Edmonton Oilers: Is Draisaitl the Future of German Hockey

By Eric Friesen | May 15, 2016

Feb 13, 2016; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) skates during the warmup period against the Winnipeg Jets at Rexall Place. Winnipeg Jets won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

After the Edmonton Oilers were eliminated from playoff contention, Leon Draisaitl jumped at the chance to play for Team Germany at the 2016 IIHF World Championship in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. Despite being the youngest player on the team, Draisaitl has been counted on to play a top six role for Germany.

Draisaitl scored his first goal of the tournament in a 5-2 win over Belarus yesterday. He now has three points in five games.

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The 20-year-old Cologne, Germany native is already a veteran of international competition, having represented his country at the 2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, 2012 and 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships, 2013 and 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships and the 2014 and 2016 IIHF World Championships.

“He’s going to be the leader of this team for years to come and with that, he’s still learning what it takes to be a good all-around NHL player,” said Geoff Ward, an assistant coach for Team Germany, told Oilers.com. “When you get a player with the offensive talent that Leon has, you have to make sure the other aspects of his game are where they need to be before he can truly have an impact offensively. This tournament really gives him an opportunity to do that.”

Germany currently sits in fourth place, a playoff position, in Group B with a 2-0-1-2 record for seven points and has two games remaining in the preliminary round against USA and Hungary.

“For (Team Germany) it’s hard to set a goal,” Draisaitl said. “We just have to take it game-by-game and try to get better each day.”

Draisaitl remembers taking in the World Championship as a 14-year-old fan when Germany hosted the World Championship six years now. As the highest-selected German born and trained player in the history of the NHL Draft (3rd overall, 2014), Draisaitl hopes he can inspire the next generation of German hockey players to accomplish their goals.

“Germany (hosted the tournament) in 2010 and it was a great event,” Draisaitl said. “Everyone loved it back home, so hopefully we can get more (Germans) to watch hockey and like hockey.”

As much as Draisaitl would love to play in front of family and friends at the 2017 tournament in his hometown of the Cologne, Germany, he undoubtedly would rather be competing for a Stanley Cup with the Oilers.

Next: Edmonton Oilers: Is Tyson Barrie the Answer?

“Obviously it would be nice to be in the playoffs next year, but either way it will be a lot of fun.”

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