Draisaitl embraces role of Oilers tour guide for Global Series

COLOGNE, Germany -- Leon Draisaitl is the main attraction of this event. His face is on the billboards around town and the signs on the side of Lanxess Arena advertising the 2018 NHL Global Series Challenge exhibition between the Edmonton Oilers and Kolner Haie on Wednesday (10 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, NHL.TV).

At the same time, he's showing off the main attractions of his hometown. All he needs is a name tag -- "HELLO, my name is Leon" -- and a megaphone as he leads his teammates into the Cologne Cathedral, through the cobblestone streets of Old Town and onto a cruise boat on the Rhine River.
"He's more of a tour guide," Oilers center Connor McDavid said. "Everyone's asking him a bunch of stuff about the city, Germany, the team we're playing. I think he's maybe sick of the questions already, but it's been fun."

Draisaitl might have dreamed of playing in the NHL growing up in Cologne, but he never dreamed of playing for an NHL team in Cologne, let alone against the local team coached by his father, Peter. How would that happen?
"Obviously this is probably a once-in-a-lifetime event for me," Draisaitl said. "I'm going to enjoy these days in my hometown."
Draisaitl gets to play against his father's team in front of family and friends. Cologne fans get to see Draisaitl, already the sixth-ranked German scorer in NHL history with 207 points (75 goals, 132 assists) at age 22. Draisaitl's teammates get to see him in his own environment and learn about his background, and to bond with him and each other.

When the Oilers planned the trip, they leaned on Draisaitl for where to go and what to eat while team building.
"We left a lot of decisions up to Leon, like we should," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said.
After the Oilers checked into their hotel Sunday, Draisaitl led a group of his teammates to a place on the riverside, where they ate the traditional German delicacy of … well, pizza. They were tired, hungry and wanted something simple and quick.
They had a team dinner at a seafood restaurant owned by a friend of his father's, closed to the public, just big enough for the group. Unlike his usually stoic self, Draisaitl hopped from table to table, talked to the staff in his native language and thanked the owner in a short speech. He had an obvious hop in his step during practice Monday too, skating in the Haie practice facility, where he trains sometimes in the summer and his father works during the season.
"He's got a big smile on his face," McLellan said. "He's happy about being here. He's proud of his community. He's certainly proud of his father and all the help he gave him growing up, and also proud of his dad's team."
RELATED: [Global Series Buzz: Draisaitl back in Germany with Oilers]
Draisaitl took his teammates on a tour after practice.

First stop: the cathedral. He didn't know the details, that the towering Gothic masterpiece was started in 1248 and finished in 1880, that it once was the tallest building in the world and still is Germany's most-visited landmark, but it didn't matter. His teammates strolled through the hushed silence, descended into the crypt and looked up at the stained glass and the sculptures, and took a picture together in the plaza outside.
He led his teammates through Old Town, past restaurants selling bratwurst, schnitzel and the local Kolsch beer, to a cruise boat on the Rhine. Groups of players sat at tables as they sailed for an hour, talking about their backgrounds and summers, not to mention the latest hockey news, as a narrator talked about the passing sights in German and English.
Finally, they walked back through Old Town to their hotel, off to another team dinner, this one at a place Draisaitl picked away from the city center that serves real German food, not pizza. The Oilers have Tuesday off.

"We let him run with it," McLellan said. "It's early in the year. We want our team to create a unique bond and have some energy. I think if we get too involved and we put the brakes on things, it can kind of squash it. We've all been told we're here on a business trip, but we also want the players to experience the culture and enjoy the community."
How could they not?
"It's honestly pretty awesome and special for him to be able to come to do this and be a part of this," Oilers forward Milan Lucic said. "You can see it in him, how excited he is to be back. It's also nice having someone that knows the city show you around and take you around. I know he's really excited for the game."