Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?
Say hello to Leon Draisaitl and the retiring Anze Kopitar.
Draisaitl, who has had his share of battles with his mentor Kopitar the last four Edmonton Oilers -Los Angeles Kings rite of spring, talked to the Hall of Famer in waiting after the L.A. captain announced this is his final NHL go-round after two Stanley Cups, two Selkes and three Lady Byng awards.
“Kopy was my idol growing up, one of two players I looked up to,” said the Oilers centre, who has long said Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk was a role model along with the Slovenian-born Kopitar, who has 1,278 points in 1,454 games.
Draisaitl, 29, and Kopitar, 38, were whiz kids growing up in Germany and Slovenia. As a 15-year-old Draisaitl had 192 points in 29 games. Kopitar put up 76 po