DRAFT: Schaefer fit the mold for Oilers scouting staff

MONTREAL, QC - Size. Shooting. Character. Competitiveness.
Those are four major reasons why the Oilers amateur scouting staff was high on the potential of Reid Schaefer and why General Manager & President of Hockey Operations Ken Holland ultimately made the call to select the Seattle Thunderbirds winger with the 32nd-overall selection at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal.
Before the pick was put in from the Oilers draft table at the Bell Centre, Holland made the decision to package Edmonton's original 29th-overall selection with two picks in 2024 and 2025 in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes for forward Zack Kassian and the 32nd pick of Thursday's first round.
Edmonton knew there was still plenty of value to be acquired late in the draft -- including a certain Spruce Grove product and power forward coming off a strong regular season and WHL playoff run where he finished top-10 in scoring with 21 points in 25 post-season games.
"It's (pick) 32 in the draft, so everybody ahead of you has to make those decisions," Holland said. "Then you pick the best player you think is left on the board."

With Holland's attention back in January and February tied up with the matters of the main club, including the hiring of a new head coach in Jay Woodcroft to help steer the club back towards an eventual Western Conference Final berth, the Oilers executive couldn't delegate as much of his time to scout as he'd become used to in season's past.
That responsibility fell more into the hands of Oilers Director of Amateur Scouting Tyler Wright and his scouts around the world, and one player who caught their eye in the WHL with his 6-foot-3, 214-pound frame and two-way game was Schaefer.
"Our scouts are really excited. Obviously he played in the WHL. We've got (Chief Amateur Scout) Bob Green out west, we've got (Amateur Scout) Mitch Holmberg, we've got Tyler Wright, so they saw him a lot. We saw him play for Seattle who went on a long playoff run.
"We like his size, we like that he can shoot the puck in the net, we like his character, and we like his competitiveness."

All of the above checked a lot of boxes for Holland and the Oilers scouting staff who see the 18-year-old's fitting seamlessly over time with the identity they hope to continue building in Edmonton.
"Obviously he's a big strong power forward. A powerful guy," Holland said. "He scored 32 goals this year, and I think if you want to be good you'd like to have some big size on the wings. We like the character. Obviously he's a local guy. He's from Alberta, so our people know a lot about him and feel he's got good character.
"He's big, he's strong, he's competitive. Like I said, he can shoot the puck in the net and I think he's got to continue to develop as a young player. Hopefully, in two-to-three years if not sooner, he's on the Oilers."
With the selection made, the job with Schaefer now will be to surround the forward with the right tools to make his skillset NHL-ready in the coming years.
"Now we have to go about the process of developing him into an Edmonton Oiler," Holland said.