Why Edmonton Oilers prospect Sam O’Reilly is checking all the boxes

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The Edmonton Oilers have tremendous faith in director of amateur scouting Rick Pracey. Hired in August 2023, he managed to secure a first-round selection at the 2024 draft to select right-handed centre Sam O’Reilly.

O’Reilly isn’t a first-shot scorer, doesn’t possess blinding speed and isn’t ticketed to play alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl in the years to come. So, why this player?

The Oilers are no strangers to dealing first-round picks. In fact, it’s a sign of spring as predictable as melting snow or the warmth of the sun.

However, first-round picks are dealt for immediate help at the NHL level. Edmonton annually deals a first-round selection at each deadline for an increased chance at winning the Stanley Cup. To deal a pick (the 2025 selection was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers for No. 32 in 2024, used on O’Reilly) for anything other than a player who can contribute now to a playoff run was a non-starter before Pracey identified O’Reilly.

What’s the story?

The offence 

O’Reilly’s draft day scouting reports suggested the Oilers chose a middle-six centre (second or third line) with wicked checking ability and enough offence to project into a feature role if everything worked out.

Using the Oilers’ own past in drafting out of the OHL, O’Reilly’s points per game during his draft year (0.82) ranked him No. 10 among 13 substantial forwards drafted from the league from 2000 to 2024. The top of the list (McDavid, Sam Gagner, Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov) includes the No. 1 picks and another drafted inside the top 10. No team can reasonably expect to find a player with elite offensive talent at the end of the first round.

O’Reilly spot on that list is an interesting area. His closest comparable was Tobias Rieder (0.75 points per game), who enjoyed a long and productive career. One of the keys in tracking successful prospect trajectories is monitoring offensive growth throughout the two seasons after draft day. O’Reilly’s draft-plus-one season compares well to his draft year:

via CHL.ca

O’Reilly has made gains in all three game states, and his offence should be considered on track for an NHL career. Meanwhile, Rieder’s progression in total points (0.75 to 1.4 year over year) showed outstanding growth, mostly due to additional power-play time.

At even strength, O’Reilly’s draft-plus-one points per game (0.73) is a direct comparable to Rieder’s (0.75) at the same point in his career. They are suitable comparables for each other, although the totals delivered came over a decade apart and don’t include scoring rates, quality of team or quality of competition. Rieder played 478 NHL games, averaging 11-14-25 per 82 NHL games.

O’Reilly made good progress and is on track as a middle-six NHL centre based on his 2024-25 season offensively. His ceiling offensively doesn’t suggest work as a No. 1 centre in the NHL; second-line duty over a period of years is something of a distant bell based on current numbers; his floor (No. 3 centre) would represent a reach selection for this player.

Edmonton valued something other than his offence when trading into the first round one year ago.

As is the case with every player drafted during the past decade, the offensive expectation (10-12 goals and 25-plus points) upon NHL arrival could go much higher if O’Reilly lands on a line with one of Edmonton’s superstar centres.

The defence

O’Reilly is a trusted two-way centre in the OHL and spends substantial time on the penalty kill. In the 2025 coaches poll, he was cited for being above average in the faceoff circle, penalty kill and as a defensive forward.

This is the area of importance for Edmonton.

The descriptions of O’Reilly’s overall game from The Athletic’s Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler (both quoted here) spend ample time discussing his defensive acumen and anticipation.

Hadi Kalakeche from Dobber Prospects offered an interesting view on O’Reilly’s defensive prowess: “he identifies threats earlier than most, anticipates passes, and picks them off, all while keeping a mental map of his surroundings.”

The scouting staff may have been looking for an elite defensive centre, or the viewing of O’Reilly may have driven the point home to the point he became a primary draft target.

Can math help? Not much, because OHL statistics are limited for this player type. Plus-minus is a ghastly way of expressing successful outscoring by an individual player, but even with the limitations, O’Reilly’s numbers in his draft year (plus-32) and this past season (plus-56) show great success in an important area of the game.

Pracey and his staff secured a prospect who should be able to help the even-strength goal share and the penalty kill when he arrives in Edmonton.

Summary

The OHL is the world’s best junior league. Contenders for the crown either have too many teams for the talent pool available (WHL) or lose much of the elite talent to higher leagues (KHL, SweHL). The top contender might be the USHL, a league that has been edging closer over the last decade.

The OHL is fed exceptional players via the richest pool of hockey talent on the planet (Greater Toronto and southern Ontario communities).

The Oilers have benefitted heavily from this part of the hockey world, going back to Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey and more recently McDavid.

The choice of O’Reilly, a two-way centre heralded more for defensive play, is unusual based on the organization’s past. The great two-way centres in team history played their amateur hockey in lesser leagues, like ECAC-2 (Craig MacTavish) and the AJHL-WHL-WHA (Mark Messier) and weren’t first-round selections.

Why a No. 3 centre in the first round? It’s inefficient. Why would Pracey stake his reputation on a player unlikely to deliver 40-goal seasons or post an 80-point campaign in the NHL?

The keys are contained in the scouting reports. Pronman wrote, “two-way center. He competes hard and has physicality.” Wheeler wrote, “does the little things really well, a natural center who is good in the faceoff circle and a plus-level skater and athlete.”

The Oilers have had a difficult time filling the No. 3 centre role during the last decade. Despite an abundance of ridiculous skill at the position, two-way types have been rare. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has, at times, been the only centre who could check well and penalty kill. He’s aging out of the centre role, and Adam Henrique is as well.

There’s no sign McDavid or Draisaitl are about to exit the top two lines, so that part of the roster is well taken care of through the end of the decade and beyond.

O’Reilly may represent what the organization sees as the ideal centre behind 97 and 29 on the depth chart. A rugged right-handed centre who can win battles, penalty kill, score enough to survive in the NHL and (at times) fulfill an old-fashioned role as a pure checking centre assigned to the opposition’s best.

He’s miles from realizing his NHL dream, and the Oilers reached for a player who lacked the ceiling of a pure scorer.

If the organization can fill one of the foundation roster spots (a strong third-line centre is vital), then drafting O’Reilly will one day be viewed as an innovative move. He’s on track for such an outcome at this time. Miles to go.

(Photo: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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