Former Oilers first round pick involved in Ekholm trade makes NHL debut

Back on February 28, 2023, the Oilers made a massive trade to acquire defenceman Mattias Ekholm. It's worked out incredibly well for the Oilers as they acquired an elite defender for the Cup-contention window, but there's a few players involved who could still make their mark in the NHL.

Earlier this week, Reid Schaefer made played his first two games with the Nashville Predators. He was one of three major assets used to acquire Ekholm.

Now 22 years old, the 6'4 and 226 pound Schaefer is known as a punishing ohysical forward, and has been able to produce offence at the AHL level. He's earned the call-up with 28 points in his last 34 AHL games.

If he's able to even get to that offensive production in the NHL, Schaefer will be a quality player. He's also an Edmonton-native kid, which made it tougher to give him up in trade.

The other key piece in the trade was Tyson Barrie, who barely played in Nashville shortly before retiring.

The Oilers also gave up a 1st round draft pick in the Ekholm trade which resulted in the Predators drafting defenceman Tanner Molendyk 23rd overall in 2024. He's just made the AHL for the first time this season, and could also be on the path to the NHL.

However, regardless of how Schaefer or Molendyk turn out, it's fair to say the Oilers have won this trade. Acquiring Ekholm immediately transformed the Oilers defence in some of their most important seasons, and directly led to deeper playoff runs in the prime of McDavid's career. The Oilers have now even re-signed Ekholm to stay on until his age-38 season.

It'll still be interesting to track how Schaefer develops in the coming years - because he does look like a player that Oilers fans would've loved to have.