Leon Draisaitl

Playing with Connor McDavid has certainly enhanced the ceilings of Draisaitl and all his other Edmonton teammates, but the bottom line is that the big German is an elite player in his own right. Draisaitl scored 55 goals a season ago, a new career high, and second to only Toronto's Auston Matthews, who finished with 60. Health permitting, Draisaitl could easily threaten 50-plus goals a season moving forward, particularly if he fires 278 shots on goal like he did a year ago. Draisaitl struggled with a reported high-ankle sprain in the playoffs, although you'd never know it by his brilliant play. He should be fully recovered well before training camp begins. Draisaitl should be a lock for 100 points assuming he gets to 70-plus games and that makes him an easy top-three pick in any format.

Draisaitl took a small step back in 2020-21 with 84 points (31 goals, 53 assists) in 56 contests. His 1.5 points-per-game mark was just shy of the previous season, when he racked up 1.55 points per game. The German forward finished second in overall scoring to teammate Connor McDavid last year, and the duo makes for a formidable scoring force as the NHL returns to a full 82-game campaign. Draisaitl had topped 100 points in each of the previous two seasons before last year's shortened campaign, but he should be able to get back to the century mark in 2021-22. Expect a healthy amount of his production to come with the man advantage, where he posted 32 points for the league's top power-play team last year.

While Connor McDavid gets most of the headlines, Draisaitl came home with all the hardware last season. The latter swept the Art Ross Trophy for highest scorer, the Hart Trophy for the NHL MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player as voted on by his peers. Draisaitl posted a career-best 110 points (43 goals, 67 helpers), 44 of which came on the power play, in 71 appearances in 2019-20. It was his second consecutive 100-point campaign, and there's no reason to doubt the German superstar will slow down in 2020-21. McDavid may still be the No. 1 choice for fantasy managers on draft day, but Draisaitl is arguably just as worthy of that spot, making him much more than just a consolation prize.

Playing in Edmonton, partially hidden under the shadow of Connor McDavid, Draisaitl was unstoppable last season, finishing fourth in league scoring with 105 points (50 goals and 55 assists). Only Nikita Kucherov (128), Connor McDavid (116), and Patrick Kane (110) had more scoresheet-scribbles than the 23-year-old German-born superstar who scored 16 power-play goals in 2018-19, seventh most in the league. Draisaitl likely won't stick around past the second round of most fantasy drafts, so be sure to act quick if you want to reap the benefits of what will likely be another stellar campaign in 2019-2020 from Edmonton's "other guy".

Draisaitl is arguably the most underrated player in Oil Country. Last season, the German winger proved that he doesn't need to rely on Connor McDavid as a linemate to produce. Draisaitl closed out the 2017-18 season surpassing the 70-point mark (25 goals, 45 assists) for the second year in a row. Still, one area Draisaitl and the rest of the team could improve upon is power-play production. After garnering 11 points on the man advantage at 2:50 per game, Draisaitl could see a significant boost in value if the Oilers can significantly overhaul their league-worst man-advantage unit in 2018-19.

He may be overshadowed by superstar teammate Connor McDavid, but Draisaitl has developed into a stud in his own right, as evidenced by last season's 29-goal, 77-point explosion. Still only 21 years old, the German pivot anchors a second high-level scoring line that's helped make the Oilers a tough team to beat all of a sudden. After doing all that for just over $800,000 last season, he’s in line for a major raise as an unrestricted free agent, but Draisaitl -- rumored to be seeking $9 million a year -- hasn't yet inked a new deal with Edmonton, leaving his status a bit uncertain heading into the 2017-18 season. That said, Oilers management has sounded confident about retaining his services, and even if he does change home rinks unexpectedly, Draisaitl would return high-end fantasy value on any team. Draft him early and with confidence.

Draisaitl logged considerable time on the first line last season, holding his own nicely with 51 points and a minus-2 rating in 72 games after logging a dreadful minus-17 mark in 37 appearances as a rookie. The 20-year-old’s career is very much on an upward trajectory at this stage, but the logjam of talented centers in Edmonton means he’ll have to beat out either 2015 first overall pick Connor McDavid or 2011 first overall selection Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to slot into a fruitful role on the top two lines. Expect another productive campaign from Draisaitl should he do so, as improvements in his own game should cancel out any negative effects that winger Taylor Hall’s departure might have on his scoring.

Draisaitl spent 37 games with the Oilers last season, and it’d be an understatement to say it was a struggle. He scored two goals and added seven assists, and was overmatched at every turn. But thankfully, the experience didn’t ruin him. After he returned to the WHL when the calendar flipped to January, he promptly racked up 19 goals and 34 assists in 32 games and added 10 goals and 18 assists in just 19 postseason contests. Perhaps most importantly, Draisaitl worked hard to improve his skating, and that has put him in good stead to fight for a role with the Oilers in 2015-16. He’ll need to move to the wing to do it, and honestly, the Oilers could use a guy with his size and strength along the wall. Should he fail in his quest to earn a roster spot, the organization could dispatch him to AHL Bakersfield and give him top-line minutes down there. His destination won’t be settled until the end of training camp, so don’t invest too much.

Draisaitl is a complete wild card. He’s earned the nickname "The German Gretzky" for good reason -- his playmaking skills look other-worldly at times. But at other times, he’s almost completely invisible -- in an Alex Kovalev-invisible kind of way. And you can read it all over him when he’s off his game -- his body language slumps worse than a five-year-old whose had his chocolate cake taken away. Still, his vision and ability to think the game give us hope that good coaching can bring out some consistency in his game. And if that happens, Draisaitl will be a star at either center or left wing. He needs to build up his lower-body strength, but could crack the lineup in Edmonton given the right circumstances. We’d like to see him grow his game back in the Dub, though -- there’s too much risk to his development if he cracks the NHL too soon. Could you live with Anze Kopitar Lite on your squad? Roll the dice in dynasty formats.