But Draisaitl isn’t just considered the best German-born player in the NHL. He’s also looked upon as one of the best of his generation from any country.
Among his accolades, Draisaitl won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy after scoring a League-leading 52 goals. In 2019-20, he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted on by members of the NHL Players’ Association, and the Art Ross Trophy as the League’s leading scorer after putting up 110 points (43 goals, 67 assists) in 71 games.
In his first 11 NHL seasons, Draisaitl has scored at least 50 goals four times and finished with at least 100 points six times, including a career-high 128 (52 goals, 76 assists) in 80 games in 2022-23. Since 2018-19, Draisaitl ranks second in the NHL in points with 792 (341 goals, 451 assists) in 554 games, behind only McDavid (878 points in 536 games).
He helped the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two seasons, and he has 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists) in 33 games this season.
“Leon is a top five player in the world. That’s the category that he is at,” said Minnesota Wild forward Nico Sturm, a native of Augsburg, Germany. “For me, he is already the best German player to ever play the game. Hopefully, if everyone stays healthy, he should be the face of our team at the Olympics, and we need that because we don’t have the media coverage that maybe soccer gets. Whenever you have stars, they attract fans. You need those kind of players.”
Draisaitl has inspired young Germans to take up hockey and will get international exposure at the men’s Olympic hockey tournament, which will be held from Feb. 11-22. In June, he was one of six players named to the preliminary roster for Germany, which is in a group with the United States, Denmark, and Latvia.
“He’s our guy. He’s a bright star that is just shining in the spotlight as he should be and as he deserves,” said Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, who is from Zell, Germany. “We’re fortunate enough to have him on the national team, and we’re proud of that and it just shows how much of an impact he has on a daily basis. He doesn’t just show up here and there, he shows up every single game, and I think that’s the most remarkable thing and it kind of reflects on the points, for sure.”
Perhaps more impressive than reaching 1,000 points is the number of games it will take Draisaitl to get there. He’s in the same neighborhood as Pat LaFontaine (847) Adam Oates (830), Mark Messier (822), Brett Hull (815), and Joe Sakic (810).
“It’s a huge accomplishment, but I think if you ask him, he would say he accomplished more by going to the Final twice and making a push to win the Stanley Cup,” said Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle, who is from Viersen, Germany. “So, yeah, he’s a special player. I love watching him. It’s a pleasure to be able to play with him for the Olympics.”
