Leon Draisaitl, Moritz Seider and the growth of German hockey

Leon Draisaitl has spent the majority of his life since 2012 in Western Canada, first in the WHL then with the Edmonton Oilers. 

But when he would occasionally look east, back to his home country, he started to learn about a young defenceman named Moritz Seider. Seider played for Jungadler Mannheim at the youth levels, like Draisaitl did, and as a German he took a keen interest in watching how the eventual Detroit Red Wings draft pick developed. 

“I didn’t know him personally, but I had heard about him and watched him and started to see more about him,” Draisaitl said. “And obviously he’s done well for himself and he’s continuing to get better. It’s great to see more players like that from your country.”

Draisaitl and Seider will go head-to-head for the second time this season on Wednesday ni