Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl is considered by NHL ballot voters to be a runner-up for the Hart Trophy.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski polled numerous members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) who are eligible to vote anonymously for the NHL awards to get a sense of who they could vote for. Draisaitl was the only Oilers member included in the list, but he is considered to be on the shortlist of legitimate candidates for the Hart Trophy.

He is listed in third place for the Hart Trophy heading into February with 20 percent of voters listing him as the top choice for the NHL’s MVP award. The only two players ahead of Draisaitl are Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (20 percent) and Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Helleybuyck (25 percent). In comparison, Draisaitl was also in third place going into January but had just 16 percent of the popular vote behind MacKinnon and Kirill Kaprizov.

All three players have had solid seasons to this point, and there are certainly cases to be made for all three of them getting it. Going into Tuesday night’s games, MacKinnon is leading the NHL in scoring with 80 points (20 goals and 60 assists) while Draisaitl is right behind him with 79 points (37 goals and 42 assists) and is the NHL’s goal leader. Helleybuyck has had a season for the ages, posting a record of 33-7-2, a .925 save percentage, a 2.04 GAA, and six shutouts.

Beyond these three are other strong options in Quinn Hughes and Nikita Kucherov, who have been integral to their team’s success to this point. Should Kaprizov get back to his prowess when he is ready to return, perhaps he can make a late push towards the Hart Trophy.

All of which is to say that Draisaitl is in for some tough company if he wishes to win his second career Hart Trophy. He certainly has a chance, given how well he has been doing for the Oilers this season and he has a shot at winning his first Rocket Trophy. His 37 goals on the year lead the league by four over the second-placed William Nylander, and six over Mark Scheifele, who is tied with Sam Reinhart with 31.

But with Helleybuyck having an electric season and MacKinnon gunning for the back-to-back Hart wins, things won’t be easy for Draisaitl in his pursuit of another individual award.

Though if you were to ask him, he would surely prefer another trophy that he came one win shy of getting last summer.