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David Lewandowski, Saskatoon Blades (Photo credit: Rick Elvin)

Oilers’ Pick David Lewandowski Could Be Steal of the 2025 NHL Draft

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Brian Swane | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 2:05 PM ET

Given they had no picks in the first two rounds at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft last week in Los Angeles, the Edmonton Oilers didn’t leave SoCal with any slam-dunk prospects. But they did come away with a player who could one of the steals of the draft.

The Oilers snagged David Lewandowski late in the fourth round on Saturday (June 28), using the 117^th-overall pick to select the Saskatoon Blades forward. A native of Düsseldorf, Germany, Lewandowski scored 15 goals, including four game-winners, and added 24 assists in 52 games with the Blades last season, his first in the Western Hockey League (WHL).

It’s rare that players selected with a triple-digit draft pick go on to have lengthy and impactful careers in the NHL. But Lewandowski may be of a much higher calibre than his latter rounds brethren.

Ranked Higher Than Draft Slot

Among pre-draft rankings from leading sources across the web, Lewandowski was slotted in the third round. He was ranked 69^th by FloHockey, 73^rd by Draft Prospects Hockey, 78^th by Future Considerations, 82^nd by Dobber Prospects, and 86^th by Daily Faceoff.

THW draft experts Andrew Forbes and Peter Baracchini ranked Lewandowski at 100^th and 107^th, respectively, several spots higher than Lewandowski was eventually selected. And NHL Central Scouting listed Lewandowski at 51st among North American skaters.

So how is it that the six-foot-one, 177-pound, left-shot German was still available when it came Edmonton’s turn to draft near the end of Round 4?

Lewandowski Needs to Improve Skating

It’s understandable that certain teams would pass over Lewandowski because he doesn’t fit their particular needs, but for nearly every NHL team to pass over him at least once in the third or fourth round does raise eyebrows.

Do these other teams know something Edmonton doesn’t? There’s nothing that suggests any issues or traits that would make Lewandowski the type of person a team might be reluctant to bring into its organization. The one consistent critique of Lewandowski is his skating ability, but that’s something that can improve.

It also bears mention that 2024-25 was Lewandowski’s first year away from home, adjusting to North America both on and off the ice. That he was a key part of helping Saskatoon reach the WHL playoffs is a compliment to Lewandowski.

Lewandowski’s Many Strengths

As for the stuff Lewandowski does well, there’s a lot. The 18-year-old possesses a strong shot, provides with physicality and grit, and is strong on the puck. He plays a smart two-way game, and led the Blades with a plus-21 rating last season.

In its analysis of Lewandowski, Neutral Zone paints the picture of a well-rounded and versatile player, who could make him useful in any number of ways at the game’s highest level:

“Lewandowski checks a lot of the boxes that NHL teams look for in a complementary winger He competes, he creates, and he doesn’t hurt you defensively. His development curve is heading in the right direction. While he may lack standout explosiveness, he thinks the game at a high level, plays a mature game, and projects as someone who can help an NHL team win in a variety of ways if he continues to round out his physical tools.”

Pick Reacquired from Canucks

The Oilers had originally traded their 2025 fourth-round selection to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Vasiliy Podkolzin last summer. But they reacquired the pick from Vancouver on June 25 in a trade for Evander Kane, putting themselves in position to select Lewandowski.

Lewandowski has already been the steal of one draft: he was taken with the very last pick, 120th, in the 2024 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft. Will lightning strike twice? The Oilers certainly hope so.