Peers dub Oilers' Draisaitl as best disher in the NHL

Mar 22 2023, 6:25 pm

There’s no doubting Leon Draisaitl is a finisher.

But he’s the NHL’s top disher, too.

Just ask his peers.

The Edmonton Oilers forward was announced as the circuit’s top passer, according to the National Hockey League Players Association Player PollĀ released Wednesday. The NHLPA Player Poll surveyed 626 NHLers on 14 hockey-related questions during the regular season.

Draisaitl topped the simple question of “who is the best passer?” with a 25.0% share of the vote. In total, 150 colleagues tagged the Cologne, Germany product as the leagues top distributor.

Patrick Kane of the New York Rangers finished second at 13.0%, and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov ranked third at 10.5%. Artemi Panarin, Kane’s Rangers teammate, was fourth at 78%.

Connor McDavid, Draisaitl’s captain, finished fifth in voting with 7.7%.

Draisaitl currently sits tied for fourth in the NHL this season with 44 assists in 69 games. Since entering the league in 2014-15, Draisaitl is second with 298 goals and ninth with 424 assists.

The 27-year-old wasn’t the lone Oilers skater to top a category.

McDavid, with a whopping 59.3% share, was voted most impactful forward in a must-win game. He was also the runner-up in the “who do you least enjoy playing against but would like to have on your team” category to Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand and was a top-five finisher in “most complete player” and “impact in front of the net.”

Full results from the NHLPA Player Poll can be found on theĀ NHLPA website.

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