Another record - another German ice hockey history written: On the night of Tuesday, national striker Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers managed to break the record of the previous German NHL top scorer Marco Sturm. With a goal and an assist, he helped his team to a very important victory in the battle for the play-off places against the Winnipeg Jets (6:1). It was the Canadian Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who passed the puck to Draisaitl in the 32nd minute in a two-on-one situation for a smooth direct shot that Winnipeg goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck could no longer stop. After only 468 regular season games, the Cologne native currently has 488 points (191 goals, 297 assists) to his name. Former national coach Marco Sturm scored 487 points (242 goals, 245 assists) in 948 regular season games during his time in the NHL. "Of course, this is a great honor for me. We have some great hockey players who come from Germany. To top this list means a lot to me," said Leon Draisaitl in a press conference after the game.
The Oilers now have a ten-game remaining program ahead of them. The team from the Canadian province of Alberta is currently in second place in the Northern Division after 46 games, which makes a play-off participation very likely. Also the DEB honors the record of one of its great flagships.
DEB-President Franz Reindl: “Leon has set another significant career milestone with this record – and his game is still getting better and better. He can be really proud of that, and so can we. “
Sports director Christian Künast: “We congratulate Leon on this special record. Even at his still young age, Leon is one of the best German ice hockey players of all time. He will continue to have a strong influence on the NHL and German ice hockey.”
National coach Toni Söderholm: “This is another impressive milestone in his career, on which I would like to warmly congratulate Leon. Leon is taking on even more responsibility in the game this season, and the entire Edmonton Oilers team is playing even more responsibly than last season. This means the team is stronger and Leon has also become even stronger and grown further.”