Connor McDavid

Connor Andrew McDavid (born January 13, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is considered to be one of the best players in the world by many colleagues and members of the news media.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Having been selected first overall by the Oilers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, McDavid has won the Art Ross Trophy twice as the leading scorer in the league, the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the player judged most valuable to his team, in 2017, and the Ted Lindsay Award twice as the best player voted by other NHL players.

McDavid grew up in the Toronto area and played hockey there, and was granted “Exceptional Player” status by Hockey Canada, which allowed him to play major junior one year early. He thus joined the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and spent three years with the Otters before the Oilers selected him in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Internationally McDavid played for the Canadian national junior team at one World U18 Championship, two World Junior Championships, and for the senior team at one World Championship, winning one gold at every level.

Playing career

Minor

McDavid played minor ice hockey with the York-Simcoe Express of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) before moving to the Toronto Marlboros of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), where he played bantam and minor midget hockey. He played in the 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament as a member of York-Simcoe, and was a teammate of Sam Bennett.^[6] In 2011–12 he recorded 79 goals and 130 assists for 209 points in 88 games at the minor midget level, and was named the GTHL Player of the Year.^[7]

Junior

Because of his high level of play, McDavid was granted Exceptional Player status by Hockey Canada and was allowed to be entered in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection at age 15, a year earlier than he would have otherwise been eligible.^[8][9] He was the third player given that status; after John Tavares was granted it in 2005, followed by Aaron Ekblad in 2011.^[7]

McDavid was selected first overall by the Erie Otters at the Priority Selection.^[10] As the first overall selection, McDavid was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award.^[11] Throughout his inaugural season, McDavid played on a line with Connor Brown. Starting in his second game of the season, McDavid recorded a point in 15 consecutive games, and was named the OHL Rookie of the Month for both October and November.^[12] During a game against the Owen Sound Attack on March 9, 2013, McDavid recorded two assists, giving him 37 for the season and setting a new team record for assists by a rookie. He also tied Tim Connolly for most points by a first-year player, with 62.^[13] In the team’s final game of the season, March 16 against the Guelph Storm, McDavid recorded four assists, giving him 66 total points during the season and passing Connolly for the most points by an Otters rookie.^[14] McDavid finished the season with the most assists by an OHL rookie with 41 and second in scoring for first-year players, with 66 points.^[15] In recognition of his play, McDavid was awarded the Emms Family Award as the top rookie in the OHL, was a finalist for CHL Rookie of the Year, and was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team.^[12] Dallas Stars‘s general manager Jim Nill said of McDavid, “Well, he’s a franchise player. Somebody is going to draft him and he’s going to be the cornerstone of the franchise for 15 years, for 20 years. Those players only come along so often.”^[16]

Following his 2013–14 season, McDavid won the William Hanley Trophy (the OHL’s most sportsmanlike player),^[17] the Bobby Smith Trophy (OHL Scholastic Player of the Year), was named the CHL Scholastic Player of the Year, and named to the OHL Second All Star Team.

During training camp for the 2014–15 season, McDavid was named the captain of the Erie Otters.^[18] McDavid had a strong start to the season before breaking his hand in an on ice fight on November 11, 2014. At the time, McDavid was leading the OHL in points, having scored 16 goals and 35 assists in 18 games.^[19] McDavid missed six weeks of play as a result of his injury, returning to the ice to play for Canada at the 2015 World Junior Championships. He rejoined the Otters on January 8, 2015, scoring a goal in a 4–3 loss against the Sarnia Sting.^[20] In the 47 games that McDavid played with the Otters during the 2014–15 regular season, he registered 44 goals and 76 assists, finishing third in OHL scoring. McDavid had a dominating performance during the OHL playoffs, scoring 21 goals and 28 assists and leading all players with 49 points (in comparison, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds player, Nick Ritchie, was second in playoff scoring with 26 points). He was awarded the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP despite the fact that the Erie Otters were eliminated in 5 games in the OHL Championship by the Oshawa Generals.^[21] New York Islanders captain, and former Oshawa General, John Tavares, was in attendance during Game 3 of the 2015 finals and said of McDavid: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with that kind of acceleration — you think he’s at top gear and there just always seems to be another level.”^[22]

Following the 2014–15 season, McDavid was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy for the OHL Player of the Year and was named CHL Player of the Year.^[23] He is the most decorated player in OHL history.^[24]

Professional

McDavid was drafted first overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers.^[25] On July 3, 2015, McDavid signed a three-year entry-level contract with the team.^[26] He made his NHL debut on October 8, 2015, in a 3–1 loss to the St. Louis Blues.^[27] McDavid scored his first goal (and point) four nights later against goaltender Kari Lehtonen, in a 4–2 loss to the Dallas Stars.^[28] On November 3, 2015, he broke his clavicle during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers when he collided with Brandon Manning and caused him to miss the next 37 games. He returned to the line-up on February 2, 2016, scoring a goal and gaining two assists.^[29] In his first game against his boyhood team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, McDavid had his first five-point night, recording a point on every goal in a 5–2 victory, including three assists (on three Jordan Eberle goals) and two goals. He finished third in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year despite participating in only 45 games in his rookie season.^[30]

On October 5, 2016, McDavid was named captain of the Oilers, making him the youngest captain in NHL history.^[31] At 19 years and 266 days, McDavid was 20 days younger than Gabriel Landeskog when he was named captain of the Colorado Avalanche.

On November 19, 2016, in a game against the Dallas Stars, McDavid recorded his first career hat-trick in a 5–2 win ending a 10-game goal drought.^[32] On January 18, McDavid recorded his 100th career point with an assist against the Florida Panthers, doing so in 92 games and becoming the fourth fastest active player to reach 100 points. McDavid finished the season with 30 goals, 70 assists, and 100 points, and won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. He was the third-youngest player to ever win the award; only Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky were younger when they won. McDavid had 11 more points than the next highest scorers, Crosby and Patrick Kane.^[33]

On July 5, 2017, McDavid signed an eight-year, $100 million extension with the Oilers.^[34] The average annual value of $12.5 million per year is the highest in the NHL, surpassing the $10.5 million contracts held by Carey Price, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.^[35]

McDavid became the first Oiler in history to score a hat trick in an opening-night game, which took place on October 4, 2017 against the team’s provincial rival, the Calgary Flames.^[36] On January 13, 2018, McDavid scored his 200th point on an assist from Drake Caggiula‘s goal.

McDavid entered his second NHL All-Star Game in 2018, participating in two events. He became the first player to win the “Enterprise NHL Fastest Skater Competition” event back-to-back, with times of 13.310 in 2017, and 13.454 in 2018.^[37]

In the 2017–18 season, McDavid scored his second, third, and fourth career hat tricks.^[38][39][40] He also earned his first four-goal game, against the Tampa Bay Lightning, on February 5, 2018.^[41] Despite the Oilers failing to qualify for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy for the second straight season,^[42] and won the Ted Lindsay Award for the second consecutive time.^[43][44]

He scored 41 goals with 75 assists during the 2018–19 NHL season, good for second overall in the NHL in total points; however, the Oilers would once again miss the Stanley Cup playoffs.

International play

McDavid with Team Canada in 2016
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2016 Russia
World Junior Championships
	2015 Canada
World U18 Championships
	2013 Russia

McDavid first played in an IIHF tournament in 2013 when he joined the Canadian under-18 team at the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships in Sochi, Russia. The youngest player on the Canadian team, McDavid played his first game against Slovakia on April 18, where he recorded one goal and two assists.^[15] After recording a hat trick against Sweden, McDavid was named the best Canadian player of the game.^[45][46] He led the tournament in goals and points while helping Canada win a gold medal for only the third time since the tournament’s inception in 1999, defeating the four-time defending champion, the United States, in the final. Jim Nill, then chief scout for the Detroit Red Wings, said of his performance that, “I guess you could say he is kind of The Next One. Every so many years [a player arrives like] Gretzky, Lemieux. I think he is making a statement. Is he [the next Sidney] Crosby? I think he is the next guy.”^[47]

McDavid played for Canada at the 2014 World Junior Championship where the team finished fourth. He also represented Canada in the 2015 World Junior Championship in Toronto and Montreal where they won gold on January 5, 2015. He served as one of the two alternate captains for the team. In the 7 games McDavid played at the tournament he scored 3 goals and a tournament-leading 8 assists. He was named to the tournament all-star team.^[48]

He won gold playing for Canada at the 2016 World Hockey Championship.

In the 2016 World Cup of Hockey he was captain of Team North America, composed of players age 23 and under from Canada and the United States.^[49]

McDavid and teammates Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse were part of Team Canada’s 2018 IIHF World Championship roster, with McDavid serving as captain of the team.^[50] Canada finished fourth in the tournament.

Personal life

McDavid was born in 1997 in Richmond Hill, Ontario^[51] to Brian and Kelly McDavid. He has an older brother named Cameron. McDavid first skated at age 3, and the next year he started playing hockey; his parents lied about his age because participants were required to be 5 years old.^[52] When McDavid was 6, the hockey association in his hometown of Newmarket would not let him play above his age group. Instead of having him play in the lower level, McDavid’s parents enrolled him with a team in nearby Aurora, where he played against players as old as 9.^[53] McDavid later joined the York-Simcoe Express, a team in Aurora, Ontario, where he was coached by his father, Brian; the team would win four Ontario Minor Hockey Association championships.^[53]

The decision to leave the York Simcoe Express in 2011 to join the Toronto Marlboros, according to McDavid, came at a personal cost^[54] with both him and his parents losing friends over the decision.

McDavid considered attending Boston University and playing hockey for their team, the Terriers, but decided it would be best for his development to play in the OHL.^[55]

Being from Southern Ontario, McDavid followed various sporting teams in the area. His favourite team growing up was the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he also followed the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Blue Jays.^[56][57] In addition to the Maple Leafs, McDavid was also a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins due to the presence of his favourite player Sidney Crosby.^[58] In 2015, McDavid said his most comparable NHL player was then-Maple Leafs centre Tyler Bozak due to his good skating and “pass first” mentality.^[59]

On October 5, 2020, McDavid tested positive for COVID-19 amid its pandemic in Canada.^[60]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Bold indicates led league

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013	Canada	U18			7	8	6	14	2
2014	Canada	WJC	4th		7	1	3	4	4
2015	Canada	WJC			7	3	8	11	0
2016	Canada	WC			10	1	8	9	6
2016	Team North America	WCH	5th		3	0	3	3	4
2018	Canada	WC	4th		10	5	12	17	10
Junior totals					21	12	17	29	6
Senior totals					23	6	23	29	20

Awards and honours

• The Hockey News, Mario Lemieux Award (Best Player) – 2018