Leon Draisaitl with fiancée Celeste Desjardins (via Instagram/@celestedesjardins)

Leon Draisaitl’s 'proud' fiancée Celeste pens heartfelt note celebrating beau's first Maurice Richard trophy

Modified Apr 18, 2025 19:56 GMT

The German scoring machine for the Edmonton Oilers, Leon Draisaitl, took home his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy on Thursday, and his fiancée, Celeste Desjardins, poured in her support.

Desjardins took to her Instagram on Friday and shared a graphic from the NHL on her story that honored Draisaitl. She captioned the image with a sincere message to her beau.

“I’m so proud of you, baby! It’s all in you, keep going!!!! I love you!!!” Desjardins wrote. She topped off the caption with a white heart emoji.

The Maurice Richard Trophy is an annual award presented to the league’s goalscoring leader at the end of the regular season. Draisaitl took home the honor after pacing the NHL with 52 goals.

The 11th-year center for the Oilers, Draisaitl, finished the season with 106 points in 71 games, tied for third in the league with the Bruins’ David Pastrnak.

Leon Draisaitl, Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers - Source: Imagn

This marks Draisaitl’s first time winning the trophy. The 29-year-old won the Hart Memorial and the Art Ross Trophies in 2019-20 after leading the NHL in points (110) and assists (67).

The Hart Memorial Trophy is awarded to the most valuable player on his team, while the Art Ross Trophy is presented to the player who leads the league in points. Both awards are selected via a poll from the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Draisaitl will try to continue his torrid pace going into the postseason. The Oilers (48-29-5) finished 2024-25 as the third seed in the Pacific Division with 101 points and will begin their first-round series against the Kings on Monday in Los Angeles.

This marks Edmonton’s sixth straight postseason appearance after falling to the Panthers in seven games in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

Draisaitl and Desjardins have been together since 2018 and got engaged in July 2024. Desjardins is an Ontario-born actress known for her roles in the 2017 television series Taken (as Cali Mills) and the 2023 television movie Fashionably in Love (as Avery Gilligan).

Leon Draisaitl Injury Status Ahead of Postseason

Leon Draisaitl finished the 2024-25 season with 52 goals, leading the NHL, despite missing 11 games with the Oilers due to injury.

He was sidelined for Wednesday’s season finale at the Sharks with an undisclosed injury, missing his seventh straight game. He also missed four consecutive games in March and then returned for three games, only to be sidelined again on April 3 against San Jose.

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, Jan. 15, 2025, Oilers at Wild - Source: Getty

Draisaitl’s teammate, superstar Connor McDavid, feels his linemate will be ready to roll for the playoffs.

“I feel Leon is going to feel the same way [as me],” McDavid said, according to NHL Staff Writer Derek Van Diest. “Everybody is going to feel the same way coming out of that, and we’ll be ready to roll.”

On Monday, the Oilers will visit the Kings for Game 1 of the Western Conference first round. Los Angeles has the home-ice advantage in the series.

About the author

Sharisse Cohee is an NHL and PWHL journalist at Sportskeeda with an associate degree in Media Communications with an emphasis in Cross-Media Journalism. While earning the degree, Sharisse was the Editor-in-Chief of the campus newspaper and also became the school's resident sports reporter.

Sharisse earned a bachelor's degree in English from Arizona State University's online campus, graduating with magna cum laude honors. Both degrees influenced her career as an NHL and PWHL writer, allowing Sharisse to weave together her passions for writing and sports.

Sharisse was a sports copywriter/editor at The Upper Deck, a trading card company in Southern California, for two and a half years. She wrote creative and informative copy about hockey players and athletes from various sports, printed on the backs of the trading cards.

Her favorite teams are the Anaheim Ducks, because she was born and raised in Southern California, and also the Pittsburgh Penguins because Sidney Crosby is her all-time favorite NHL player.

When not writing about hockey, Sharisse loves fantasy sports. She plays in hockey, basketball and football fantasy leagues. She lives in San Diego, California, so has the luxury of going to the beach often. She also enjoys working out and watching true crime documentaries, game shows, and binge-worthy TV series.

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