Over the last several years, the Edmonton Oilers have become less reliant on draft picks in talent procurement. The change in direction came out of necessity. The team trades high picks at the deadline, usually signs the acquired veteran, and relies on signing undrafted free agents to stock the AHL Bakersfield Condors. Some of those prospects find their way to NHL jobs, but very few spend much (or any) time in a skill role.For the Oilers, lack of skill throughout the system is a problem now, and it’s only going to get worse if those first-round picks keep going out the door. Here are a couple of fixes for it.The pastWhen Ken Holland was general manager, the team often signed college grads and junior players turning pro to AHL-only deals. It worked in some cases (Vincent Desharnais, James Hamblin) but meant the organization was shopping in the fringe aisles, miles from the unique talents who landed in other NHL cities.Since Stan Bowman arrived, the focus has been on younger free agents signed to NHL deals, many from U.S. colleges and European leagues. In last week’s top 20 prospects for summer 2026, three college men signed by Bowman (Damien Carfagna, Quinn Hutson, Owen Michaels) were ranked high. Added to two European talents (Josh Samanski and Viljami Marjala) signed since Bowman arrived, and the tenor of the prospect pool has changed materially.The nagging issue is offensive skill. Signing bottom-six forwards and third-pairing defencemen out of college and Europe stocks the shelves with fringe prospects, but can anyone in this group move the needle as a scorer?Winners and losers from the 2026 NHL DraftScott WheelerThe nature of the AHLFor the most part, forwards who spend much of their NHL careers on scoring lines either spend little time in the minors or bypass the AHL completely. A trip through Oilers minor league history shows as much, with Miro Satan (25 games, scoring 24 AHL goals in 1994-95) and Ryan Smyth (nine AHL games, 11 points) representing typical time spent in the minors for top offensive contributors.