Edmonton Oilers alternate captain, Leon Draisaitl, recently commented on what he expects to see from new head coach Mike Babcock. Draisaitl indicated that he believes Babcock doesn't care "who it is when it comes to accountability" and that's likely true. Babcock has coached a wide selection of superstars and Hall of Fame players in his 700ish NHL games as a head coach. But there's a moderate concern hidden behind Draisaitl's statement.
Before diving too deep into nuance, it's important to note that Draisaitl has been motivating himself, at least in the eyes of this writer. Only injuries prevented him from his seventh 100-point season as an Oiler. His advanced metrics remained elite in an overall down year for the club, and in the playoffs, few could have expected more from him, especially coming off an injury as he was.
Self-motivation
Draisaitl has indicated a couple times that the Oilers' star players want to be pushed. His recent quote said, "we're looking to be coached. We're looking to get better." and it will definitely fall to Babcock to put a scheme into place that utilizes and maximizes his team's offensive talents, without falling apart at the other end of the ice. Some of previous head coach Kris Knoblauch's downfall was due to specific poor performers (such as Tristan Jarry), but there was little evidence of a strategic switch up when the issue became clear. Babcock will have to do better.
But Draisaitl needs to understand his own impact. Not only in executing the coach's vision, but in pushing his teammates toward excellence. The incredible thing about Draisaitl's career, and it's something that is mirrored in Connor McDavid and even players like Zach Hyman, is that he consistently comes back better each year. That's an example that his teammates should be seeing and imitating. New arrivals should be asked to buy in, or get out.
At this stage in the Oilers' best players' careers, they are established, all but guaranteed to enter the Hall of Fame, and have come as close as possible to winning it all without actually doing so. The rest of the Oilers roster needs to be 100% on board, following Draisaitl's lead, and being just as hard on themselves as it appears Draisaitl was after last year's early exit. There's little doubt that Draisaitl is motivated to win a championship and willing to leave it all on the ice. Now assuming general manager Stan Bowman has brought in the right pieces to improve the roster, the rest of the club on board.
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