Draisaitl doubles as tour guide
There’s no need for Rick Steves’ Best of Germany travel book for the Edmonton Oilers this week as they get ready to play the Cologne Sharks in an exhibition Wednesday.
They’ve got a ready-made tour guide in Leon Draisaitl.
“We’ve left a lot of decisions up to Leon, where to eat and what to do and we should do that. We talked about this over the summer with Leon,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan. “We’re here on a business trip, but the players should also enjoy the culture over here.”
Many of the players have already seen the famous gothic Cologne Cathedral with its twin spires reaching 515 feet into the sky, the church escaping destruction while the city was flattened by bombs during the Second World War.
The players went on a walking tour of Cologne after their Monday skate at the Deutsche Eishockey Liga team’s facility and were also planning to go on a boat ride down the Rhine.
But the players also know they ’re selling the NHL here to a rabid market on Wednesday night in between sightseeing.
“I’m really interested in the history of the Cologne team,” said McLellan.
Former NHL defenceman Uwe Krupp played for the Cologne Sharks, so did Jeremy Roenick and Ray Whitney briefly, along with NHL Network commentator Mike Johnson, and Kolner Haie was one of the founding members of the German league in 1994.
“I know the German team fans are passionate and travel well with their clubs,” said McLellan. “One of our coaches, Manny Viveiros, was in Germany so he’s told us about that. And whether you’re in Saskatchewan or here, it’s about grassroots hockey. The future Connor McDavids and Leon Draisaitls are out there.”