Leon Draisaitl Visits Former Youth Team Amidst NHL Media Tour

Leon Draisaitl is the pride of German hockey right now. The 2x 50-goal scorer and 3x 100-point scorer has dominated the NHL since his ascension in 2015-16. The product of Cologne is a pioneer for a new wave of German hockey players, and he spoke on the latest rendition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, taking immense pride in his home country and the improvements they have made to their international men's hockey program.

Of all the third-tier countries, Germany has the most top-ten draft picks in the past ten years with three (Draisaitl, Seider, Stützle), with Switzerland and Austria tied for next best with two apiece. The Edmonton Oilers' alternate captain was in France for the NHL's media tour heading into the 2022-23 season along with fellow stars Sebastian Aho, Victor Hedman, and many others.

Beforehand, he hopped over to Aurora, Ontario, where he visited Mannheim's U16 team for which he played before heading to North America:

When talking about German hockey, Draisaitl spoke on the importance of pitting their youth teams against teams from Sweden, Finland and Canada, exposing them to top talent at that age group. He also mentioned how fun those tournaments outside of Germany can be, where they can compete against teams who are better than the competition they otherwise play.

Players like Stützle and Seider, in Draisaitl's eyes, are simply THAT good, that it didn't matter where they came from, they were top-five picks. Having three top players in the NHL can only be a good thing for German hockey, as kids have role models who they can aspire to be like. Germany's hockey program continues to rise, even other NHL hopefuls like J.J. Peterka and Florian Elias have had great success at the World Juniors, and Germany seemingly fields one of the strongest groups in that third-tier. It is only a matter of time until we see Germany win an international medal, even sooner if Draisaitl, Stützle and Seider suit up for their country.

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