Connor McDavid wasn’t the beginning of the Oilers’ rebuild.
He was the reward for finally getting it right.
Before McDavid lifted this team back into relevance, there were costly misses—remember the hype around Nail Yakupov? Or the early weight placed on Taylor Hall’s shoulders?
But what happened after those missteps is what truly shaped the Oilers into a Stanley Cup threat: a shift in how they evaluated, developed, and surrounded their stars.
And it all started with players raised in the crucible of the Canadian Hockey League.
Today, I’m sharing something special:
📘 A free, photo-rich PDF titled Draft Day Dreams: Edmonton Oilers – From CHL Roots to Championship Contenders. It’s packed with original photography and storytelling that traces how the Oilers built around McDavid with CHL standouts like Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, and others.
👉 Download the FREE PDF here (40MB)