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2010 Draft Coverage Articles Line-up: June 10: Taylor Hall visits Edmonton June 13: NHL.com Mock Draft III June 14: Tyler Seguin Profile article June 16: Oilers 2009 Draft in Review June 17: Tyler Seguin pays a visit to Edmonton June 18: 'Canes, Oilers will be busiest at draft June 19: Oilers' Sillinger covers globe The Edmonton Oilers did not have a first-round draft choice in 2006 but fox sports in the three drafts since that time, they have collected five first rounders. The team had three first rounders in 2007 with the first of those selections - Sam Gagner and Riley Nash. Plante played his first pro season this past year while Nash will likely have one more year at Cornell University before turning pro in 2011-12. 2008 and 2009 first rounders - Jordan Eberle, respectively - will both fox sports be in Edmonton this fall for training camp and both will be given every opportunity to make the squad. Each player will participate in their first North American professional season and their performance in camp will determine if that will begin in Edmonton or Oklahoma City. We had a chance to sit down with Oilers Director of Player Development Mike Sillinger recently to talk about the recent pro fox sports gress of these Edmonton first-round selections. Sam GagnerDrafted 2007 (6th overall) Sam Gagner ranked to be chosen in the top five of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft after his brow-raising World Junior Championship performance. They would need some help if they were going to be able to pick Gagner sixth, which luckily enough worked out for them.Gagner, 20, joined his hometown London Knights for th fox sports e 2006-07 season. The small, speedy centre had a phenomenal season posting 35 goals and 118 points in 53 games for the Ontario Hockey League Knights. He added 29 points in 16 playoff games that year.Gagner put on a show at his first training camp in 2007 which earned him a spot on the full-time Oilers roster. In his rookie season as an 18 year-old, Gagner put up 13 goals and 49 points.-I want fox sports ed to believe that I could (make the NHL),- said Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano - D had nine points in 49 games this past season for the Springfield Falcons (AHL). Plante, the Oilers' second choice, 15th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, played his entire junior hockey career in the Western Hockey League for the Calgary Hitmen. He graduated from the WHL after his fourth full season. The 6-3 fox sports -, 225 pound defenceman from Brandon, Manitoba had 45 points (8G, 37A) in 68 games with 157 penalty minutes. The 20-year-old defenceman led Hitmen blueliners in scoring during the playoffs in 2008-09 with 6-9-15 in 18 games with 41 penalty minutes. He was tied for 21st overall in playoff scoring in the Western Hockey League and fourth among defencemen. Plante posted 89 points (18 G, 71A) with fox sports 344 penalty minutes in 224 career regular season games with Calgary from 2004-05 to 2008-09. His total of 45 points in 2008-09 was a career high.Plante signed a professional contract with the Oilers and played his first pro season with the Springfield Falcons (AHL) last year. Plante suffered a concussion after 49 games with the Falcons and finished the season with nine points.-He-s big and st fox sports rong and tough in front of the net,- said Mike Sillinger. -This guy has lots of upside. He obviously has to work on his foot-speed but for 20 years old playing his first year in pro, he had a pretty decent first year.-Plante acquitted himself well in his first NHL action this past season, putting up an assist in four games played. He also had a +1 rating. Riley Nash - C - RW gets the puck past fox sports Norway's Ruben Smith during World Championship action in Germany May 14, 2010. (Photo by Matthew Manor font> The Edmonton Oilers selected Jordan Eberle Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson is coming off of a busy and very successful season. The 6-1-, 201-pound native of Norrkoping, Sweden, has spent the last three seasons playing with the Timra Red Eagles of the Swedish Elite League (SEL) finishing fox sports last season with 29 points (12G, 17A) in 49 appearances. -This kid has -Pavel Bure- speed,- said Oilers Director of Player Development Mike Sillinger. -He-s so fast and hits the holes at the right time and has a great shot. I think this guy is a game-breaker. His best asset is definitely his speed.-Paajarvi-Svensson suited up for Team Sweden at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Saskachew fox sports an last year where he was a key factor to Sweden-s success. The tournament marked Paajarvi-Svensson-s second World Junior appearance. He picked up 10 points (3G, 7A) in the six games played for Team Sweden, helping lift his country to a Bronze Medal. Last May, Paajarvi-Svensson was able to suit up again for his country, this time representing Team Sweden at the World Championships in Germany. fox sports Paajarvi-Svensson led Sweden in scoring by putting up nine points (5G, 4A) in as many games and finished in third place in tournament scoring behind Russia's Ilya Kovalchuk and USA's Brandon Dubinsky. He was also named to the tournament all-star team. fox sports
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