Draisaitl aiming to be in Selke conversation

Leon Draisaitl already has an MVP, "Rocket" Richard, and Art Ross Trophy on his resume, but the Edmonton Oilers superstar has a different individual honor on his radar for the 2025-26 season: top defensive forward.

"I'd like to be in the Selke (Trophy) conversation at the end of this year," Draisaitl told reporters Friday, according to TSN. "Obviously there's a lot of things that go into that and a lot of things that I can learn and get better at. But there's also a lot of things I that think I do really well already.

"Just looking to chip away at it and get even better."

Draisaitl finished sixth in Selke voting last season, the highest finish of his career.

The Oilers controlled 59.8% of expected goals with Draisaitl on the ice at five-on-five last season, according to Evolving-Hockey. His on-ice expected goals against per-60 rate of 2.41 ranked 35th among all NHL forwards who logged more than 1,000 minutes.

While Draisaitl's team statistics are favorable, he's got room for improvement when it comes to his individual defensive impact. The perennial All-Star ranked 140th among forwards in Evolving-Hockey's defensive goals above replacement metric.

Draisaitl's defensive game may have some warts, but his offensive abilities are nearly unmatched in NHL ranks. He led all players with 52 goals last season and broke the 100-point barrier for the sixth time in seven years (the only exception being the 2021 COVID-shortened campaign).

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has won the Selke in three of the past five seasons. An Oilers player has never won the award, which was introduced in 1978.