Leon Draisaitl’s rascally eyes light up, because it’s about now this topic, and this topic, for all its anger, is also kind of amusing. He just got off the ice and is standing in hockey underwear in the catacombs of the Los Angeles arena; directly behind him are two mini-Stanley cups on display in glass cases as commemorations of the LA Kings’ titles. And that’s what the professional league NHL is all about: the 130-year-old trophy, according to the World Federation IIHF the most important trophy in sport, even before the World Cup and the Olympics, and of course also before all individual awards such as the Maurice Richard Trophy for the best goal scorer Season.
That’s exactly why Draisaitl is laughing, because of course he knows what the reporter from home is getting at: A few weeks ago, Draisaitl had scored three goals against the Calgary Flames, and a journalist afterwards wanted to know how happy he was with the hat-trick. Draisaitl then mutated into one of those short-tempered characters from Quentin Tarantino films and explained to people how stupid it would be to be happy about your own goals after a 5:9 defeat in the so-called “Battle of Alberta”. replaced the former national coach Marco Sturm as the German NHL record shooter.
“That’s not possible,” says Draisaitl, now grinning, that he was extremely annoyed by this reduction to individual statistics, which they do passionately in US sports and where Europeans always have a “but” and a reference to the placement of the respective team want to add. For example, basketball player LeBron James has overtaken Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s top scorer this season – but just missed the playoffs with the LA Lakers. Football quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently signed a $50 million-a-year contract with the Green Bay Packers – but hasn’t won a title in 11 years.
“I don’t want to pretend that it’s nothing special and that I’m not happy that I scored 50 goals,” says Draisaitl: “But ice hockey is a team sport. We have 25 different characters in the squad who everyone working for the team, paying attention to little things that add so many things to a game that most don’t even understand, it’s difficult to keep talking about my record, my goals – especially since we’ve been doing that for a couple of years now .”
The misconception about the Oilers: Your attackers score so many goals that they don’t even realize how many they concede
We, that’s Connor McDavid and he, who are in first and third place in the NHL scorer list (goals and assists combined) with 108 and 102 points, in goals alone Draisaitl is second behind Auston Matthews (58). with currently 51 goals – whereby his 51st goal on Tuesday in the 1:5 against Minnesota was again such a personal success that Draisaitl doesn’t know what to do with in view of the defeat.
Referring to the past four seasons, when McDavid and Draisaitl each had excellent stats, but the Oilers either missed the playoffs (2018, 2019) or went through the first round (2020, 2021), Draisaitl says: “Connor and I can do that 100 points each, and then you’re playing the World Cup in Denmark while the NHL is fighting for the title. It’s not fun anymore.”
It was similar with Dirk Nowitzki. In the film “The Perfect Throw” you can see how much it gnawed at him to be one of the best basketball players in history – but until the title in 2011 one without a championship ring. The prejudice about the Oilers over the past few years: Yes, they may have two of the best attackers in the world, but they get so enraptured when the bell rings up front that they don’t even realize how often it hits the back. And: Let them both score their goals in the regular season – in the playoffs, where things can get a little tougher in an already tough sport, we attack them on the verge of legality or beyond.
“We have 25 different characters in the squad, all of whom work for the team”: Leon Draisaitl (right) emphasizes the importance of each individual for the success of the team.
(Photo: Ethan Miller/AFP)
In no other sport is Uli Hoeneß’ wisdom that Santa Claus is not the Easter Bunny as true as in the NHL: In the past 20 years, only two clubs (Detroit Red Wings 2008, Chicago Blackhawks 2013) have won the Stanley Cup had the best record after the regular season – and now it gets interesting: Yes, the Oilers struggled this season after some experiments in the first few months. “Connor and I also had to learn and improve,” says Draisaitl. As of now, they would have conceded the most goals (235) of all 16 playoff participants.
But: After the defeat in the Battle of Alberta, they won six times in a row. Only on Saturday did they lose again after a penalty shoot-out against the Colorado Avalanche, currently the NHL team with the best points; and then on Tuesday against Minnesota, currently the team in the strongest form. There it is again, the other prejudice about the Oilers: They win against those they have to win against; but when it comes down to it, against the really great NHL teams, they struggle.
Oh what, they say from Edmonton, little slip-ups, nothing more, and if you look at the training session, you see a team that laughs a lot and rarely complains. The Stanley Cup won’t be won by whoever collects the most points, but rather by those who practiced in mid-April, are in a good mood and, above all, healthy – that’s why the team recently got a little shock, which caused more excitement in Edmonton than a defeat.
Everyone now has injuries to deal with
Draisaitl was injured in the game against the Anaheim Ducks and had to sit out a game for the first time after 354 games in a row. “I didn’t even know I was injured,” he says, “it was the wiser decision. But honestly: Now everyone has a few injuries to deal with. Ice hockey is a fast and intense sport that bites you just get on your teeth and plod along.” So: full throttle because it can really work out with the title this year?
“With all due respect to the teams we had before, the squad is deeper, we’re a better team,” says Draisaitl. They really believe in it, and not just because of the quality on the ice: “We get along great, we give each other success, that’s important in a team sport. When we play together like we’re doing right now, we’re very difficult to beat .”
And then it should also be difficult with Draisaitl participating in the World Cup this year. From May 13th to 29th the World Championship will take place this time, as always during the NHL playoffs. “I hope not to be available,” says Draisaitl. And the rascals’ eyes shine a little brighter.