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Oilers’ Draisaitl is first German to win Hart as NHL MVP

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Stanley Cup Final is in Edmonton, and Oilers star Leon Draisaitl made history Monday night.

Only it had more to do with his home country than his home arena.

Draisaitl became the first German player to win the Hart Trophy as MVP after leading the league in scoring with 110 points in 71 games. He also won the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player as voted by peers.

Draisaitl joins former NBA star Dirk Nowitzki as the only German players to earn MVP honors in one of the four major North American professional sports leagues.

“Dirk was obviously someone that I look up to, someone that I admire: the way he presents himself and the way he really has achieved everything that there is to achieve for a professional athlete in North America,” Draisaitl said. “He’s always been someone that I look up and it’s a big honor for me to be in that conversation with him.”

Draisaitl finished ahead of Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin. He scored 43 goals, and his 67 assists were a career high despite the regular season being cut short.

Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender, Nashville’s Roman Josi got the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman, and Colorado’s Cale Makar won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

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