Today we’ll talk about the newly best paid player in the NHL, the German sharpshooter, Leon Draisaitl. Since joining the Edmonton Oilers a decade ago, he has been an integral part of the teams successes. His Wikipedia page is bursting at the seams with top ten franchise superlatives on a franchise that boasts some of the greatest all-stars of all time.
Born in Cologne, Germany in 1995, the son of a former German national team player, and DEL coach and player, Draisaitl made mincemeat of a U18 development league in Germany as a 16-year-old before coming to play in North America. By 2014 Draisaitl had made his NHL debut with the Oilers
Draisaitl’s playing career
As mentioned above, Draisaitl played one year of U18 in Germany for Mannheim, scoring 56 points in 35 games before being drafted second overall in the 2012 CHL Import Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders. Draisaitl played two full seasons in Prince Albert, scoring 163 points in 128 games. The following season he started with the Oilers but his rights were traded to the Kelowna Rockets and he was sent back to the WHL, winning the WHL Championship and only narrowly missing out on the Memorial Cup.
Having been drafted third overall by the Oilers in 2014, Draisaitl spent most of the 2015–16 season in the NHL. Since that first substantial NHL season Draisaitl has scored 345 goals and 841 points in 682 games, and has been a nightmare for goalies who can’t vacuum seal themselves to their left post. He is a five time NHL All-Star, 2020 Art Ross, Ted Lindsay, and Hart trophy winner, and currently holds the record for most career power play goals in Oilers’ history.
Draisaitl signed an eight-year, $8.5M AAV contract for the start of the 2017 season when his entry level contract expired and an eight-year, $14M AAV contract for the start of the 2025 season which, as of it’s signing, is the largest AAV contract in the NHL.
International Play
Draisaitl has represented Germany on the International stage eleven times now, once at the 2012 World U17 Hockey Challenge, twice at the U18 IIHF World Championship, twice at the World Juniors, five times at the World Championships, and once at the Olympic Games Qualifiers in 2016. Draisaitl also played with Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
With the exception of team Europe finishing second at the World Cup of Hockey, Draisaitl has never finished higher than sixth playing internationally but he always played well, only scoring less than a point per game in four of those 12 occasions. Germany has not been known as a hockey powerhouse in the past but with Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle, Mo Seider, JJ Peterka, Nico Sturm, Lukas Reichel, and Philipp Grubauer, they are likely entering an exciting new era. This new wave of All-Stars is likely to inspire even more German children, pushing this trend even further in the future.
Career statistics
Draisaitl has scored 100 points or at that pace for six of 10 years in the league, leading the league in his lauded 2019–20 season and hitting his high at 128 in 2022–23. Since the 2015–16 season his shot percentage has been miles above average, leading the league in 2018–19 with a whopping 21.6%. Draisaitl is also adept at faceoffs, hitting a career high 56.9% last year partially thanks to the surfboard he passes off as a stick blade.
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S% | ATOI | FO% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | EDM | 37 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -17 | 4 | 4.1 | 12:42 | 41.3 |
| 2015–16 | EDM | 72 | 19 | 32 | 51 | -2 | 20 | 14.3 | 18:03 | 48.4 |
| 2016–17 | EDM | 82 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 7 | 20 | 16.9 | 18:53 | 49.0 |
| 2017–18 | EDM | 78 | 25 | 45 | 70 | -7 | 30 | 12.9 | 19:19 | 56.1 |
| 2018–19 | EDM | 82 | 50 | 55 | 105 | 2 | 52 | 21.6 | 22:35 | 50.5 |
| 2019–20 | EDM | 71 | 43 | 67 | 110 | -7 | 18 | 19.7 | 22:37 | 52.1 |
| 2020–21 | EDM | 56 | 31 | 53 | 84 | 29 | 22 | 18.5 | 22:11 | 55.7 |
| 2021–22 | EDM | 80 | 55 | 55 | 110 | 17 | 40 | 19.8 | 22:21 | 53.4 |
| 2022–23 | EDM | 80 | 52 | 76 | 128 | 7 | 24 | 21.1 | 21:44 | 54.9 |
| 2023–24 | EDM | 81 | 41 | 65 | 106 | 26 | 76 | 18.9 | 20:42 | 56.9 |
| Career | 10 yrs | 719 | 347 | 503 | 850 | 55 | 306 | 18.2 | 20:29 | 52.9 |
Draisaitl player profile
Draisaitl is best known for being one of the best shooters in the game. His wrist shot, slap shot and everything in between are laser fast and hyper accurate. He is an offence first, high skill centre with excellent play-making skills, and though he is not a fighter, is known to possess a mean streak.
On any other team, Draisaitl would be the first line centre, but he plays on the same team as Connor McDavid and therefore has centred the second line in recent years, though it is not uncommon for him to play with McDavid at strategic points of the game.
Strengths
As mentioned, Draisaitl is a lethal shooter. His signature goal is becoming the extremely low angle shot from his off wing, just above the goal line, closer to the corner of the ice than the post of the net, an area that is becoming known as Draisaitl’s office. This is an spot from where not more than three players in the NHL could score consistently with a regular wrist shot, let alone on the one-timer as Draisaitl usually does.
Another of Draisaitl’s strengths is his work on the backhand. This is a rare and seemingly dwindling skill in the NHL, but Draisaitl’s ability to score and pass accurately from the backhand is extremely valuable, and kids, the world over should be practicing this. An accurate and hard, cross ice, saucer pass at speed is far harder than Draisaitl makes it look and is often unexpected by defenders since there are not many players capable of this.
Though not as skilled as McDavid, Draisaitl is not lacking in any offensive discipline. He is well above average at stick-handling, play-making, and face-offs
Weaknesses
It is difficult to criticize Draisaitl for anything in his game, but one area he could improve is his speed, especially with the puck. Draisaitl is obviously a talented skater, but more pace with the puck would help immensely. It may be the case that Draisaitl only seems slow next to McDavid, but McDavid himself proves what an offensive threat speed is.
The other place Draisaitl has been criticized in the past is his defence, especially backchecking effort. This is common for extremely offensive minded players. There are times when backchecking feels physically impossible after leading a rush, and since offence can’t just be forgone, for a player who puts up minimum 100 points a season, this really isn’t the worst thing in the world. In the times when it is feasible though, backchecking is something Draisaitl could improve on.
Where does Draisaitl fit into the Oilers lineup
Though nothing is certain with the additions of Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, it would be very natural to place them on Draisaitl’s wings on the second line as is shown below. Whatever the lineup though Draisaitl is probably the second line centre.
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Connor McDavid | Zach Hyman |
| Jeff Skinner | Leon Draisaitl | Viktor Arvidsson |
| Mattias Janmark | Adam Henrique | Connor Brown |
| Vasily Podkolzin | Derek Ryan | Corey Perry |
In the past, Draisaitl has often been paired with McDavid with either Zach Hyman or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins filling out the line. This has proven effective after a successful penalty kill, when trying to push or reverse momentum, and in the last five to ten minutes of a game that the Oilers are trailing.
Draisaitl is a mainstay on the first power play, often setting up in his office just above the goal line, I’m surprised he hasn’t set up a desk, laptop, and pictures of his loved ones yet.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
