The Edmonton Oilers may not be quite where they want to be two months into the season, but Leon Draisaitl is humming along just fine.
Through the first 22 games of the season, there is a good argument to be made that Draisaitl has been the team’s best player so far. The German superstar is currently tied for the NHL lead in goals with 16 and has 30 points to lead the Oilers, ahead of Connor McDavid by two points.
Draisaitl already has three 50-plus goal seasons under his belt and is now on pace to break his career-high of 55. If he continues to score at this rate all season, he’ll net his first-ever 60-goal season.
Leon Draisaitl currently has 16 goals through the first 22 games of the season… he has a career-high of 55 (set in 2021-22) and is on pace for his very first 60-goal season.
Dare I say an outside shot at 70? 🤔🤔🤔#Oilers
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) November 26, 2024
Last season saw Draisaitl’s goal totals take a bit of a dip, scoring 41 goals following a pair of seasons that saw him net 55 and 52, respectively. With a brand-new eight-year extension with the Oilers signed over the summer, it appears that Draisaitl has officially returned to that 50-goal pace once again.
On top of being one of the league’s most dangerous goal-scorers, Draisaitl has also recorded some very impressive defensive metrics this season as well. According to Natural Stat Trick, the German sniper leads the NHL in five-on-five high-danger chances-for percentage (HDCF%), shot-for percentage (SF%), and expected goals-for (xGF%) among forwards who have played 300 or more minutes so far.
If he continues to juggle an extremely potent offence with stellar defensive results, he could also be nominated for the Selke Trophy this season, something that would have seemed very unlikely just a few seasons ago.
McDavid will, as usual, make the team’s scoring race interesting as the season goes on, but it looks like Draisaitl is in for yet another stellar year in the Alberta capital and one that could land him some hardware when it’s all over.