[5] When he was a child, Draisaitl's father played ice hockey for the Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga and appeared in three Winter Olympics with the Germany national team.

Draisaitl appeared in 37 games for the Oilers for the first half of the 2014–15 season, recording two goals and seven assists for nine points, before being returned to the Prince Albert Raiders.

[16] Facing the San Jose Sharks in the first round, Draisaitl scored his first NHL playoff goal in the Oilers' series-clinching 3–1 Game 6 win.

[20] The signing was controversial at the time in terms of the dollar figure, but it would rapidly in the following years come to be seen as one of the best-value contracts in the league as Draisaitl further developed into a star forward.

"[23] The team crashed down the standings and missed the playoffs, with the decision-making of general manager Peter Chiarelli increasingly being called into question.

A 9–10–1 start saw Chiarelli relieve coach Todd McLellan halfway into the season in January 2019, but successor Ken Hitchcock fared no better with a 14–14–2 record by mid-January.

[28] Having already hit new milestones in scoring and increasingly recognized as one of the league's best players, the 2019–20 season would see further improvements for Draisaitl, as he for the first time eclipsed teammate McDavid in point production and was named alternate captain.

[29] By the time the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended the regular season in March 2020, Draisaitl had notched 43 goals and a league-leading 67 assists and 110 points in 71 games played.

[30] Notwithstanding that disappointment, the 110 points he had managed were the best of any player that season, securing him the Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer for the year.

However, the team's offense struggled, noticeably lacking in scoring from players other than the top trio of Draisaitl, McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and was eliminated 3–1 in the series by the Blackhawks.

[44] Draisaitl scored 20 goals in his first 19 games, and lead the league in goal-scoring for much of the year, though he was ultimately overtaken in the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy by the Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews.

[45] After an excellent start to the season, both the Oilers and Draisaitl began suffering a marked decline in results, culminating in a 2–11–2 stretch of games in December and January.

Amidst extensive media discussion of the Oilers' lack of depth scoring and questionable goaltending, general manager Holland fired coach Dave Tippett and replaced him with Jay Woodcroft, previously the coach of the Oilers AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors.

[46][47] The Oilers recovered their form under Woodcroft, finishing the season in second place in the Pacific Division to qualify for the playoffs after posting the third-best points percentage in the league after the coaching change with a 26–9–3 record.

[48] Draisaitl, meanwhile, continued to set new milestones, hitting the 50-goal mark for the second time in his career in an April 3 game against the Anaheim Ducks.

The team avoided elimination, but in the course of the game Draisaitl sustained a high ankle sprain in a scrum with Kings defenceman Mikey Anderson.

[52][53] Draisaitl dressed for Game 7 and played over 22 minutes despite what many remarked on as limited mobility, helping the Oilers win the series and recording one assist.

The Oilers were defeated by the top-seeded and eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in a four game sweep, bringing their postseason to an end.

Draisaitl was credited with a strong performance through the series, including recording four primary assists in Game 4 in a failed bid to avoid elimination when the Oilers lost 6–5 in overtime.