Might German sniper Dominik Kahun fill a major hole for Edmonton Oilers? We’re about to find out

Kahun is 25 years of age, about four months older than his German compatriot, frequent linemate and friend Draisaitl. The two have played together frequently over the years dating all the way back to the 2009-10 season when both were 14.

They played on two different youth teams over the following three seasons, absolutely tearing apart their U-16 league in 2010-11 when both averaged over 6 points per game! They subsequently joined forces over ten times on various German national sides from 2010-19, from U-16 and U-17 (once each), U-18 and U-20 (twice each), the last four World Hockey Championships, and the Olympic Games qualifying tournament. Frequently they have been linemates.

Kahun (minus Draisaitl, who was busy with the Oilers at the time) had a strong showing at the subsequent 2018 Winter Olympics, and decided to take a shot at the NHL. Draisaitl lobbied for the Oilers to sign him at that time, but he wound up playing a season in Chicago before splitting the 2019-20 campaign between Pittsburgh and Chicago. Everywhere he went, he both scored and outscored, posting a pair of 30+ point seasons primarily in depth roles.

I wrote of Kahun as a possible fit back on Oct 09 in this year’s Cult of Hockey free agency preview:

As for wingers, one player of interest is 25-year-old German Dominik Kahun. Draisaitl advocated for his childhood friend when he first came over in 2018, but he signed with Chicago, before moving on to Pittsburgh, then Buffalo in 2019-20. Not qualified on Wednesday, he’s on the move again. Hard to tell why that is, frankly. Kahun has posted very respectable boxcars (138 GP, 25-43-68, +18) in his first two seasons, almost all of them at even strength. Indeed, his 2.11 points-per-60 at 5v5 over his two North American seasons place him in the top 60 among the 340 forwards with 1000 minutes of ice time over that span.