{"id":30597,"date":"2009-06-27T20:00:06","date_gmt":"2009-06-28T01:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2009\/06\/27\/draft-notebook-oilers-surprise-goalies-finally-go\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:57:28","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:57:28","slug":"draft-notebook-oilers-surprise-goalies-finally-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2009\/06\/27\/draft-notebook-oilers-surprise-goalies-finally-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Draft Notebook: Oilers Surprise, Goalies Finally Go"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Edmonton Oilers made one of the most interesting selections on Saturday when, in the third round, they called the name of Troy Hesketh. Hesketh is committed to attend Wisconsin but won’t do so until September of 2011. He is heading next year to play junior hockey in the U.S. Hockey League. <\/p>\n
Hesketh was not ranked by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau yet ended up the 71st overall selection. The move to take Hesketh was considered risky as the 18-year-old’s current timeline for junior and college hockey could make it difficult to sign him before he becomes a free agent. Teams have no more than four years to sign a player after he is drafted, so given that Hesketh will play two years in junior then arrive at Wisconsin, that could create problems. <\/p>\n
Something similar happened with former Minnesota forward Blake Wheeler. Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes tabbed Wheeler as the fifth overall pick in 2004 but Wheeler then played two years of high school hockey and two years at Minnesota before becoming a free agent. Wheeler signed with the Boston Bruins last summer and played his first season for the Black and Gold this past season. <\/p>\n