During Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Draft at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday (June 28), the Edmonton Oilers made five selections: Tommy Lafreniere (83rd overall), David Lewandowski (117th), Asher Barnett (131st), Daniel Salonen (191st), and, finally, Aidan Park (223rd).
Related: 7 Things to Know About Oilers’ Top Draft Pick Tommy Lafreniere
A 19-year-old center from California, Park had 33 goals and 33 assists in 55 games with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2024-25. He has committed to the University of Michigan for this coming season.
There’s nothing out of the ordinary in any of those details. But the story of how Park ended up wearing an Oilers jersey and shorts at the Peacock Theater on Saturday is one that no one would write because it’s too far-fetched.
Passed Over in 2024
This story starts 12 months ago, during Park’s first year of draft eligibility. Park, then 18, was coming off a 93-point regular season with the 18U team at Minnesota’s Shattuck-St. Mary’s school and had good reason to believe his name would be called at some point over the seven rounds of the 2024 NHL Draft: he was ranked 91st among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, and there are generally around 110-120 North American skaters selected each year in the NHL’s annual entry draft.
But Park was completely passed over. While two of his teammates at Shattuck-St. Mary’s were selected, not one of the NHL’s 32 teams was intrigued enough to use a pick on the kid from the beachfront city of Hermosa Beach, California. Maybe next year, Park figured.
Second Time Around
Park had a very good season with Green Bay in 2024-25, totalling the fifth-most points in the USHL and being selected to the league’s Second All-Star Team.
In its final 2025 pre-draft rankings, NHL Central Scouting graded Park almost the same as the year prior, slotting him at No. 94 among North American skaters. The rankings told Park there was a decent chance of being drafted. His experience told him not to get his hopes up too high.
Park was actually in attendance at the Peacock Theater for Day 1 of the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday (June 27) night. Not because he expected to hear his name called, but to support his good friend Ryker Lee, who Park played with at Shattuck-St. Mary’s.
Lee, an 18-year-old forward, did indeed get selected Friday, going 26th overall to the Nashville Predators. And this is where the story takes a fateful twist.
Change of Plans
Park and Lee had planned to hang out together in L.A. on Saturday. But the Predators had other plans, which involved flying Lee on a private jet to Nashville. Suddenly, Park’s calendar was open.
Park, as it turns out, lives about eight miles from the Peacock Theater. And he had a couple of tickets for Day 2 of the draft that he’d received from Lee, who obviously no longer had use for them. He had nothing else to do, so he figured he might as well take in Rounds 2 through 7.
Now things are getting a little hard to believe. Are we really supposed to believe that Park only went to the second day of the draft just because? That he really didn’t think there was a very strong possibility that someone would choose him?
But Park genuinely didn’t expect to be crossing the stage. And if you don’t believe that, just look at his choice of clothing for the proceedings. He wasn’t wearing a suit or even dressed business casual. No, Park showed up for Day 2 rocking a hoodie and shorts.
Finally Drafted
For the longest time, it looked like Park was correct in his thinking. Round after round after round, selection after selection after selection, the draft board was filling up with names. But not his.
Now it was into the seventh round, and picks were starting to run out. Twenty left. Ten left. Five left. Three left. Two left. Still, Park remained available.
223rd overall and the second to last pick in the #NHLDraft, but Aidan Park stuck around for it! 👏 pic.twitter.com/NwzSoDIFOz
— NHL (@NHL) June 28, 2025
Then, with the second-to-last of the 224 picks made this year, the Oilers called Park’s name. Next thing you know, Park has an Oilers No. 25 jersey pulled over his leisurely attire, and is surrounded by media, recounting his feel-good story. Park looks super happy. But he’s also very relaxed for the moment. Laid back. Chill. Very SoCal.
“To be honest, I wasn’t that stressed,” he told the assembled media. “I guess it’s easier to not be stressed when you don’t have as much expectations.”
Looking to the Future
Park might never wear the orange and blue for an actual regular season game. In Edmonton’s 47-year NHL history, just nine players that it has drafted lower than 220th overall have gone on to make the NHL, while only one – Troy Bodie – played in more than four seasons, and none of those were with the Oilers.
But regardless of how this story ends, it’s already produced an incredible moment that Oilers fans, and followers of the NHL in general, will remember.
