The Edmonton Oilers have been involved in the NHL entry draft since joining the league from the WHA in 1979.
Their first three selections were Kevin Lowe, Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson.
Friday in Montreal, Steve Tambellini will take part in his first draft as GM but it will be the organization's 31st, and as amazing as this sounds, the Oilers have never drafted from No. 10 overall, which is the spot they own this year.
Their highest selection was Jason Bonsignore at 4th overall in 1996.
What made the miss on the supposed next Mario Lemieux tolerable was the fact that two picks later at No. 6 the Oilers drafted Ryan Smyth.
In fact, the Oilers also had two first-round picks in 1991, 1993, 1996 and 2004.
1991: Tyler Wright (No. 12) and Martin Rucinsky (No. 20).
1993: Jason Arnott (No. 7) and Nick Stadjuhar (No. 16).
1996: Boyd Devereaux (No. 6) and Mathieu Descoteaux (No. 19).
2004: Devan Dubnyk (No. 14) and Rob Schremp at (No. 25).
Owning a hat trick of first-rounders has happened only once in team history and it was just two years ago when Sam Gagner (No. 6), Alex Plante (No. 15) and Riley Nash (No. 21) were selected.
Thirteen hasn't been a very lucky draft slot for the Oilers. Four times they have chosen there and they have Joe Hulbig, Michel Riesen, Jani Rita and Ales Hemsky to show for it.
The most popular number for the Oilers to pick with in the first round is a tie between No. 21 where they chose Kevin Lowe, and No. 6 which has been the most hit-and-miss spot.
The hits at No. 6 have been Paul Coffey, Ryan Smyth and Sam Gagner, while the misses have been Steve Kelly and Boyd Devereaux.
The only time the Oilers haven't had a first round pick was in 2006.
So there's a little numerical look at the Edmonton Oilers first round draft history and considering where they are scheduled to select Friday, we'll see if they end up finally being "Ten"tative with their selection.
