He's won possession of the puck 649 times in 2017-18; 275 in the offensive zone, 204 in the defensive zone and 170 in the neutral zone. In the O-zone, Draisaitl's percentage is fifth best (out of those who have taken 1000 or more) with a 58.9 mark. In the D-zone, he sits 10th with a 55.9 clip.
"First of all, it's ice time," said the Deutschland Dangler. "Also, it's pride. It's a big deal. People that maybe don't know the game so well, they don't understand but if you have the puck, you can't get scored on really.
"It's just something I've been working on."
It's not just the overarching stats that are in Draisaitl's favour on the topic of the dot. There are elements of consistency the pivot has been able to sustain this season, as well as an ability to pull pucks back versus some of the best faceoff teams in the League.
Against the Nashville Predators on March 1, he was the only Oiler to win over 50 percent of his draws. In nine of Edmonton's 16 games during the month of March, the middleman was better than 60 percent - hitting the 70 percent mark on five occasions and at one point doing so three games in a row.
"I think experience has something to do with that," Draisaitl, with 24 goals and 68 points in 76 games this season, said. "Sometimes you learn new techniques over the course of the year or it seems like one is working for yourself so you use it more and more. I think I've been doing that.
"I've been finding my own way to take draws and thankfully it's been working for me."
Then there's his situational performance in the circle, which has also been improving.
With one minute remaining in a one-goal game against Calgary Saturday, Draisaitl won four consecutive offensive zone faceoffs - all from the right circle. Three were against Mikael Backlund and one was opposite Troy Brouwer. It's a facet Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan was quick to point out.
"The other day, I think in Calgary, he took a number of faceoffs with a pulled goaltender and won every one of them," McLellan noted. "Unfortunately, we didn't capitalize but that's important."
The Oilers bench boss echoed Draisaitl's sentiment that possession is paramount in this day and age. He also commended the young European for sharpening his skill in the circle and how it will help the club moving forward.
"That's a big, big part of the game," McLellan said. "Often there are 50 to 60 faceoffs a night. Analytics people talk about possession and so do the coaches. When you have a chance to have the puck to begin with, especially in numbered situations - power play, penalty kill - it works to your advantage.
"As we move forward as an organization and with these young centremen, we'll try to work on it and improve."
