Leon Draisaitl had to keep his racket in front of him to protect himself. He turned away and pulled his right leg to the side. Again and again the players of the Calgary Flames to attack. They were after his right ankle. Draisaitl injured himself there. How heavy? You can’t get that from him. “I’m good”he said when asked about his injury and, when asked again a few days later, followed with a mischievous grin: “I feel better.”
Semifinals vs. Colorado Avalanche
Whether the ankle was meant or his current state of mind can only be guessed at. Anyway, Leon Draisaitl has a good laugh. With the Edmonton Oilers he won the martial”Battle of Alberta” called series against the Calgary Flames. Now they are standing Oilers in the playoff-Semifinals of National Hockey League (NHL). There they meet them Colorado Avalanches, who also have a German in their squad in Nico Sturm. the Best of sevenseries begins on Wednesday night (01.06.22).
Leon Draisaitl has never been so close to the greatest triumph of his career. Born in Cologne, he has been one of the best ice hockey players in the world for years. He was in the NHL beautiful MVP and top scorer. But he never has Stanley Cup won. The road to the most coveted ice hockey trophy in the world is rocky and painful. Draisaitl senses that all too well at the moment.
Records reminiscent of Gretzky and Lemieux
Hardly one NHL-Player comes through the season completely injury-free or without aches and pains. Draisaitl also has to grit his teeth. His ankle is at least sprained, more details are not known. How serious a player’s injury is only becomes clear when his team is out of the game playoffs is eliminated. Operations and breaks of several months often follow immediately after the end of the season.
Draisaitl is ailing, some say he plays on one leg. But that doesn’t stop the best German ice hockey player that has ever existed. He finally wants to write the biggest chapter of his career and plays ice hockey at the highest level. In the playoffseries against them Calgary Flames collected Draisaitl 17 scorerPoints. In just five games. No player has ever done that before him. Draisaitl has now reached the mark of 50 points in the playoffs. Only three players managed to do that in fewer games, including the two legends Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
Congenial duo with Connor McDavid
As Gretzky and Lemieux during their successful times, Leon Draisaitl played at the Edmonton Oilers a congenial partner: Connor McDavid. He has also won a number of individual awards. As with Draisaitl, it is missing Stanley Cup but still in this collection. And how Draisaitl gets McDavid currently scorerdot around scorerpoint and seems no less driven, almost obsessed than the German.
Draisaitl and McDavid play together again in a storm line. They understand each other blindly, they know where their partner is at all times. And they complement each other well. McDavid is considered the best player in the world, no one is as fast with the disc on the racket as he is. Many players cannot keep up with this pace, also mentally. Draisaitl already. And that’s probably its greatest strength. He knows when he can step onto the stage himself, when the spotlight is on him and when he can McDavid leave the stage and have to work for him.
“Why are you so fit…?”
The Duo Draisaitl/McDavid rips the entire crew of Oilers With. But there were other times this season. At the beginning of the year it put seven defeats in a row. The playoffs were in jeopardy. The players reacted thin-skinned, not to use another word. Leon Draisaitl had to ask himself the question at a press conference “Why are you so “app…?” put up with.
In February they changed Edmonton Oilers the trainer, up Dave Tippett followed Jay Woodcroft. They brought with them Evander Kane a striker whose bad reputation has preceded him after several scandals, but who undoubtedly has outstanding qualities on the ice. Kane plays in a forward row with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. He’s scored 12 goals in 12 playoff games, a fantastic rate.
Long dry spells
Eight wins separate them Edmonton Oilers still from Stanley Cup, the first since 1990. They haven’t been that close to the title for a long time. last stood Edmonton 2006 in the semifinals, a long dry spell. At opponent Colorado Avalanches it is even four years longer. Also the avalanches have a strong team around the superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. For Draisaitl and co it could be a long, tiring series.