On the way to the Stanley Cup, it was always too early for Leon Draisaitl and his partner Connor McDavid with the Edmonton Oilers. The pressure that it will be better this year is increasing.
National Hockey League player Leon Draisaitl and his Canadian buddy Connor McDavid have been the most dangerous attacking duo in the National Hockey League for years. Shortly before the end of the main round, they made a total of 271 goals in this season alone, the list of their personal awards is long and impressive.
Nevertheless, there is a big gap in the vita: the two strikers with their Edmonton Oilers have never been champions in the best ice hockey league in the world. In the upcoming playoffs there is the next attempt after the disappointments of the past few years.
Edmonton longs for the Stanley Cup
“At the end of the day it comes down to the Stanley Cup,” said former national coach Marco Sturm of the German Press Agency about Draisaitl and his partner. “They’re under a lot of pressure this year, even more than last year. If it doesn’t work out, I’d say there’s still some time, but it’s getting less and less. Everyone expects McDavid and him to win this trophy now .” Draisaitl has two more years under contract, McDavid three more – if the Oilers prove soon that the Stanley Cup can come to Edmonton, it will be extremely difficult to keep the duo.
Having the best and second best forward on a team as opponents is brutal for any defense, but that alone is not enough. “You can’t win anything with two players. You don’t beat any team. You need a team that stands behind it and does its job,” Draisaitl said before the important 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings. In his knit sweater, gray pants and fine brown slippers, he looked like many fashion-conscious people in their mid-twenties these days – but the 27-year-old from Cologne is a superstar in ice-hockey-mad Edmonton. Only topped by: McDavid. “We are very, very good friends. We like playing together. We push each other in training and in games,” said Draisaitl.
Both have already received the Art Ross Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Memorial Trophy – translated: Draisaitl was already the top scorer in the best ice hockey league in the world and was voted the most valuable player by both journalists and other NHL professionals elected in the main round. McDavid has even received all awards several times. However, the two professionals have never been in the final of the Stanley Cup. A year ago, the finals of the Western Conference ended for the five-time Stanley Cup winner from Canada. There was a 0:4 against eventual champion Colorado Avalanche.
Draisaitl: “My only thoughts are with the Oilers”
The 50-goal mark and the 100-point scorer barrier, both of which have long since broken through again? Worthless. “I’m happy about that, I’m honored. But that’s behind me and now I’m looking ahead. There are more important things than 50 goals: winning the Stanley Cup,” stressed Draisaitl. In contrast to last season, when an ankle injury severely affected him in the playoffs, the man from Cologne is fit now. The 3-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks also puts them in first place in the Pacific Division and a supposedly easier opponent in the first round of the playoffs.
When asked if he would have to think about where he could win the Stanley Cup in the event of another failure, which would mean more to him than any award in his career so far, Draisaitl replied: “I mean, we have a great one here Chance to win that. That’s my focus right now. Everything else has time in the future. Right now my thoughts are on the Oilers.” (dpa)