“I love being an Oiler. It means the world to me,” Leon Draisaitl said while encapsulating his passion and commitment to the team that rallied around him to get back on track. With the weight of seven losses in the previous eleven games hanging over the team, the German forward stepped up once again, scoring a match-winning brace that led the team to an overtime 2-1 victory against the New York Islanders at the UBS Arena on Friday. And guess what? The overtime goal that he scored as part of his brace did not just win the Oilers the game, it brought him to a milestone of his own.

Well. Milestones.

The overtime goal marked his 49th goal of the season, bringing him within arm’s length of his 50th and taking him to the 100-point mark for the sixth time in his NHL career. As far as total points are concerned, he is only two behind first-placed Nathan MacKinnon. And as if these weren’t enough, he also extended his career-high consecutive-game points streak to 17 games. But the man himself? He couldn’t care less.

When he was asked for his thoughts on reaching 100 points in a post-match interview, Draisaitl shrugged it off like it was nothing. What was important to him was that the Oilers ended the game with a win: “It’s an individual, I guess, milestone. But, you know, the two points are much bigger than any other personal records.” Talk about being a team man.

And that’s exactly what he has been—a team man through and through. In fact, right after scoring his overtime goal, he skated straight to goaltender Calvin Pickard, whose pass to Connor McDavid had actually started the game-winning play. “It’s great hockey sense, goes unnoticed by a lot of people, probably. But that’s elite hockey sense right there. So, yeah, he was obviously amazing all night,” he said, appreciating Pickard who finished the game with 24 saves.

There’s not much more that you can ask of a single player. No wonder coach

Kris Knoblauch can’t get enough of him.

Leon Draisaitl is Knoblauch’s winning forward!

Head coach Kris Knoblauch couldn’t hold his pride when he heard of Draisaitl’s performance. “I’ve seen Leon just take control of his game,” he said while reflecting on the forward’s performance this season. However, what’s impressed Knoblauch about the German superstar is his refusal to hit the brakes, despite being one of the best day in and day out. “He’s always been a good player, he’s always been dominant. One of the best forwards every single night. That’s a star player. For me, I saw him step it up even more, which is surprising because when you’re that good it’s tough to take any more steps,” Knoblauch added.

While Nathan MacKinnon may be having the season of a lifetime, Knoblauch thinks there is no reason why Draisaitl wouldn’t be in the “conversation” for The Hart Trophy. In fact, according to him, the forward deserves more: “Not only Hart Trophy, but the Selke, the defensive plays he makes every night … he’s been making those plays all season.”

 

And there’s no reason he shouldn’t be considered. He leads his team with a plus 29 while the closest guy to him is on plus 15. Moreover, he doesn’t really need to depend on votes to win personal silverware. He is already 13 goals ahead of William Nylander in the race to the Rocket Richard trophy.

For a guy who doesn’t care about personal milestones, Draisaitl is up for a lot of them.