EDMONTON -- Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl is the NHL's 2019-20 Art Ross Trophy winner, but he's more focused on team success as the league looks to resume the season later this summer.
Draisaitl won the Art Ross Trophy, given to the player with the most points at the end of the regular season, with 110 points — 43 goals and 67 assists.
"You dream of these things, no question, but until you do it, it seems so far away," Draisaitl said on a Zoom meeting with reporters Friday.
Before play shut down on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the German was also in the running for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the league's most valuable player. Could he win that, too?
"I don’t really pay too much attention to the Hart Trophy race, to be honest with you. Of course it would be a big honour, it would be great to win it or even come close to even being in the race," Draisaitl said.
"I'm proud of it. It's a cool story for myself … but again, we're a team. It's a team sport."
Instead, Draisaitl is already thinking about Edmonton's opponent in the play-in round: the Chicago Blackhawks.
"It's a team with a lot of experience still. They’ve won … it'll be a good matchup, it'll be a good series."
Draisaitl said getting in hockey shape takes a while, but that he does think the NHL is giving players enough time before play resumes.
Draisaitl also spoke about his friendship with Alphonso Davies, another professional athlete with ties to Edmonton and Germany.
He said the two catch up from time to time, and even spoke on the phone earlier Friday. They met at Rogers Place before a game earlier this season.
"He's becoming a very, very good player. It's obviously fun to watch, fun to see," Draisaitl said. "I kind of know what he's going through right now with soccer being so big back home and hockey being so big in Canada, and coming over and trying to adjust, find your rhythm, find your game, find your life … but I think he's doing a great job. He doesn’t need advice from me."
Draisaitl has been following the Bundesliga — Germany's soccer league, where Davies stars for first-place Bayern Munich — after play resumed earlier this month following a two-month break due to the coronavirus.
"I think they've done a good job of making it safe for everyone in Germany in the Bundesliga. They've done a very professional job making it as close as possible to a normal game day or a normal format, which obviously is impossible without fans, without all that kid of that, but I think they've done a great job."
Draisaitl could be back at Rogers Place in early June as the NHL starts its Phase 2 where players are allowed to take part in small workouts.
