Hockey Legend Don Cherry Has Surprising Opinion on Leon Draisaitl's Performance Without McDavid
Don Cherry has been an iconic voice in the hockey world for decades now, and he's still going at 90 years old on his Grapevine Podcast.
On the most recent episode, Cherry provided a somewhat surprising opinion on Oilers superstar
Leon Draisaitl. Cherry has vocally not been too fond of skilled European players in the past, but he had nothing but praise for Draisaitl.
On the Grapevine Podcast, Cherry was asked about how he thinks the Oilers will fare without McDavid in the lineup for a few weeks. Cherry was emphatic that Draisaitl would be able to pick up the slack for Edmonton, and be able to lead them offensively through the time.
»You watch Draisaitl. Draisaitl always picks it up.»
- Don Cherry, Grapevine podcast
In true Don Cherry fashion, he absolutely butchered the pronunciation of Draisaitl's name. It came out pretty much as «Dice Idol», which is sure to draw a chuckle from hockey fans.
Cherry's cohosts were correct to point out that the Oilers are also missing
Evander Kane this year, and
Zach Hyman has been mired in a brutal scoring slump. Leon Draisaitl wasn't at his best level early this season, but he's been the team's most consistent scorer now. With McDavid out of the lineup for the first time last game, Draisaitl came through for his best game of the season with 2 goals and an assist against the Nashville Predators.
After getting his big money contract last offseason and committing to Edmonton as his only shot at a Stanley Cup, Draisaitl needs to be the one to step up and lead the Oilers with McDavid unavailable, and he's off to a great start after the Nashville game. It's rare for Don Cherry to give a vote of confidence to a player like Draisaitl, so it may actually give some old-school fans a reason to relax and trust Edmonton's talent.
Previously on Oilers Daily
POLL |
NOVEMBRE 3 | 232 ANSWERS Hockey Legend Don Cherry Has Surprising Opinion on Leon Draisaitl's Performance Without McDavid Do you think Draisaitl can lead the Oilers without McDavid? |
Yes of course | 200 | 86.2 % |
No | 26 | 11.2 % |
See Results | 6 | 2.6 % |
List of polls |
|
39 minutes ago | By Liam McCormick Oilers may ride starting goalie change in wake of Stuart Skinner slump |
|
1 hour ago | By Liam McCormick Oilers analyst raises shocking claim on Connor McDavid's struggles |
|
3 hours ago | By Liam McCormick Edmonton Oilers suffer major loss of forward Zach Hyman with injury |
|
6 hours ago | By Liam McCormick Leon Draisaitl has emotional response to overtime winner and legendary celebration |
|
19 hours ago | By Liam McCormick Alexander Ovechkin sent a gift to Calgary Flames for helping to beat Leon Draisaitl |
|
20 hours ago | By Liam McCormick Oilers organization looks to be moving off from hometown prospect after tryout |
|
21 hours ago | By Liam McCormick One reason behind Oilers slump that's affecting multiple other NHL teams |
|
22 hours ago | By Liam McCormick Edmonton Oilers have slim options to add elite goalie in offseason, trade is most likely |