Leon Draisaitl: From German prodigy to NHL top scorer

Born in Cologne, Leon Draisaitl (middle) played in the youth ranks of the Kölner Haie German hockey team, for which his father, Peter, played in the 1990s. He moved to the Jungadler Mannheim development team in 2009 and spent three seasons there before moving to North America in 2012. In his finals season in 2011-12, helped the Jungadler win the German Developmental League (DNL).

Peter Draisaitl (right), Leon's father, was a professional hockey player in Germany for nearly two decades. He also made 146 appearances for the West German (later German) national team, partaking in the 1988, 1992 and 1998 Winter Olympic Games. He also had an 18-year coaching career, last coaching the Kölner Haie from 2016 to 2019.

In 2012 at the age of 16, Draisaitl took his talents to North America, joining the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Canada Hockey league (WHL). He scored 59 goals and 114 assists in two seasons with the Raiders. During his second season in 2013-14, Draisaitl participated in the the Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects Game.

In the 2014 NHL draft, the Edmonton Oilers used the third overall pick to draft Draisaitl (right), then 18 years old. The German forward then spent the next two years playing for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Canada Hockey League (WHL) and the Bakersfield Condors of the developmental American Hockey League (AHL).

Draisaitl made his debut with the Edmonton Oilers on October 9, 2014. He registered his first point less than a week later, assisting Mark Fayne in a 7-4 loss to the Arizona Coyotes. He would also score his first goal by the end of the month, a back-handed shot into the back of then net in 6-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

By age 20, Draisaitl was already a regular for Edmonton. He recorded 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) for the Oilers in 2015-16, and followed that up with a 29-goal, 48-assist campaign in 2016-17. His quick rise to stardom earned him an eight-year contract extension with an average annual salary of $8.5 million (€7.7 million), which made him the highest paid German hockey player ever.

Like his father before him, Draisaitl worn German colors on the international ice. He skated for Germany at five of the last six Ice Hockey World Championships. However, he was not part of the Germany team that earned the silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang as the NHL did not make its players available for the tournament.

In January 2019, Draisaitl was selected to his first NHL All-Star Game, representing the Pacific division with fellow Edmonton Oiler Connor McDavid. His side lost to the Central Division 10-4, but he did win the Perfect Passer skills challenge.

Leon Draisaitl scored 43 goals and added 67 assists for 110 points in 71 games – the most of any player in the coronavirus-shortened 2019-20 season. No German previously has won a scoring title in any of the major sports in North America. With the regular season cut short, this year's Stanley Cup playoffs are to be expanded from 16 to 24 teams.