Prospect Info: Leon Draisaitl: Memorial Cup MVP

[Stoneman89]

Not living in Alberta I have only gotten a glimpse of the Messier-McDavid commercials when Center Ice favors me with a Sportnet/CBC broadcast. Are these commercials that annoying already?

They were annoying 3 weeks ago. Now, it's gotten to the point of nearly putting the ice pick through my ears when they come on.

 

[Stoneman89]

Who's that ped in the background?

 

[McTrashBoat]

Who's that ped in the background?

I dunno, but you'd better watch your back

 

[Stoneman89]

I dunno, but you'd better watch your back

Creepy. However, I've been known to use my stick to protect myself now and then.

 

[tiger_80]

Both teams are happy with who they got... Bennett playing behind Monahan works in cow town.
Draisiatl playing behind McDavid works great for Oil.

Not sure how I wouldve felt McDavid\Bennett going head to head against Monahan\Draisaitl for the next 10 yrs.

Oilers actually have a diverse and super skilled group of centerman now with MacDavid, RNH, and Draisaitl. If Lander gets out of his funk and returns to his last season's form, this group will be tough to match in a year or two.

 

[Lay Z Boy GM]

How old is Draisaitl now? 20? Imagine how strong he'll be in 5 years.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Might as well change the thread title to Oilers MVP

 

[MoneyGuy]

That was Cam Fowler.

How fast is Fowler, because Drai sure looked quick against him?

 

[nexttothemoon]

Oilers actually have a diverse and super skilled group of centerman now with MacDavid, RNH, and Draisaitl. If Lander gets out of his funk and returns to his last season's form, this group will be tough to match in a year or two.

The problem is that last season for Lander looks like a complete anomaly. He's never looked decent in any stretch he's played in the NHL except for that stretch last season... specifically after Nelson took over.

We all were expecting him to continue his NHL career at that level... but what we're seeing right now is probably much closer to the real Lander.

 

[Frank the Tank]

Nice! I'll update it tomorrow.

 

[Fourier]

How fast is Fowler, because Drai sure looked quick against him?

Fowler is a terrific skater. It is one of his best qualities. I am so sure about his straight ahead speed but he is definitely not slow.

 

[dustrock]

From Friedman's 30 Thoughts, looked like we were dead-on last year thinking that Draisaitl looked gassed. Just not happening this year:


20. Same question as above to Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, with 13 points in eight games since his recall. “Last year, my third game was against the Kings, and by far it was my toughest. I don’t think I touched the puck once,†he laughed during a phone conversation Monday. “To be honest with you, it showed me what the NHL was really like.†Draisaitl was minus-3 that night, a stark contrast to last weekend, when he had two points as Los Angeles beat the Oilers 4-3. He looks like a totally different player, saying he tried some new workout routines in the Czech Republic with a trainer named Marian Voda. “At the beginning, there were some things I couldn’t do at all.†Like what? “The Bosu Ball. I was struggling with the co-ordination, but it became naturally easier and easier. It helped me a lot. I can just feel it on the ice now…a million times stronger, not as tired as last year, where I was falling off by the third period.â€

21. Apparently, Draisaitl had somewhat of an epic meeting when told he was going to AHL Bakersfield at the start of the season. He let the Oilers know how upset he was, but wouldn’t specifically go into what was said. “I was really disappointed…being the last guy cut was hard for me to take,†he admitted. “It took about a week to get over that and it showed in the way I played. Then you think, ‘This might be good for me, working on weaknesses.’ My mind changed.†By the way, Leon, are you a centre or a winger? “I don’t really know,†he laughed. “Isay I like to be a versatile player.†Good interview.

 

[TheRebuild]

The thing I find hilarious is that ESPN has him projected to score 30 points in 64 games, and he already halfway there in 8 games.

 

[doulos]

Hopefully this team can turn things around before too much of his talent and work ethic gets sucked out of him.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

Hopefully this team can turn things around before too much of his talent and work ethic gets sucked out of him.

This team needs to get healthy in the worst way, and then keep its best players in the lineup regardless of age or contracts. Nurse and Drai need to be here to stay.

Hall-RNH-Drai
Pouliot-McDavid-Yak
Purcell-Letestu-Eberle
Korpikoski-Lander-Hendricks

Nurse-Sekera
Klefbom-Schultz
Davidson-Reinhart

 

[EpSoNiight]

Does anyone else feel that sending down Leon and making him upset was the best thing for him? I mean a player can take it as one of two ways. Mope around and feel crappy. Or step up and prove the doubters wrong. I bet drai the moment he came up was thinking you're not sending me down again. And it shows in his play. I don't know if this drai would've showed up if he wasn't sent down. A small gamble for chia that paid off huge so far

 

[Zaddy]

From Friedman's 30 Thoughts, looked like we were dead-on last year thinking that Draisaitl looked gassed. Just not happening this year:


20. Same question as above to Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, with 13 points in eight games since his recall. “Last year, my third game was against the Kings, and by far it was my toughest. I don’t think I touched the puck once,†he laughed during a phone conversation Monday. “To be honest with you, it showed me what the NHL was really like.†Draisaitl was minus-3 that night, a stark contrast to last weekend, when he had two points as Los Angeles beat the Oilers 4-3. He looks like a totally different player, saying he tried some new workout routines in the Czech Republic with a trainer named Marian Voda. “At the beginning, there were some things I couldn’t do at all.†Like what? “The Bosu Ball. I was struggling with the co-ordination, but it became naturally easier and easier. It helped me a lot. I can just feel it on the ice now…a million times stronger, not as tired as last year, where I was falling off by the third period.â€

21. Apparently, Draisaitl had somewhat of an epic meeting when told he was going to AHL Bakersfield at the start of the season. He let the Oilers know how upset he was, but wouldn’t specifically go into what was said. “I was really disappointed…being the last guy cut was hard for me to take,†he admitted. “It took about a week to get over that and it showed in the way I played. Then you think, ‘This might be good for me, working on weaknesses.’ My mind changed.†By the way, Leon, are you a centre or a winger? “I don’t really know,†he laughed. “I say I like to be a versatile player.†Good interview.

This is exactly what I said when he started slow in the AHL. Not surprised at all that it affected him. But I also knew that Leon is a good kid and he'd get over it and work even harder, which it seems like he did.

Does anyone else feel that sending down Leon and making him upset was the best thing for him? I mean a player can take it as one of two ways. Mope around and feel crappy. Or step up and prove the doubters wrong. I bet drai the moment he came up was thinking you're not sending me down again. And it shows in his play. I don't know if this drai would've showed up if he wasn't sent down. A small gamble for chia that paid off huge so far

It's hard to say anything with a conviction when it comes to this since the real answer is that none of us knows whether it had an impact or not, but yes I'd like to think that it was a good thing. I know many people on this board now say it was a mistake to send him down simply due to how good he's been since he was recalled but I'm not so sure that we'd have seen this level of play had he stayed up. I think it was a good thing for him to get sent down. Same with Nurse, it just shows them that they are not granted a spot on this team and that's exactly what should have been done in the past with the rest of the wunderkids. Show them that they have to work hard for it and that nothing is given to you. That is how you instill a winning attitude in players. That's how Detroit have been so good for so long. Culture.

 

[McPuritania]

Leon McDraisaitl.

 

[Mowzie]

Not surprising really. This guy went the entire summer being asked questions about the guy who pretty much directly took his roster spot (McDavid). He has to be one of the hungrier guys out there right now and it shows. He has thr highest PPG in the league and has been Edmonton's best 200 ft. Player. It will be interesting to see how we look when we're healthy.

Hall-Draisatl-Purcell
Pouliot-Hopkins-Eberle
Hendricks-McDavid-Yakupov
Korpikoski-Letestu-Klinkhammer

 

[Frank the Tank]

Does anyone else feel that sending down Leon and making him upset was the best thing for him? I mean a player can take it as one of two ways. Mope around and feel crappy. Or step up and prove the doubters wrong. I bet drai the moment he came up was thinking you're not sending me down again. And it shows in his play. I don't know if this drai would've showed up if he wasn't sent down. A small gamble for chia that paid off huge so far

I think that Chiarelli and McLellan having these conversations with players has a lot more impact than MacT and Eakins. The former can draw upon experience and provide tangible examples of why this would be the best course of action for the player, whereas the latter can just talk you into resigned submission. A player may not agree with constructive criticism; however, it will be taken to heart better when it comes from a respected source.

 

[bucks_oil]

This team needs to get healthy in the worst way, and then keep its best players in the lineup regardless of age or contracts. Nurse and Drai need to be here to stay.

Hall-Drai-Purcell
Pouliot-McDavid-Yak
Korpikoski-RNH-Eberle
Lander-Letestu-Hendricks

Nurse-Sekera
Klefbom-Schultz
Gryba-Reinhart

Fixed... I'd play Drai at C and roll three lines. Eberle on the 3rd line (mostly by his lonesome) is a complete waste and we might as well trade him for D in that case.

I'd go twenty games with the amended above and then trade Yak++ for a solid top pairing D.

 

[dustrock]

Does anyone else feel that sending down Leon and making him upset was the best thing for him? I mean a player can take it as one of two ways. Mope around and feel crappy. Or step up and prove the doubters wrong. I bet drai the moment he came up was thinking you're not sending me down again. And it shows in his play. I don't know if this drai would've showed up if he wasn't sent down. A small gamble for chia that paid off huge so far

The very best professional athletes want to be the best of the best; just making it to the show is not enough. You push some people and it doesn't work, but some of them respond to any challenge very well.

Looks like Drai has embraced every challenge presented to him so far.

They aren't normal people, because you and I, at some point, are going to watch some shows and drink some beers, while McDavid spent every free moment stickhandling.

 

[Oi'll say!]

The Drai is a beast. I missed the first part of the LA game, first shift I saw was him tipping the puck top corner and quick making a nice save, and then Drai setting someone up with a scoring chance all within 5 seconds. I love he uses his body to shield the puck, he opens up a lot of time and space for himself.

His ppg pace isn't going to stay at a ridiculous 1.67 or whatever it is but he has definitely been earning all the points he has to this point.

When McJesus is back other teams are going to be stretched past the breaking point keeping Drai, McJ, Hall, RNH, Ebrle and Yakupov off the board. Speaking of Yakupov, he's starting to show flashes of 1stoverallness.

 

[Stoneman89]

The Drai is a beast. I missed the first part of the LA game, first shift I saw was him tipping the puck top corner and quick making a nice save, and then Drai setting someone up with a scoring chance all within 5 seconds. I love he uses his body to shield the puck, he opens up a lot of time and space for himself.

His ppg pace isn't going to stay at a ridiculous 1.67 or whatever it is but he has definitely been earning all the points he has to this point.

When McJesus is back other teams are going to be stretched past the breaking point keeping Drai, McJ, Hall, RNH, Ebrle and Yakupov off the board. Speaking of Yakupov, he's starting to show flashes of 1stoverallness.

In what way would that be?

 

[Oi'll say!]

In what way would that be?

Carrying the puck and getting shots on net. I wasn't accustomed to seeing him wear #10, I am just getting used to all the new players and the new numbers. A coupple times I was thinking "who is that #10 guy" and being pleasantly surprised to find out it was Yak.

I didn't say he was dominating games from beginning to end, just that he's showing flashes. He wasn't doing anything the last two seasons.