Leon Draisaitl praises Mike Babcock’s blunt communication style, revealing why the Oilers’ leadership embraced a direct coaching approach to push the franchise toward a long-awaited championship.
Leon Draisaitl is giving fans a look inside the Oilers' locker room as new head coach Mike Babcock settles in — and the early signs, at least from Draisaitl's perspective, are promising.
Speaking with reporters after Thursday's on-ice session, Draisaitl praised the clarity of Babcock's messaging so far. "It's been great so far. He's been awesome with us. He's been communicating really well," Draisaitl said. "I'm excited to learn from him, I think we're all extremely excited to be around him and get to work."
Draisaitl was part of the leadership group that pushed the organization toward hiring a coach known for being direct rather than soft-spoken. Babcock said in his initial press conference with Edmonton media, "If you're not 100 percent in Mike Babcock, I have no desire to be the head coach." It was a take-it-or-leave-it comment he made to the team when they interviewed him, and that's, in part, what sold them on him as the right fit.
Draisaitl made it clear on Thursday that it's exactly what Babcock has delivered. According to Draisaitl, the new coach isn't softening his message for anyone — he's telling players exactly what the team needs, face to face.
"He's a real man about it," he said when talking about the way Babcock talks to the players and the leadership group. Saying the new coach hasn't been shy about getting in anyone's face, No. 29 added, "We're all men in here, and we all want to win; we're all here for the same reason, and I think he's going to be great for us."
Babcock himself has yet to join the team on the ice, and he's expected to sit out Friday's rookie camp sessions as well. Even so, he's stayed engaged off the ice, and the way he sold himself when the Oilers first hired him is precisely how he's communicated with the team.
For a franchise that's already among the league's best, the early bet is that bluntness — not comfort — is what gets them over the hump.
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