Leon Tim Draisaitl (German: [ˈleːɔn ˈdʁaɪ̯ˌzaɪ̯tl̩] ; born 27 October 1995) is a German professional ice hockey player who is a forward and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). In 2020, Draisaitl became the first German player to win the Art Ross Trophy as the leading point scorer in the NHL, the Hart Memorial Trophy as regular season MVP, and the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player. He also won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league-leading goal-scorer in 2025, while also being the runner-up for the award in 2019 and 2022 and being the Art Ross Trophy runner-up in 2021 and 2023. These accolades have made Draisaitl become widely known as one of the best players in the NHL.
Draisaitl is the son of former Czech born Germany national team player Peter Draisaitl, who represented West Germany and Germany in 146 games, including at World Championships, the World Cup, and at 1988, 1992, and 1998 Olympic Winter Games.
Draisaitl was selected second overall in the 2012 CHL Import Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders. After two seasons with the Raiders, he was drafted third overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2014 NHL entry draft.
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Early life
Draisaitl was born on 27 October 1995 in Cologne, Germany, to Peter and Sandra Draisaitl. When he was a child, Draisaitl's father played ice hockey for the Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga and appeared in three Winter Olympics with the Germany national team. Draisaitl played many sports as a child, including association football, but was most interested in ice hockey. As an adolescent, Draisaitl played with the Kölner Haie under-16 team and the Adler Mannheim under-18 team while skating on the side with the Ravensburg Towerstars, a team his father coached. During the 2011–12 German Development League (Deutsche Nachwuchsliga) season, Draisaitl recorded 21 goals and 56 points in 35 games for Jungadler Mannheim and was named the league's Player of the Year.
Playing career
Major junior
Coming off his Player of the Year season in the German Development League, Draisaitl was selected second overall in the 2012 CHL Import Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Draisaitl was traded to the Kelowna Rockets during the 2015 World Junior Championships, the trade made official on 5 January. Draisaitl helped the Rockets to the 2015 WHL Championship, where he was named playoff MVP after scoring 28 points in 19 games. Draisaitl won the Stafford Smythe Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP the same year, although the Rockets did not win the 2015 Memorial Cup, losing the championship final in overtime 2–1 to the Oshawa Generals.
Professional (2014–present)
Draisaitl was drafted third overall in the 2014 NHL entry draft by the Edmonton Oilers, making him the highest-drafted German-trained player in NHL history (Dany Heatley, selected second overall in 2000, was born in Germany but raised in Canada). On 12 August 2014, Draisaitl signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Edmonton. Making the Oilers' NHL opening night roster out of training camp, Draisaitl made his NHL debut in the 2014–15 season opener on 9 October, against the Oilers inner-provincial rival Calgary Flames, which ended with the Oilers losing 5–2. He scored his first NHL goal on 24 October, against Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Anton Khudobin as the Oilers would defeat the Hurricanes 6–3. Draisaitl appeared in 37 games for the Oilers for the first half of the 2014–15 season, recording two goals and seven assists for nine points, before being returned to the Prince Albert Raiders. The move was made on 4 January 2015 partly to prevent Draisaitl from moving one year closer to free agency which he would have done in July 2015 had he been on the Oilers' roster for more than 40 NHL games).
During the last Oilers game of the 2015–16 season at Rexall Place on 6 April 2016, Draisaitl scored the last NHL goal to be scored there in a 6–2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
The 2016–17 season saw both Draisaitl and the Oilers reach new levels of success. On 23 March 2017, he became the first Oiler player since 1990 to have six straight multi-point games. Draisaitl finished the season with 29 goals, 48 assists and 77 points in all 82 games played, while the Oilers, powered by new captain Connor McDavid and Draisaitl, ended a 10-year playoff drought and clinched a berth in the 2017 playoffs by finishing second in the Pacific Division. Facing the San Jose Sharks in the first round, Draisaitl scored his first NHL playoff goal in the Oilers' series-clinching 3–1 game 6 win. The Oilers advanced into the second round to meet the Anaheim Ducks. With the Oilers down 3–2 in the series and on the brink of elimination in game 6 of the series on 7 May, Draisaitl became the second youngest Oiler in franchise history to score a hat-trick in the Stanley Cup playoffs and the fifth player in Oilers history to score five or more points in a playoff game, helping the team stave off elimination and force game 7. The Oilers subsequently were eliminated in a 2–1 loss in game 7, with Draisaitl's thwarted attempt at a tying goal midway through the third period was dubbed the "save of the game" by the NHL. He ended his first playoffs with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in all 13 games played.
International play
Draisaitl represents Germany internationally. He played for the German junior team in the World Junior Championships in 2013 and 2014, serving as team captain in the latter tournament. In the 2014 tournament, he was ejected from a round-robin game against the United States after he committed a hit from behind and was later issued a one-game suspension.
Draisaitl was named to the German senior team roster for the 2014 World Championship, and also played in the 2018 World Championship.
Draisaitl made his Olympic debut at the 2026 Winter Olympics where he served as Germany's flag bearer alongside ski jumper Katharina Schmid. This marked the first Winter Olympics to feature NHL players in men's ice hockey since the 2014 Winter Olympics. In the 2026 tournament Germany reached to the quarterfinals where they lost 6–2 to Slovakia.
Personal life
In 2018, Draisaitl began dating Canadian actress Celeste Desjardins after being set up with her by his teammate Connor McDavid's wife, Lauren Kyle McDavid who has been best friends with Desjardins since they were in high school together in Sudbury, Ontario.
Draisaitl and Desjardins announced their engagement on 11 July 2024, and were married on 3 August 2025.
Draisaitl's sister, Kim, is married to German field hockey player Niklas Wellen.
As of April 2020, Draisaitl's dog Bowie had its own Instagram account.
Media
In 2021, Draisaitl became the first NHL player to sign with sportswear brand Puma. He is also sponsored by Warrior Sports, EA Sports and Skip the Dishes.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Bold indicates led league
Records
NHL
Highest drafted German-born player (3rd overall, 2014)
Most career points by a German-born player (1,053)
Most career assists by a German-born player (619)
Most career goals by a German-born player (434)
Most career hat-tricks by a German-born player (9)
Most points in a season by a German-born player (128, in 2022-23)
Most assists in a season by a German-born player (76, in 2022–23)
Most goals in a season by a German-born player (55, in 2021-22)
Most overtime goals in a season (6, in 2024-25)
Most career postseason points by a German-born player (141)
Most career postseason assists by a German-born player (89)
Most career postseason goals by a German-born player (52)
Most career postseason games played by a German-born player (96)
Most assists in a postseason by a German-born player (25, in 2021-22)
Most goals in a postseason by a German-born player (13, in 2022-23)
Most points in a postseason by a German-born player (33, in 2024-25)
Oilers
Most power-play goals in a season (32, in 2022–23)
Most career power-play goals (178)
Most career overtime goals (20)