"Duane Sutter is not sure why it's taken so long for a member of his famous hockey family to work for the Edmonton Oilers.

Especially considering they hail from practically the team's back yard.

"That's a good question," said Sutter. "I know Brian was drafted by the Oilers back in 1976 (WHA Entry Draft) but never ended up playing there.

"Then when Darryl was hired in Calgary, he brought myself and Brent along so we kind of settled down there. But I'm not sure why none of us have gone through Edmonton before. I guess it just wasn't in the cards."

That has now changed as the Oilers announced on Monday they had hired Sutter as a professional scout. He'll work under Oilers head pro scout Morey Gare, and alongside Michael Abbamont, Chris Chihocki and Dave Semenko.

"I'm excited about joining the organization," Sutter said. "They have some great young talent and lots of depth in their system. Led by Kevin (Lowe) and Steve (Tambellini) in the last two years they've done a hell of a job.

"Their drafting has been excellent and they have a huge upside.""