Leon Draisaitl

Leon Draisaitl

Draisaitl at the 2014 Edmonton Oilers training camp
Born (1995-10-27) October 27, 1995
Cologne, DEU
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team Edmonton Oilers
National team  Germany
NHL Draft 3rd overall, 2014
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2014present

Leon Draisaitl (born October 27, 1995) is a German ice hockey forward, currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Draisaitl, nicknamed "The Professional," grew up playing hockey in Germany until he was selected second overall in the 2012 CHL Import Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders.[1] After two seasons with the Raiders, he was selected third overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Draisaitl is the son of former German national team player Peter Draisaitl, who represented Germany at World Championships, World Cup and at the 1988, 1992 and 1998 Olympic Winter Games and played 146 games for the country.[2][3]

Playing career

Draisaitl at the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Before moving to North America to continue his playing career, Draisaitl spent the 2011–12 season in the German Development League (DNL) with the Jungadler Mannheim U18 team, leading his team to capture the DNL Championship. He was recognized for his outstanding performance by being named the DNL Player of the Year.

Kelowna Rockets

Following two seasons playing with the Prince Albert Raiders, Draisaitl was traded to the Kelowna Rockets during the 2015 World Junior Championships, and the trade was made official January 5. Draisaitl would help the Rockets to the 2015 WHL Championship, where he would be named playoff MVP, putting up 28 points in 19 games. Draisaitl won the Stafford Smythe Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP the same year, although the Rockets did not win the Memorial cup, losing the championship final in overtime 2-1 to the Oshawa Generals.

Edmonton Oilers

Draisaitl was drafted third overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, making him the highest drafted German-trained player in NHL history (Dany Heatley, who was selected second overall in 2000, was born in Germany but raised in Canada).

On August 12, 2014, the Oilers signed Draisaitl to a three-year entry level contract.[4] After making the Oilers team out of training camp, Draisaitl made his NHL debut on October 9, 2014 against the Calgary Flames. He would score his first NHL goal against Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Anton Khudobin on October 24, 2014. Draisaitl would appear in 37 games for the Oilers during the 2014–15 season, recording two goals and four assists, before being sent back to the Prince Albert Raiders. The move was done in part to prevent Draisaitl's contract from moving one year closer to free agency (he would have been counted if he was on the team's roster after 40 games).[5]

On April 6, 2016, he scored the final NHL goal ever at Rexall Place in a 6-2 Oilers win over the Vancouver Canucks.

International play

Draisaitl represents Germany internationally. He played in the World Junior Championships in 2013 and 2014. He served as the German team captain at the 2014 tournament. He was ejected from a round-robin game against the American team after a hit from behind and was later assessed a one-game suspension.[6]

Draisaitl was named to the Germany men's national ice hockey team for competition at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 Jungadler Mannheim U18 DNL 35 21 35 56 39 8 6 6 12 2
2012–13 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 64 21 37 58 22 4 0 4 4 0
2013–14 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 64 38 67 105 24 5 1 4 5 4
2014–15 Edmonton Oilers NHL 37 2 7 9 4
2014–15 Kelowna Rockets WHL 32 19 34 53 25 19 10 18 28 12
2015–16 Bakersfield Condors AHL 6 1 1 2 4
2015–16 Edmonton Oilers NHL 72 19 32 51 20
NHL totals 109 21 39 60 24

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2012 Germany WHC17 9th 5 1 4 5 0
2012 Germany WJC18 6th 6 2 5 7 2
2013 Germany WJC18 8th 5 1 6 7 4
2013 Germany WJC 9th 6 2 4 6 2
2014 Germany WJC 9th 6 2 4 6 52
2014 Germany WC 14th 7 1 3 4 0
Junior totals 28 8 23 31 60
Senior totals 7 1 3 4 0

Awards and honours

Award Year
DNL Player of the Year 2011–12 [8]
WHL First All-Star Team (East) 2013–14 [9]
WHL Finals Most Valuable Player 2014–15 [10]
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy 2015
Ed Chynoweth Trophy 2015 [11]

References

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Darnell Nurse
Edmonton Oilers first round draft pick
2014
Succeeded by
Connor McDavid
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