Oilers ink Pitlick

Ex-Minnesota State player Tyler Pitlick signed a three-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers, the Oilers announced last week.

Pitlick played one season with the Mavericks (2009-10) before leaving to play major junior hockey with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League. This season in The Hat, the 19-year-old center had 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points in 56 games.

With the Mavericks, he showed tremendous college potential, scoring 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points in 38 games. Pitlick seemed poised to have a breakout sophomore year (how bad did the Mavs need him this past season?!?!) but decided that school wasn't his thing and headed to Canada.

During last summer's NHL draft, Edmonton selected Pitlick with the first pick of the second round (31st overall), making him the highest draft pick with MSU ties.

According to capgeek.com, Pitlick's deal will pay him $2.665 million over three years if he plays the entire time with the big club ($67,500 annually if he's in the AHL).

Pitlick is Saturday's first pick; Gaede also drafted (updates)

Tyler Pitlick's disappointment about not being taken in the first round of the NHL draft Friday night didn't last long on Saturday, as he was the first player taken when the draft resumed in the second round. The Edmonton Oilers selected the ex-Minnesota State and future Medicine Hat player. Hear Pitlick interviewed about the pick here and see the video from him and Oilers management here. He will someday be teammates with the draft's No. 1 overall pick, Taylor Hall.

Going 31st overall, Pitlick is now the highest draft pick affiliated with MSU. The previous high was Tim Jackman in 2001, who went 38th overall.

Late in the third round, Woodbury High School forward Max Gaede was taken by the San Jose Sharks with the 88th overall pick. Gaede will be playing in with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL this coming season before joining Minnesota State in the fall of 2011.

UPDATE: Just in case anyone had any doubt about Pitlick's future in Mankato, the WHL made his move to Medicine Hat official on Saturday.

UPDATE 2: You can watch a snippet of Sharks management talk Gaede here. ... By the way Brett Stern, a defenseman from Centennial High School, who will play in the USHL next season before coming to Mankato in '11, was not drafted over the weekend.

First round passes on Pitlick

Minnesota State continues to wait for its first first-round NHL draft pick. The first 30 picks went by on Friday night, and Tyler Pitlick, who many predicted to be a first-rounder, was not taken. He still has a chance to be the Mavericks' highest draft pick -- if he goes among the first seven picks in the second round on Saturday. Tim Jackman was taken 38th overall in 2001.

Several players with WCHA ties did get drafted on Friday. The group included: 14. Colorado College recruit Jaden Schwartz (Blues), 15. North Dakota recruit Derek Forbort (Kings), 19. Minnesota recruit Nick Bjugstad (Panthers), 20. Denver recruit Beau Bennett (Penguins) and 30. North Dakota recruit Brock Nelson (Islanders).

Warroad's Nelson, by the way, got the distinction of getting his name announced by "E" from Entourage. How cool is that? I'm not sure why he was there; I wasn't watching the draft because I was busy bailing water out of my basement after the storms. So it goes.

Besides that group of WCHA guys, four other players with collegiate ties were taken.

Other notes: Forbert, a defenseman, becomes the first Duluth native to go in the first round. ... Bjugstad was Minnesota's Mr. Hockey last year, out of Blaine HS.