McLellan clarifies his view of Draisaitl’s play
Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan likes forward Leon Draisaitl, a lot.
Likes the way he plays, when he’s really moving his feet, which is most of the time for his hockey club.
He was aghast that anyone would think he thinks Draisaitl is a selfish player, even if some have wondered that after a piece of his quote post-game after the Oilers’ 4-2 win over the Bruins in Boston Sunday night.
“This is beyond belief,” McLellan said Monday afternoon.
Here’s what he said Sunday when asked about Draisaitl’s game at centre:
“He skated tonight. … Leon skates, a lot of the time he just skates for Leon. Tonight, he skated for his teammates and created open ice and did some things that were beneficial to his linemates, using his size and creating space. So that was nice to see. And we need him to continue,” McLellan said.
Here’s what McLellan said Monday:
“I was giving Leon a compliment because Leon is a dominant player when Leon skates for Leon and creates ice. But he’s an even better player when he’s got his legs going more, because it opens up more space for others,” McLellan said.
“Like I said, it was the ultimate compliment. I thought I was being really positive. We’d just had a great game. I was trying to reward him for skating and creating so much space.
“If what I said then was an issue, wouldn’t somebody have asked me about it after the game in Boston? There were about 12 people at the interview and not a single one took it that way. What I meant about Leon was this: ‘ When he skates and creates space it is a good thing. But when he uses his teammates, it’s a great thing.”
In other words, when he skates harder, comes back deeper and gets a head of steam up, he’s an absolute handful for the opposition, which is exactly what Draisaitl was against the Bruins.