EDMONTON — It’s a lot easier to make Team Latvia than it is to find a spot on Team Canada, at every level of the hockey world.
So international play won’t be the only tool to help Rudolfs Berzkalns develop into a National Hockey Leaguer, but it should be an option for a Latvian kid who has been over here in North America since he went to school in Rochester, N.Y., as a 14-year-old.
The Oilers drafted the six-foot-four, 204-pound left-shot centreman in Round 2 of the NHL Draft, 58th overall, the first of five players chosen by Edmonton.
“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. “We think his game is raw... some growth in his game we believe (will come). The plan is to play one more year of junior hockey before the NCAA – we think that would do a world of good.”
In a season in which the New York Rangers made defenceman Alberts Smits the highest ever drafted Latvian at No. 5 overall, the Oilers spent the highest pick they’ve ever invested in a Latvian, choosing Berzkalns at No. 58 — two picks ahead of Alexander Kerch in 1992.
While Smits played in both the Olympics and World Championships for Latvia this past season, it’s realistic to hope that Berzkalns can find a spot on Latvia’s World Junior roster at Christmas, and from there become a part of their national program to some extent.
“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.
“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.”
The plan is for Berzkalns to play another season at Muskegon, then move on to Boston College.
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In all the trade alerts we saw on Friday and Saturday, none were regarding the trade the Oilers are most focused on.
The Darnell Nurse trade that will shape Edmonton’s offseason plans, but it remained dormant through draft weekend. Our Elliotte Friedman reported that Anaheim had shown fresh interest in Nurse, adding a fourth team to the three teams that Nurse had given the Oilers as possible trade destinations (suspected to be Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston).
The Ducks may wish to fit the left-handed Nurse into a D-corps led by Jackson LaCombe, after the Ducks traded the negotiating rights of John Carlson to Carolina late in Saturday’s draft. Anaheim may also lose veterans and pending UFAs Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas, leaving room for the 31-year-old Nurse, a veteran of 798 regular-season games and another 100 in the playoffs.
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.
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.
Here’s a look at the rest of the Oilers draft picks:
Malcolm Gastrin, third round, 84th overall
Gastrin comes to Edmonton through the MoDo Hockey Ornskoldsvik club that gave hockey the Sedin twins. According to Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala: “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 is likely to return to Modo of the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second-highest level of professional hockey in Sweden.
“We think there is potential top nine upside,” Pracey said. “He needs to fill out — he has sort of a thinner frame right now. We’re looking at a 6'1, 185-pound pro.”
Older brother Milton was picked in the second round by Washington a year ago. He’s a six-foot, 175-pound left winger who was dealt to St. Louis recently in the Jordan Kyrou trade.
Andrew Robinson, fifth round, 133rd overall.
Robinson is an average-sized defenceman (six feet, 190 lbs.) who was listed at No. 205 by Central Scouting, but the Oilers stepped up and grabbed him in Round 5.
“I’ve talked to the majority of the (NHL) teams,” Robinson told the Windsor Star just before the draft. “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.”
Robinson finished fifth in the OHL in rookie scoring by defencemen with 24 points in 63 games, and 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, sixth round, 180th overall.
A right-shot centreman, Harvey is a teammate of Robinson’s on the Spits.
Committed to Penn State this fall, he’s from Beaver, PA, a borough with a population of less than 5,000 at last count.
Ryan Cameron, seventh round, 220th overall
The only goalie drafted by Edmonton in 2026, the Oilers sat on this Berwyn, Penn.-born goalie who played last season for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL.
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