Player Discussion Leon Draisaitl - 2019 All-Star

[Drivesaitl]

Could flirt with 100 points if he sticks in the 1st line. Scoring is up and he complements McDavid so damn well.

Who knows.

Leon has 20 pts in 15GP since moving up with McD. That's easily 100pt pace but we're not sure what the team is going to do. Hitch is resting Nuge more right now and might be prepared to load Nuge on top line again and give Drai some rest.

Although theres no sign of Hitch wanting to give Drai any rest. Drai minutes under Hitch have increased around 4;40 toi/ game. Last night he played 25 mins, 4PP 3pk. That's a lot for a big guy.

I have to mention it the Drai fan in Colorado thing and Leon giving the signed stick was cute. I like that SNet captured it and gave it a bit of focus. That kid was thrilled when here hero, Leon, scored.


Have to laugh as well at the AV's GDT. Heres how the Op wrote the Oilers first line;

Chiasson-McD-Guy that AV's fans most want.


Seems like AV's have seen quite a lot of Drai. We know Drai plays well against them.

What a playoff series that would be.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Who knows.

Leon has 20 pts in 15GP since moving up with McD. That's easily 100pt pace but we're not sure what the team is going to do. Hitch is resting Nuge more right now and might be prepared to load Nuge on top line again and give Drai some rest.

Although theres no sign of Hitch wanting to give Drai any rest. Drai minutes under Hitch have increased around 4;40 toi/ game. Last night he played 25 mins, 4PP 3pk. That's a lot for a big guy.

I have to mention it the Drai fan in Colorado thing and Leon giving the signed stick was cute. I like that SNet captured it and gave it a bit of focus. That kid was thrilled when here hero, Leon, scored.


Have to laugh as well at the AV's GDT. Heres how the Op wrote the Oilers first line;

Chiasson-McD-Guy that AV's fans most want.


Seems like AV's have seen quite a lot of Drai. We know Drai plays well against them.

What a playoff series that would be.

Yeah, Avs fans would do anything to get Draisaitl and Radulov. Two players that their fanbase adore - I can see why.

An Avs-Oilers series would be amazing. Hopefully we can see that along with a BOA playoff matchup soon. I could actually see that happening this year.

 

[dem]

That backhand sauce

 

[Zaddy]

That backhand sauce

I wonder how many players in the league could make that play.

And people are saying Leon is a non-factor on that line

 

[soothsayer]

That backhand sauce

Technically one of the nicest (and maybe most difficult) passes I've seen.

 

[talitintti]

Although theres no sign of Hitch wanting to give Drai any rest. Drai minutes under Hitch have increased around 4;40 toi/ game. Last night he played 25 mins, 4PP 3pk. That's a lot for a big guy.

I agree that his TOI must go down at some point. It's as taxing as it is rewarding to play with Connor, who has such effortless skating and inhuman stamina that he can handle being played for it seems limitlessly.

Not to criticize Draisaitl, as he has been absolutely great during this time, but there have been moments during the Hitch reign where he just seems a little tired and makes small mistakes in decision making and passing. At some point the TOI will catch up to him, if he keeps getting these minutes, in a manner that will decline his performance. But, rather than separating him and Connor, I would rather just see Connor being double-shifted in other lines. McDrai is too deadly of a combo to break and might be the only way this club rides the playoff train.

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

I had my doubts about Draisaitl & thought he may regress this year.

I have no such doubts anymore. He's shown he can be a force at both ends of the ice & brings it most nights.

 

[Arpeggio]

He needs to have his minutes scaled back. It's insane that he's consistently playing more than McDavid, and unless Hitchcock changes up his strategy I don't see how it stops. McDavid should be used on the PK to offset some of Draisaitl's minutes, if it's absolutely necessary for Draisaitl to kill penalties.

 

[Giggli G]

He needs to have his minutes scaled back. It's insane that he's consistently playing more than McDavid, and unless Hitchcock changes up his strategy I don't see how it stops. McDavid should be used on the PK to offset some of Draisaitl's minutes, if it's absolutely necessary for Draisaitl to kill penalties.

Hitch said he is working on making Puljujarvi into a PKer in the next couple weeks, it's probably so he can take Draisaitl out of the rotation.

 

[Stoneman89]

I'm of German descent, and I can tell you we're all cold, unfeeling people. Like a good Jagermeister.

 

[booyakasha]

I like this excerpt from a Bruce McCurdy article on December 7th:

Many fans seem constantly annoyed with Draisaitl, calling him “lazy” or displaying “bad body language” or what have you. I see a horse who is playing huge minutes in all situations: 5v5, 3v3, powerplay, penalty kill, either goalie out. He’s been learning a new position — left wing — but filled in at centre in Dallas and remains the Oilers’ go-to man on the faceoff dot. The 28:48 he played on Wednesday in St. Louis was the most by any NHL forward so far this season. Lazy? I think not!

The Mesut Özil effect.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

I'm of German descent, and I can tell you we're all cold, unfeeling people. Like a good Jagermeister.

 

[AM]

just heard Staples on Cult of Hockey mention that, with 37 pts in 31, the big Saxon is projected to score 98 points. Draisaitl currently sits at 14th in NHL scoring.

so, those still complaining about his 8.5mil per can just get over it. you're just plain wrong.

Points isnt wins.

 

[redgrant]

Points isnt wins.

So mcdavid deserves less salary because the team didn't have "wins" last few years?

What a ludicrous arguement that salary should be based on team wins not individual ability.

 

[Cultra]

Points isnt wins.

Unless you plan on going to the shootout every single game, you sure as hell need points to win games.

 

[Spawn]

Anyone else remember when Draisaitl wasn't going to hit 25 points at 5v5 on the year according to some?

I remember...

 

[TB12]

I’m still absolutely in awe over that backhand pass last game.

I have watched it over 100 times and I’m still just mesmerized by it. He made that look absolutely effortless. I don’t want to be hyperbolic, but that’s simply one of the best passes I have ever seen.

Edit: best pass not made by Wayne.

 

[CookiesAndMilk]

Have to laugh as well at the AV's GDT. Heres how the Op wrote the Oilers first line;

Chiasson-McD-Guy that AV's fans most want.


Seems like AV's have seen quite a lot of Drai. We know Drai plays well against them.

It's not just related to Drai although I really like what they say about my favourite player. AV fans in general really seem like dte and are easy to talk to.

 

[CookiesAndMilk]

I’m still absolutely in awe over that backhand pass last game.

I have watched it over 100 times and I’m still just mesmerized by it. He made that look absolutely effortless. I don’t want to be hyperbolic, but that’s simply one of the best passes I have ever seen.

I have to watch games in the middle of the night bc of timezones and I was lucky enough to see that pass. I had to hold myself back not screaming "f*** YEAH" at 4am

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

It is without a doubt the pass of the season. To sauce it on your backhand in full stride to another player in full stride at that distance is unreal. Definitely know why Drai likes such a flat curve compared to most players. He wouldn't be making that pass with a Ovechkin curve.

 

[Zaddy]

That backhand sauce

Another thing I love about that sequence is that when Drai makes that pass I'm thinking to myself: who is that pass going to reach? There's no one there. Then you see McDavid come into frame. It's crazy because you see him at a complete stand-still a couple of seconds earlier at the top of the faceoff circle in the D-zone. Somehow he is able to make it past every other player on the ice and reach the Avs blueline before anyone else. His speed is just unreal and these guys are magical together.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Another thing I love about that sequence is that when Drai makes that pass I'm thinking to myself: who is that pass going to reach? There's no one there. Then you see McDavid come into frame. It's crazy because you see him at a complete stand-still a couple of seconds earlier at the top of the faceoff circle in the D-zone. Somehow he is able to make it past every other player on the ice and reach the Avs blueline before anyone else. His speed is just unreal and these guys are magical together.

That's the thing. That pass is so long Drai is making a QB pass before the player is there. So that he's reading that the play is on, on his backhand, and with just a glance. Drai see's the ice so well, processes the game so uncannily.

Its the cerebral aspects of his game and the mechanics of being able to make that pass.

Drai got to 150 assists already just recently and there was hardly any mention of it. If he had been playing with an elite offensive D all this time he would have 200 hundred assists by now. He's a playmaking machine and ever dangerous. But he makes these plays look so easy that its not always noted how exceptional the plays are. Its nice to see it being noted.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Anyone else remember when Draisaitl wasn't going to hit 25 points at 5v5 on the year according to some?

I remember...

Steven stated that, quite a few agreed with it. Couldn't understand how they thought such a thing.

 

[Jamin]

Steven stated that, quite a few agreed with it. Couldn't understand how they thought such a thing.

They must have been trolling? No one could actually think like that...

Then again flat earthers has become a thing so who knows

 

[Drivesaitl]

They must have been trolling? No one could actually think like that...

Then again flat earthers has become a thing so who knows

Or Anti-vaxers

Basically it was a case of lack of seeing the forests for the trees. As is typical in hockey analytics. He was taking short sample, projecting, and looking at some corsi coefficients and came out with that.