There’s a single day in Edmonton Oilers history that remains one of the darkest days in the organization’s history – August 9, 1988. It was the day that fans of the Oilers found out that their hero and NHL great — Wayne Gretzky — had been moved and sold by Peter Pocklington.

Edmonton had lost its dynasty. Los Angeles was the new king of Hockey. The remnants of that trade are now scattered all over the organization. As for the image of Gretzky at the podium, tears in his eyes, it’s one that has become iconic amongst hockey circles.

Wayne Gretzky (The Hockey Writers)However, we’re not here to discuss the Gretzky trade as a whole, rather a singular piece that came to the Oilers before his hockey career fizzled out. This is the story of Nick Stajduhar — a junior star. A first-round NHL pick. This is the forgotten part of the Gretzky deal.

Stajduhar Was A King Among KnightsBorn at Kitchener, Ontario in 1984, Stajduhar was selected by the London Knights as a third-round draft pick. He was 47th in the 1990 OHL Priority Selection. He was drafted by the Knights in the third round, 47th overall in the 1990 OHL Priority Selection. He played four seasons with the Knights.

At the time, the Knights weren’t the same juggernaut of junior hockey that they’ve become over the past two decades. Their roster contained many future NHL players who could play offensively, and their numbers proved it.

Stajduhar’s OHL career began with two seasons, in which he played 66 regular-season games. In his rookie season, he scored three goals and had 15 points. He also received 39 penalty minutes. Then, he was quiet in seven playoff games. The next season saw him double his goal output, scoring six goals and 21 points along with 62 penalty minutes. In 10 playoff games, he scored a goal and five more points.

Related: The NHL’s Most Unbreakable Records

His offensive abilities were only fully displayed during his third season as a junior player with the Knights. In 1992-93, he played 49 games and scored 15 goals and 61 point in only 49 regular season games. He scored another 15 points in 12 playoff matches before returning to the next season, his best year.

However, before his final OHL season, the Edmonton Oilers chose Stajduhar as the 16th overall pick of the 1993 NHL Draft. He was fourth among the defensemen on the board, behind Brendan Witt, Chris Pronger and Kenny Jonsson.

What’s more is that the 16th overall pick originally belonged to the Los Angeles Kings who traded it to the Oilers as part of the deal that sent Gretzky, Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorely to the Kings in exchange for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million in cash and first-round picks in 1989 (traded to New Jersey), 1991 (Martin Ruchinsky) and 1993 (Stajduhar).

Stajduhar, however, had a great season with the Knights. He was outstanding in 1993-94. He was a regular season player in 52 games. He scored 34 goals and 86 points over that span and while the Knights didn’t go on a long playoff run, as an individual effort, Stajduhar has solidified himself as a solid NHL defensive prospect.

Evan Bouchard (The Hockey Writers)It remains the fourth most offensively productive season by a Knights’ defenceman in franchise history behind Chris McCauley (1981-82), Rick Corriveau (1990-91) and Evan Bouchard (2017-18), while Stajduhar is still the fifth highest scoring defenceman in franchise history.

His junior career saw a change in his career.

Stajduhar: The Incident, The ShowFollowing his last season with the Knights Stajduhar enlisted in the Cape Breton Oilers, an American Hockey League team. His growth seemed to have continued at a steady rate.

His role was significant with the Baby Oilers, where he played 54 games in the 1994-1995 regular season. He had 12 goals and 38 point. However, he saw a decline on his penalty minutes with only 55 PIMs. That was it. This was his final run to the NHL.

Related: London Knights’ History of First-Round NHL Talent

Stajduhar, a Cape Breton Oilers member, was involved in an altercation at nightclub. It was an apparent setback in his journey to the NHL.

Stajduhar would play in two games with Edmonton Oilers in 1995-96, accumulating only four penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating. But, from there, he completed his professional career with stints with the ECHL.

His offence flickered again for him in 1999-00 with the UHL’s Flint Generals, but that was it.

Stajduhar closed out his professional hockey career playing with three teams in 2000-01 — including the CHL’s Memphis RiverKings, the WCHL’s Idaho Steelheads and the IHL’s Houston Aeros — before calling it a career.

UNIONDALE, NY – 1983: Wayne Gretzky #99 of the Edmonton Oilers skates with the puck during an NHL game against the New York Islanders circa 1983 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by B Bennett/Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)While it’s hyperbolic to call Stajduhar the biggest bust in NHL Draft history, the fact that he was taken with a pick that was involved in the Gretzky deal to land The Great One in Los Angeles might magnify the fact that he was a 16th overall pick that never made it.

Stajduhar’s career was hampered by an altercation in Cape Breton.

Andrew is currently in his 8th season reporting for The Hockey Writers, covering the Toronto Maple Leafs. He began his broadcasting with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada team as well as being part of their coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. He’s the former play-by-play voice of the London Jr. Knights for Rogers TV and currently hosts the Sticks in the 6ix podcast. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewGForbes

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