WWYDW: Who should play with Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto?

They’ve only played 27 games together, but it appears we will see a lot more of Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto for a very long time.

Paired together in early January, Draisaitl and Yamamoto found immediate chemistry together. Yamamoto scored 26 points in that time and Draisaitl scored 49.

Their games complement each other very well too. Draisaitl, who Oilers head coach Dave Tippett compared to Peter Forsberg in a Tuesday press conference, is able to use his big body to shield the puck and create space on any inch on the ice. Yamamoto, meanwhile, is a smaller and shifter player who still does a fine job of creating space for himself.

Yamamoto has found himself not only as a strong passer, but as a strong finisher, too. He scored 11 goals and 15 points in his short time in the NHL this season. Draisaitl, as we all know, is much of the same having scored 93 goals and 122 assists in the last two years over 153 games.

It creates a strong dynamic between the two players and makes things difficult for opposing teams in terms of game planning.

The results are there for the pair when you look at underlying numbers, too. In 392 5v5 minutes together, they posted a 50.65 CF%, 70.73 GF% and an xGF% of 53.24. Their PDO was a bit high, which means we’ll likely see their goals for percentage drop, but it’s encouraging nonetheless.

The pair had Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on their left-wing and continued to see great success.

But with hockey coming back and the Oilers looking to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in a play-in series, it’s clear that Dave Tippett has options on the left side because it doesn’t appear that the combination of Draisaitl and Yamamoto will be broken up any time soon.

The Oilers have Andreas Athanasiou slotted in on that left side right now, and on Tuesday Dave Tippett says he likes that fit. I really don’t think it’s a bad option whatsoever. Athanasiou has burning speed that would complement the two of them. Tippett added that he’s really happy with the amount of options that he has to play up and down the left side whether it be Nugent-Hopkins, Tyler Ennis, or Athanasiou.

So that leads me to ask you, fans of the Nation? What would you do? Who would you slot alongside Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto?

On Twitter: @zjlaing