Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl recorded his 1,000th career NHL point on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday (Dec. 16). He’s the newest member of the 1,000-point club, joining teammate Connor McDavid, who achieved that feat on Nov. 14, 2024. Draisaitl became the 103rd player to reach this milestone, and did it in only 824 games.
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Draisaitl got that milestone marker on a power-play assist on his former teammate, Stuart Skinner, who was traded on Friday. On an extended 5-on-3 advantage, he found McDavid, who threw the puck to Zach Hyman in tight, and he buried it to open the scoring. The whole bench came on the ice to celebrate this achievement.
Draisaitl Continues to Cement His Legacy
Draisaitl has been linked to McDavid for his entire career and has never been the focal point like most superstars are. But the German phenom continues to show why he’s one of the best players in the NHL. While he has success playing on McDavid’s line, he has primarily centred the second line and has been tasked with elevating younger talent such as Vasily Podkolzin and Matt Savoie.
The 2014 third-overall pick is fifth on the Oilers’ all-time points list, behind Wayne Gretzky, McDavid, Jari Kurri, and Mark Messier, and the fifth to record 1,000 points with the organization. The Oilers are the only team in league history with five players achieving 1,000 points with the same franchise. He should pass Messier and Kurri this season to move into third in franchise history.
Draisaitl is also the 18th European player to hit this mark, and the first German. He’s already one of the best European-born players in NHL history. At only 30 years old, he’s still in his prime and will continue to climb the all-time leaderboard. If he has another 100-point season, he will surpass great European players such as Patrik Elias, Alexander Mogilny, Nicklas Backstrom, and Daniel Sedin. We are witnessing greatness, and he should undoubtedly be a Hall of Famer when his career is over.
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