskoldsvik club, the same pipeline that gave hockey the Sedin twins. Jason Bukala said: “He’s just one of those relentless workers. A forechecker. He’s on the puck and young for this draft as well. He is one of those players that has that longer runway. A little bit undersized at 5’11.”.
Gastrin does not turn 18 until August. and Pracey said he’s likely to return to Modo of the HockeyAllsvenskan. described as the second-highest level of professional hockey in Sweden. Pracey added: “We think there is potential top nine upside. He needs to fill out — he has sort of a thinner frame right now. We’re looking at a 6’1, 185-pound pro.”.
Gastrin’s older brother, Milton, was picked in the second round by Washington a year ago. Milton is a six-foot, 175-pound left winger who was dealt to St. Louis recently in the Jordan Kyrou trade.
Andrew Robinson was Edmonton’s fifth-round pick, 133rd overall. He’s an average-sized defenceman at six feet and 190 pounds, though Central Scouting had him listed at No. 205. Robinson was still a value grab for Edmonton, with Pracey’s staff moving up to take him in Round 5.
Robinson told the Windsor Star just before the draft, “I’ve talked to the majority of the (NHL) teams,” while adding that “Rankings are something I never looked at. Even the OHL rankings growing up, I was told not to look because they don’t know the player. With the NHL, it just takes one team.”
On the ice, Robinson finished fifth in the OHL in rookie scoring by defencemen with 24 points in 63 games, and he was a plus-19. He follows Beau Akey out of the OHL, a similarly sized Oilers pick out of the Barrie Colts who turned pro this past season, with 10 points in 42 games at Bakersfield.
Caden Harvey went to Edmonton in the sixth round, 180th overall. A right-shot centreman, Harvey is a teammate of Robinson’s on the Spits and is committed to Penn State this fall. Harvey is from Beaver, Pennsylvania, a borough with a population of less than 5,000 at last count.
Ryan Cameron was Edmonton’s seventh-round selection, 220th overall. The Oilers took the only goalie drafted by Edmonton in 2026, and they did it with the Berwyn, Pennsylvania-born goalie who played last season for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL.
Edmonton Oilers Rudolfs Berzkalns NHL Draft Darnell Nurse Rick Pracey Muskegon Lumberjacks Boston College World Juniors Anaheim Ducks Frank Vatrano Jacob Trouba Radko Gudas John Carlson
Who even is Berzkalns? Sounds made up lol.
6’4 204 is pretty big for a center, so I guess that helps. But are we sure waiting another year in junior actually fixes anything? Oilers always say they want size up the middle and then it’s the same issues.
So they took him at 58 and the plan is NCAA at Boston College? I saw somewhere he was already in the NHL like last week though, so idk. Also “raw” sounds like they don’t have high expectations which is fine I guess.
This reads like the Oilers are drafting a guy just to be tall and then hoping he turns into McDavid 2.0 or something. Muskegon Lumberjacks… never heard of em, so hopefully he’s not just a slow big body. They said growth in his game, but that could mean anything. At least 58th isn’t too crazy, but I’ll believe it when he’s actually producing goals/points.