Leon Draisaitl is Germany's flag bearer for opening ceremony before his Olympic debut

MILAN — Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl was named Wednesday as one of Germany's flagbearers for the Milan Cortina opening ceremony in a sign of recognition for one of the NHL's biggest stars as the league returns to the Winter Olympics.

In a rare honor for a first-time Olympian, Draisaitl and ski jumper Katharina Schmid will carry the German flag in Friday's ceremony after they won both an internal poll of German athletes and a public vote. More than 135,000 people took part, the German Olympic committee said.

Draisaitl's opponents in the vote for male flagbearer were Tobias Wendl, who has won six career Olympic gold medals in luge since 2014, winning every Olympic event he's entered, and Nordic combined skier Johannes Rydzek, who's heading into his fifth Olympics and won two gold medals in 2018.

When it shortlisted Draisaitl for the vote, the German Olympic committee said its criteria for a flagbearer included a history of sporting success and being a popular role model for fairness in sports.

The main ceremony is in Milan. There will be other ceremonies and athlete parades in the Italian cities of Predazzo, Livigno and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Schmid is heading into her fourth Olympics and won silver medals in 2018 and 2022. She will carry the German flag in Predazzo and Draisaitl will be in Milan.

The last time the NHL took part in the Winter Olympics in 2014, Draisaitl was an 18-year-old playing junior hockey in Canada. He was drafted by the Oilers later that year.

Draisaitl was the NHL MVP in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, when he led the league in scoring with 110 points. He was the leading goal-scorer last season before he and longtime teammate Connor McDavid helped Edmonton make a second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final.