Leon Draisaitl is entering his 10th season in the NHL and discussed what that means in an interview that can be heard on this week's episode of the "NHL @TheRink podcast."
"It's crazy," the Edmonton Oilers center told co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke "It sounds like such a long time, but it just felt like a couple of years, a couple of months. It is definitely flying by, so just trying to make the most of it."
Draisaitl said urgency to win the Stanley Cup is part of his motivation whereas it wasn't so much the case four or five years ago.
"These are the years that are most important," he said. "When you're 18, 19, 20, 21 and you miss the playoffs, the urgency isn't as high as it is now to win. That's the ultimate goal and that's the only thing left for us to do as a team. So, there's definitely some urgency, but I'm 27. It's not like I'm 37. Connor [McDavid] is 26. It's not like he's 38. We're in a really good spot and we need to be aware of that, make sure we improve, improve and hopefully we'll be the last team standing."
The Oilers have been knocked out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the eventual Stanley Cup champions the past two seasons; in six games in the Western Conference Second Round by the Vegas Golden Knights last season and in four games in the conference final by the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.
"I think we're very close," Draisaitl said.
How close the Oilers are and what challenges they have to overcome were part of the conversation between Rosen and Roarke before the interview with Draisaitl can be heard.
The co-hosts broke down each division this week, offering their predictions for who will make the playoffs and who will win the Stanley Cup. They both have the champion coming out of the Central Division.
They also discussed Connor Bedard's chances of winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year, and the Chicago Blackhawks' 18-year-old center talking about himself and what he will face in his first NHL season can be heard on the episode.
In addition, Rosen and Roarke broke down some of the news that came out of the NHL Board of Governors meeting Wednesday.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
