Never mind the face of German hockey.

Leon Draisaitl is in the running to be the face of all sports in his home country, having been nominated to carry the flag for Team Germany in the 2026 Milano-Cortana Winter Olympics.

The Edmonton Oilers superstar is one of six German athletes — three males and three females — selected to form the duo that will lead the charge at the opening ceremonies Feb. 6.

Voting is open right now and is open to anyone, not just German citizens, giving Draisaitl a decisive advantage over the rest of the field.

“Obviously, I haven’t won yet,” Draisaitl said Thursday. “But it’s a big honour to be a part of that, and to even be in the conversation is something I don’t take lightly and something I don’t take for granted. It’s certainly something that would be a highlight in my career or in my life.

“There are a lot of great athletes coming out of our country, and to be able to represent them, regardless whether I win or not, is pretty special.”

Draisaitl is up against Johannes Rydzek, who is heading into his fifth Olympic Games with two gold, a silver and a bronze medal in nordic combined — a combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing. And Tobias Wendl is the other male athlete on the ballot, after having won six gold medals in his three previous Olympic appearances in luge.

“We’ve got amazing athletes in our country,” Draisaitl said. “We’re a big country that develops a lot of great athletes, whether it’s in the summer Olympics or winter Olympics. To be in the conversation to represent our nation is really special and we’ll see how it ends up.

“I’m highly aware of what great athletes I’m up against too, those are amazing athletes that have accomplished a lot. So, there’s really no going wrong, really.”

The female nominees are snowboarder Ramona Hofmeister, champion bobsled pilot Laura Nolte, and ski jumper Katharina Schmid. One male and one female will be announced as flag bearers Feb. 5.

But the one duo Oilers fans want to see is the potential for Draisaitl getting into the faceoff circle against Team Canada’s Connor McDavid following the round-robin portion of the tournament.

“That’s scary,” Draisaitl grinned. “For him.

“No, that would be really special, of course. But at the end of the day, it might feel a little weird at first. But when the puck drops, he’s going to look to give his team the best chance to win and I’m going to do the same for our country.

“I think that’s what makes those tournaments so great. That would obviously be a unique situation certainly, and an odd feeling. But we’ll see where it goes.”

The only time the two Oilers teammates have played against each other was in the 2016 world championships, where McDavid was plus-5 with an assist, and Draisaitl was minus-4 in a win by Team Canada in a 5-2 win on their way to claiming gold in the tournament.

Draisaitl is Germany’s all-time NHL leader, with 1,030 points (424 goals, 606 assists) — twice as many as the next player on the list, Marco Sturm with 487 (242 goals, 245 assists).

“I don’t know if I view it as that, I see it as just wanting to go there and be around some of my best friends and show the hockey world how good we can play hockey as a team,” Draisaitl said. “We know we’re going to be an underdog in the majority of the games that we play, but we’ve got some great players and German hockey has come a long, long way

“I’m just going to try to do my part to help our team be as successful as we can and hopefully we’re going to achieve what we want to achieve.”

It is Draisaitl’s inaugural Olympic appearance, though he has played for Team Germany in five world championships and a World Cup of Hockey, as well as a couple of world juniors.

“Some of the guys on the team are some of my best friends that were standing in my wedding and guys that I talk to daily,” said Draisaitl, adding he has yet to meet the new generation of national-team talent. “I’m just excited to see everyone and get the group together and represent our country, and truly show the hockey world how great we are as a country.

“My childhood best-friend is on the team, Freddy Tiffels. Our moms went to school together, I’ve known him since I’m minutes old, so just really excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to represent my country and be around those guys. That’s partly what I’m most excited about, just being around my friends and getting to experience this with them.”

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On X: @StarkRavinMod

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