Oilers eying both top draft prospects? Vancouver's made that move before

There’s been a lot of excitement in the hockey community about Canadian junior stars Tyler Seguin and Taylor Hall, the consensus top NHL 2010 draft-eligible prospects.

Hall is currently the top ranked prospect, but the final rankings from NHL Central Scouting come out on Wednesday.

The last-place Edmonton Oilers are guaranteed one of the top two picks, but word on the street is they actually want the No. 1 and 2 picks.

As crazy as that sounds, a team has actually maneuvered it’s way to owning consecutive top picks in the draft before.

In 1999, then Vancouver Canucks General Manager Brian Burke decided he wanted to draft Swedish teammates and identical twin brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin. The problem was, they were the top ranked European players in the draft and Burke only had the third pick in the draft, and both players would definitely be off the board by the draft’s fifth pick.

But Burke somehow managed to get his twins. Here’s how he did it:

Step 1: Burke traded defenseman Bryan McCabe and Vancouver's No. 1 pick in 2000 or 2001 to Chicago for the No. 4 overall pick. Vancouver now had the third and fourth overall picks.

Step 2: Burke traded two third-round picks and the No. 4 overall pick for the No. 1 overall pick from Tampa Bay.Vancouver now had the No. 1 and No. 3 overall picks.

Step 3: Burke traded the first overall pick and a 2000 third-round pick to Atlanta for the second overall pick. Vancouver now had the No. 2 and No. 3 overall picks.

After Atlanta took the guy they coveted, Czech center Patrik Stefan (who has been a complete bust in the NHL), Vancouver immediately took the Sedin twins back-to-back.

How has all that fuss over on-ice brotherly love paid off for Vancouver?

Pretty damn well.

Henrik Sedin currently leads the NHL with 106 points, and Daniel has 78 points in 60 games to give both players an average of approximately 1.3 points per game.

The Sedins, 29, have both scored more than 70 points in each of the past five seasons. Playing together, their cycling ability and truly remarkable chemistry have anchored Vancouver’s top scoring line.

The Canucks, by the way, have clinched the Northwest division and the third playoff seed in the West in what has been an outstanding campaign, despite an epic record-setting 14 game road trip the team had to endure because of the Olympics.

So should the Oilers go all-in to draft both Hall and Seguin?

I say sure. They really can’t get much worse and securing the services of a pair of young, stud players who can achieve highs and lows together has rapidly reversed the fortunes of a few formely struggling franchises. The Penguins (Crosby/Malkin) and Blackhawks (Kane/Toews) both struck gold at the top of the draft in consecutive years and now looked primed to be contenders for a very long time.

While the NHL draft is definitely a crapshoot and plenty of prospects take a long time to develop, top-four picks (e.g. Tavares, Duchene, Stamkos, Doughty, Myers) have done a pretty good job of stepping in and immediately carrying their teams in recent years.

Stay tuned on this one folks. And FYI, Seguin and Hall are currently dueling each other in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs, with Hall’s team holding a 3-0 series lead.