Saturday (Sunday) Sunshine: The German Goodness

It’s Sunday, not Saturday and the sunshine is still shining brightly through those smokey clouds. Last week we were treated to a little defensive sunshine boy, and this week we will hop back up to the front lines. Let us pop on that old familiar jam from Burt and sit back, kick up those heels because sliding in bring some of that sunshine glow to your Sunday vibes, Leon Draisaitl.

The one they call Neon Leon came to Edmonton in 2014 and has had Oilers fans giddy since about having a big C man behind the star centre for the first time since Arnott and Weight. The coach has seen things a little different, and can you blame him? Connor and Leon together have been one of the best duos in the league at even strength. As the highest scoring duo in the NHL in 2016-17 it was hard to try and separate the dynamic dup but they did try. It didn’t last long, as the combo of Maroon, McDavid and Draisaitl was the most used line for the 2017-18 season. So the search is on for his linemates.

The emergence of the McNuge connection has made Leon on the top line overkill (if not the powerplay). That said, it is an exciting time for the team. Our young German is poised to take this chance and run with it. With two top lines clicking, you just have to look the way of the Pittsburgh Penguins to see what that can do for you.

Last year, the players have admitted that they went into the season overly confident and things got off the rails early. This year, I can’t imagine that the same will happen again. The biggest reason for this is that the Oilers final preseason game will be against Leon’s home team, the Cologne Sharks. Why do I think this matters? Simply put if the boys overlook the Sharks and laid up an egg against a non-NHL team, that flight to Gothenburg to take on the Devils two days later will be a red hot one.

The other thing from the previous season is the mysterious concussion that Leon suffered was an easy way to trip up from the get. Knock on wood we will not be dealing with anything like that.

If there is something we can all agree on it would have to be that the world needs more of this:

With a lot more consistency in his linemates, the arrows all point up for Drai this year.

Leon Draisaitl is definitely a positive.