Ice hockey: In the shadow of legends: Draisaitl’s dream of Stanley Cup

Even his injury did not help Leon Draisaitl’s competition. The ice hockey superstar of the Edmonton Oilers missed the last games of the main round, but nobody could displace him from the top of the NHL scorer list. In the end, the 29-year-old was the first German to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy with 52 goals.

It is the fourth time that he broke the “magical brand” of 50 goals in one season. And more should follow soon. Because at the start of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings, Draisaitl should be fit again.

But in turn. In order to underline the outstanding position of Cologne-born in the best ice hockey league in the world, you should look at another fact. Namely, that Draisaitl is now the first German ever to complete the NHL main round as the best goalkeeper.

Does Draisaitl break the Owetschkin record at some point?

At the latest now, quite a few ask themselves: Draisaitl may even even reach the spheres of the NHL legends Wayne Gretzky and Alexander Owetschkin, who recently broke the Canadian’s torror record? To be called in one breath with the two idols is close to a canonization.

897 NHL hits are now in the account of 39-year-old Owetschkin. For comparison: The Draisaitl, which is ten years younger, is not even in half with currently 399 goals, but at best it still has several years ahead of it. Owetschkin does not seem to be unable to do, even if the brand of around 900 goals currently seems to be light years away. But who should do it if not draisaitl?

“I think I have developed a lot in terms of scoring,” said Draisaitl last. A warning to Owetschkin? Nevertheless. Draisaitl has never been known for verbal attacks or large -scale announcements. He prefers to let acts speak.

And they are impressive. In principle, Draisaitl is “only” missing the winned Stanley Cup. As the most valuable and outstanding player in the league, he had already been awarded in 2020 when he was also a top scorer.

Do you lack attention in Germany?

He is now also the best main round scorer, with six victory hits with six in the overtime, he recently set up an NHL record. What is missing is the Stanley Cup after the Oilers lost the final against the Florida Panthers in seven games last year.

And then there would be another thing that misses the Draisaitl a little: attention in Germany. “I would not lie if I said that I would be happy that this would be recognized more in Germany,” he said. “I don’t know how much I could do to get more attention.”

However, he admits that the comparatively low interest in the NHL also has advantages in Germany. “On the other hand, it’s nice to run around.” What he should do much better in Cologne than in Edmonton.