EDMONTON — There was a time in Edmonton when every Ike Howard made the team.

Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Jesse Puljujarvi, Sam Gagner… The Oilers were drafting high for a reason, right? They were not very good, and all those players (and others) were bee-lined right into the NHL because of it.

Most of those players eventually succeeded. But what if the ones who did not were brought along properly? Would they have turned out?

“I know the Oilers have had many prospects slotted in near the top of the lineup and it hasn’t gone well. They just continue getting bumped down, bumped down. That’s not good for their confidence,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who will oversee the integration of players like Howard and Matt Savoie out of training camp, and per

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