<p>Leon Draisaitl is itching to play more international hockey.</p>
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<p>Sure, the recently re-signed Edmonton Oilers star would love to play for Team Germany again, whether it be at the Winter Olympics or the World Cup of Hockey.</p>
<p>But in an interview with Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke on the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-at-the-rink-podcast-oilers-draisaitl-bill-daly-join-show">latest edition of the NHL.com &#8220;@TheRink&#8221; podcast</a>, Draisaitl also expressed his desire to play <em>in </em>Germany as a member of the Oilers once again.</p>
<p>Draisaitl previously played in his home country as part of the 2018 NHL Global Series, when his Oilers took on German club Kölner Haie in an exhibition game at Lanxess Arena in Cologne.</p>
<p>Now, six years later, Draisaitl is ready to do some more travelling. While he&#8217;s excited that the Buffalo Sabres are slated to take on EHC Red Bull München in Munich later this month, Draisaitl wants another crack at it himself.</p>
<p>&#8220;Well, first of all, I would like to go back. I&#8217;ll throw that out there to the NHL,&#8221; Draisaitl said with a laugh. &#8220;But, no, it&#8217;s amazing. Germany has really come along, and we&#8217;ve really created some really high-end product and some really high-end players in the NHL. It&#8217;s amazing for the league to recognize that and give Germany a great game and a great event.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s gonna be a really special night, especially for J-J [Peterka], of course, having played for the team there. I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;ll be very exciting.&#8221;</p>
<p>Asked about his own Germany hockey hero growing up, Draisaitl picked long-time NHL forward Marco Sturm, who collected 242 goals and 487 points in 938 career games with the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks, and Florida Panthers. Sturm is now the head coach of the AHL&#8217;s Ontario Reign.</p>
<p>&#8220;[Sturm] was probably the guy I looked up to the most,&#8221; Draisaitl said. &#8220;Obviously, he was one of the best players that we&#8217;ve had who&#8217;s come out of Germany. He was just such a good player and someone who you&#8217;ve always wanted to be like. I&#8217;ve been fortunate enough to have been coached by Sturmy and gotten to know him pretty well. He&#8217;s just a fantastic human being on top of that.&#8221;</p>
<p>Draisaitl, who turns 29 next month, has already staked a strong claim as the greatest German player in NHL history. He reached the 100-point mark last year for the fifth time in his career and followed it up with a spectacular playoff run as the Oilers reached the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.</p>
<p>The Oilers will kick off their 2024-25 slate of games on October 9 when they take on the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place in Edmonton.</p>
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Leon Draisaitl is itching to play more international hockey.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2107" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="325"></div>
Sure, the recently re-signed Edmonton Oilers star would love to play for Team Germany again, whether it be at the Winter Olympics or the World Cup of Hockey.

But in an interview with Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke on the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-at-the-rink-podcast-oilers-draisaitl-bill-daly-join-show">latest edition of the NHL.com "@TheRink" podcast</a>, Draisaitl also expressed his desire to play <em>in </em>Germany as a member of the Oilers once again.

Draisaitl previously played in his home country as part of the 2018 NHL Global Series, when his Oilers took on German club Kölner Haie in an exhibition game at Lanxess Arena in Cologne.

Now, six years later, Draisaitl is ready to do some more travelling. While he's excited that the Buffalo Sabres are slated to take on EHC Red Bull München in Munich later this month, Draisaitl wants another crack at it himself.

"Well, first of all, I would like to go back. I'll throw that out there to the NHL," Draisaitl said with a laugh. "But, no, it's amazing. Germany has really come along, and we've really created some really high-end product and some really high-end players in the NHL. It's amazing for the league to recognize that and give Germany a great game and a great event.

"It's gonna be a really special night, especially for J-J [Peterka], of course, having played for the team there. I'm sure it'll be very exciting."

Asked about his own Germany hockey hero growing up, Draisaitl picked long-time NHL forward Marco Sturm, who collected 242 goals and 487 points in 938 career games with the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks, and Florida Panthers. Sturm is now the head coach of the AHL's Ontario Reign.

"[Sturm] was probably the guy I looked up to the most," Draisaitl said. "Obviously, he was one of the best players that we've had who's come out of Germany. He was just such a good player and someone who you've always wanted to be like. I've been fortunate enough to have been coached by Sturmy and gotten to know him pretty well. He's just a fantastic human being on top of that."

Draisaitl, who turns 29 next month, has already staked a strong claim as the greatest German player in NHL history. He reached the 100-point mark last year for the fifth time in his career and followed it up with a spectacular playoff run as the Oilers reached the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

The Oilers will kick off their 2024-25 slate of games on October 9 when they take on the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

<strong>Presented by bet365:</strong>
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Leon Draisaitl says he’d love to be able to play in Germany with the Oilers again

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