Leon Draisaitl opens up about Anze Kopitar's influence on his career and post-retirement announcement

Anze Kopitar's retirement announcement on Friday made waves in the hockey landscape. The LA Kings legend is calling an end to his illustrious career by the end of the upcoming season.

Kopitar has several admirers, inlcuding one of the biggest names, Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl. He opened up about the veteran's influence on his game since they were teammates for Team Europe during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

“'Kopi' was always my idol growing up, one of two guys I really looked up to,” Draisaitl said on Friday (5:26). “I’ve learned so much from playing against him, from watching him. I had the privilege of playing with him at the World Cup in 2016, and he kind of took me under his wing and we’ve had a close friendship ever since.”

Kopitar led the Kings to Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and 2014. In his 19 seasons with the franchise, he has the most appearances and assists, while second in points and third in goals.

“He’s played for a long time and he’s won everything there is to win,” Draisaitl said. “I’m very happy for him, and I’m sure he’s excited for one more year.”

Kopitar and LA have been knocked out by Edmonton in four consecutive Stanley Cup playoff first rounds. Draisaitl expects to go face-to-face with his idol a few more times as divisional rivals.

“First of all, an amazing career, truly one of the best to do it,” Draisaitl said. “We’ll see maybe we still have a couple more battles against him, so I won’t let him off the hook yet, but just a fantastic career.”

Leon Draisaitl looking to emulate Anze Kopitar's Selke-winning efforts

Anze Kopitar was voted the best defensive forward in the league in 2016 and 2018, scoring 74 points and 92 points in those two seasons. The Slovenian's defensive prowess was appreciated by Draisaitl.

“It’s as good as it gets, it’s as good as you’ll ever see,” Draisaitl said on Friday. “And it’s the consistency part, he’s done it for a long time, he does it every day, every game and I think that’s something that I took a little bit in getting to. But I’m at a point now where I’m the same way, and hats off to truly an amazing player.”

The Selke is something the Oilers forward is also eyeing. He finished sixth in last season's voting, with the award won by the Florida Panthers' Alexander Barkov.

“I’d like to be in the Selke conversation at the end of this year,” Draisaitl said. “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 are also things that I think I do really well already.”

While Draisaitl aims to improve his 200-foot game, he continues to be a major offensive force. He scored 52 goals and 106 points last season, winning the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.