C Leon Draisaitl - Prince Albert Raiders, WHL (2014, 3rd overall, Edmonton)

[samwitch]

Who is this guy? A German star? Kids only 16 still.

2010-2011 Mannheimer ERC U16 Schüler-BL GP29 G97 A95 P192 PIM42 | Playoffs GP5 G16 A15 P31

2011-2012 Jungadler Mannheim U18 DNL GP35 G21 A35 P56 PIM39 | Playoffs GP8 G6 A6 P12 PIM2

Germany U18 WJC-18 GP4 G2 A5 P7 PIM2 |

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[Maverick41]

I have only seen him in the 4 games at the WJC-18 but he does look really promising.

The only real knock on him right now as far as I can tell is his skating. He is neither the fastest nor the smoothest skater out there and his acceleration could be better, but he is a big kid so I don't think it is too surprising that he sometimes looks a bit awkward on his skates.

I really love his calm and composure as well as his hands and his vision. He can score, but he is also pretty good passer.

I have never seen the likes of Rieder or Kühnhackl play at this age, but I don't think they were that much better, so he could be the next decent prospect from Germany.

His father Peter Draisaitl was very good player as well.

 

[MikeC]

I know nothing about this kid but he is a late 1995, so he is a 2014 nhl draft prospect

 

[wej20]

Any chance he comes over to play Major Junior at some point?

 

[Granlund2Pulkkinen*]

Any chance he comes over to play Major Junior at some point?

Most likely actually. DNL won't give him too much and he may not get a roster spot with the DEL. Germans rarely go to Scandinavian countries and I bet he follows in Kühnhackl and comes over the year after he gets drafted. I'd hope the year before.

 

[firstroundbust]

I saw him this year when Mannheim came to and beat Shattuck (one of the few times they lost this year). Impressive impressive player.

Raw, but man...a ton of upside there. I think he's a cinch to play major junior.

 

[wej20]

Most likely actually. DNL won't give him too much and he may not get a roster spot with the DEL. Germans rarely go to Scandinavian countries and I bet he follows in Kühnhackl and comes over the year after he gets drafted. I'd hope the year before.

could be a good value pick then if he comes over after he gets drafted, I'm convinced Kuhnhackl would have gone higher if he'd been in the OHL for his draft year.

 

[Granlund2Pulkkinen*]

could be a good value pick then if he comes over after he gets drafted, I'm convinced Kuhnhackl would have gone higher if he'd been in the OHL for his draft year.

Good point. We'll have to see what he decides to do. Leaving Europe is a big deal for a 16-17 year old.

 

[Pay Carl]

192 points in 29 games?

who are the goalies over there? the sons of Fleury and Bryz?

 

[Torts]

will be looking to see if and when he goes in chl import draft

kid seems to have some upside and potential

 

[S E P H]

Draisaitl is absolutely destroying in the Raiders training camp. Really looking forward to him in preseason.

4g - 1a = 5p in 3 games during Prince Albert TC as a 16 year old.

 

[Vaclav Varada]

Seems like an interesting kid to keep tags on throughout the season.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

His dad was a national team member and has been coaching pro teams over her in GER for a few years now. The father is of Czech origin.

Leon was very good at the U-18 and can definitely be put in the group of upcoming German forwards like Kuhnhackl and Rieder. He still has to improve on a number of things, but has size and above-average offensive instincts. Don't be surprised if he starts fast and then slows down a bit in his first CHL season. He's still quite young and has a big adjustment to make in the coming two seasons.

Definitely one to keep an eye on though. He may even be a the WJC for Germany this winter.

 

[JoeLH]

He has tons of talent.

 

[R S]

Can't wait to see him.

 

[R S]

Going to PA tomorrow. Hoping he plays.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Seems like a really intriguing prospect. I would love to hear what RS has to say about him if he sees him.

 

[S E P H]

Already has two goals in his first preseason game.

Really excited to see what RS says.

 

[olliho]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUPaRL1tolY

you may know his Father from this event. Germany almost kicked out Canada at the Olympics 1992, he missed the last Penalty Shot.

 

[R S]

Had a strong game last night.

Is a big kid, listed at 6'2, 198. I would say he actually looks taller than that and not nearly that heavy. Not the strongest skater, but once he gets the puck you can see how well he handles it while skating. Doesn't have great balance on his skates, but that will come with more muscle. Still manages to protect the puck well simply because of his size and reach. Uses his butt to protect himself a lot, very Jagr-esque.

The most intriguing thing is that he crashes the net HARD. He's got great instincts in that regard. Both of his goals last night came from right on top of the crease, banging them home.

Also has very good vision, made a great backhand saucer pass across the slot from the side boards to a D cutting backdoor. You don't see that from young imports in the WHL, especially in their first true game in the league.

This kid could be dangerous if he develops well. Playing behind/beside Mark McNeill could be GREAT for that process.

 

[S E P H]

Awesome! Thanks for the info RS!

Curious from your assessment, it sounds like he's pretty raw, is this true? And is his skating his only weak spot? If so by much does he have to improve?

 

[R S]

Just did up a blog about him from my Friday/Saturday viewings of him. Check it out:

Draisaitl needs to work on his skating, as most 16 year old's do, especially without the puck. His stride is a bit clunky and his acceleration isn't great, but overall his speed is pretty good. The interesting thing about his skating is that it looks like it improves immensely as soon as he has the puck on his stick. He puts his head down, skates aggressively and knows where to go with it and what lanes to drive.

To go along with his skating with the puck, he also protects the puck well. In the offensive zone he's not afraid to put his ass towards the defender and use his long arms to keep the defenders away. His size also helps him absorb hits. In one impressive play during the game on Friday night, he carried the puck over the blueline, absorbed a big check, was able to still control the puck, get it to a teammate, then drive the net for a tap-in rebound goal. He actually scored two goals just minutes apart in the game, both from on top of the crease.

http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2012/09/an-impressive-import-leon-draisaitl.html

 

[R S]

Awesome! Thanks for the info RS!

Curious from your assessment, it sounds like he's pretty raw, is this true? And is his skating his only weak spot? If so by much does he have to improve?

I wouldn't say his skating is his only weakness, but it's probably the main one. With that being said, basically ALL 16 year old's need to work on this part of their game.

It will need to improve quite a bit, but he has lots of time to let it come around.

 

[pdxshark]

Dang. Another promising prospect on an eastern team that doesn't come to town this year. Might have to make the 8 or 9 hour drive to Kelowna to get a look. Good news is that if his draft year is indeed next year the Raiders should be coming to Portland.

 

[R S]

Dang. Another promising prospect on an eastern team that doesn't come to town this year. Might have to make the 8 or 9 hour drive to Kelowna to get a look. Good news is that if his draft year is indeed next year the Raiders should be coming to Portland.

Just buy WHL Live and watch him there!