C Connor McDavid (2015, 1st, EDM) VII

[Howboutthempanthers]

This is the absolute extreme definition of nitpicking. McDavid's 18. He has 5 points in 4 preseason games and has scored a point in every game he's played. He's been the Oilers' most dangerous forward every game. Any time he gets the puck in any sort of space, he creates something. He hasn't dominated and his shot/shooting confidence needs work, but he's been very, very impressive in his first ever real action against (mostly) NHL-calibre players. If anything, this preseason shows that he definitely is ready to make an immediate impact for the Oilers.

What do you expect of him? To skate through the other team every time he gets the puck and make a perfect pass every time as well? Not even Gretzky did that. Speaking of Gretz: he also had more than his fare share of blind pass giveaways. That's the nature of creative players. Crosby does it too.

Kind of a weird assessment. I'm going to predict that McDavid leads the Oilers in points. What say you?

Yeah, this is the most realistic assessment of the situation to me.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Tough game for McDavid. Got knocked around a bit.

 

[duul]

Tough game for McDavid. Got knocked around a bit.

Weak game offensively for him. Couldn't create too much. He's clearly not meshing with Hall at all.

He's still brilliant defensively though. It's surprising to see an 18 year old who has bought in to being on the right side of the play at all times.

 

[n00bxQb]

I thought he played pretty well against the Canucks, but he and Hall don't seem to have a lot of chemistry together.

 

[polarbearcub]

Underwhelming watching McDavid so far.

 

[Brock Boeser]

think he'd do well with a eberle and a banger as his two wingers instead of hall and slepyshev.

 

[FlowMaster]

Was at the game tonight vs Canucks. Could hardly even notice him. He'll likely turn it around but so far there's nothing "generational" about him except for the hype.

 

[Get North]

He spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and seemed like either the Sedins or Edler/Tanev were matched up against him. One thing he adjusted is that, he's not going for those dekes to get around defencemen. He's either dumping it in or looking for a pass so he doesn't turn the puck over if the deke fails.

I think Yakupov/Draisaitl might work for him, he needs smart, quick hockey players not crash and bang shooters like Hall, or a soft, skill guy like Slephyshev who isn't that quick either.

 

[Sheikyerbouti]

soft, skill guy like Slephyshev who isn't that quick either.

Perhaps he looked slow playing with McJesus

He's close to 220 and skates well; he's been one of the better Oilers on the boards too.

 

[Moskau]

I've said it before but I think he will do better with Kunitz/Dupuis type wingers than he will someone like Hall. He needs that dumb winger who will go to the crease and put his stick on the ice. Unless Hall forgets the last 8 years of his Hockey life I don't think he will ever gel with McDavid.

 

[lawrence]

Probably an off game for him.

Happens to even the best. Heck Jake Virtannen didn't do much tonight, stuff like this happens, not to mention Vancouver literally iced their top lineup tonight.

 

[Gabranth]

If he is a generational talent he should be able to make it even with 3rd liners as his wingers. He is still yet to score in 4 games (?)

Gretzky said that he was the best prospect to come out in 30 years. IMO Crosby was way better at his age, then again he is the best. I think McDavid will have Tavares-esque season with 40 to 55 points.

 

[JA]

If he is a generational talent he should be able to make it even with 3rd liners as his wingers. He is still yet to score in 4 games (?)

Gretzky said that he was the best prospect to come out in 30 years. IMO Crosby was way better at his age, then again he is the best. I think McDavid will have Tavares-esque season with 40 to 55 points.

There has far too much hype for this player over the past several years, and thus expectations have continually risen; the expectations entering the preseason were that he would be an immediate top-tier player in the NHL. The media hype machine was enormous for this kid. The players, media and fans built him up to be a player who would cement his legacy among the very greatest players to ever play the game.

Gretzky calls McDavid best 'in the last 30 years'
Matheson, Jim. Edmonton Journal [Edmonton, Alta] 21 Apr 2015: A.1.

Is Connor McDavid the second coming of Wayne Gretzky? The comparison brings a laugh from Gretzky, who says he's pulling for the 18-yearold widely expected to be picked by the Edmonton Oilers in June's entry draft.

"Good for him. When I was going down that path as a young player, Gordie Howe was always pulling for me, and I look at Connor the same way," said Gretzky, who is the NHL's all-time leading scorer with 2,857 points and holds or shares 61 league records, many of them from his nine seasons with the Oilers.

"I hope he brings Edmonton a Stanley Cup and he breaks my records ... he's got the talent and the makeup to do it. I hope he leaves a couple for me, though. I could use that."

On Saturday evening, the Oilers won the NHL's drafty lottery, giving the team the right to select first in the entry draft.

It's likely they'll choose Mc-David, a centre who has impressed coaches and scouts across the continent. The teen sensation racked up a remarkable 44 goals and 120 points in a mere 47 games for his junior Erie Otters team this season.

In an interview Monday, Gretzky compared McDavid to players like Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby.

"He's as good as I've seen in the last 30 years, the best player to come into the league in the last 30 years. ... He can definitely change a franchise's fortunes."

...

The Next One could be 'a career-changer' for teammates; Prospect of playing alongside McDavid thrills current Oilers
Ireland, Joanne. Edmonton Journal [Edmonton, Alta] 20 Apr 2015: C.1.

...

The grand prize, of course, is Erie Otters centre Connor McDavid - a.k.a. the Next One.

"Obviously, it's build-up and the hype and speculation, but he looks like he is everything everybody has talked about," continued the Oilers captain. "It can be a career-changer to play with a guy like that.

"There are plenty of examples of that when you look at guys who have played with Mario, played with Jagr, played with Crosby. Played with Wayne."

References to players like Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky have become commonplace when McDavid is at the centre of a discussion. In short, what started out as just another long off-season for the Oilers took on a significantly different direction with the results of Saturday's lottery.

...

Junior star has hockey GMs drooling; Teen phenom Connor McDavid deemed once-in-a-lifetime player
Matheson, Jim. Calgary Herald [Calgary, Alta] 13 Mar 2015: C.3.

...

When Murray sees two media people before the game who have driven from nearby Pittsburgh to see McDavid live, rather than on TV, he laughs.

"No need to come see him play ... believe the hype," said Murray.

"He's a life-changing guy. He can make a mediocre GM seem pretty smart," Murray said later in an Erie TV interview.

Howson also praises McDavid's immense talent.

"He is a generational player ... you only need to see McDavid a few times to know he's a unique player. He's the best player since Crosby," said Howson, who certainly liked fellow centres Steven Stamkos and John Tavares when they were picked first in the 2008 and 2009 drafts, respectively, and they're both NHL studs now - Tavares is No. 1 in scoring and Stamkos has 36 goals.

But to Howson, they weren't McDavid-good as juniors.

...

Life as the lottery's grand prize; Teen sensation McDavid learns his professional destination today
Duff, Bob. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 18 Apr 2015: C.9.

...

Those who've seen McDavid in action this season know a misstep is unlikely. This is a kid who can make the puck dance. With his explosive skating stride, he makes defenders appear as stationary as telephone poles. Central Scouting's secondranked player, Jack Eichel, is "a great player," one NHL GM said. "He'll make your team better."

But McDavid? "Connor McDavid will transform your team. He's the best player to come into the league since Crosby."

As one NHL executive after another visited Erie to fix their gaze upon McDavid's magical talents, Otters GM Sherry Bassin watched a similar scene play out. Eyes widening, mouth agape, they'd turn to him with a familiar refrain. "I'll be sitting with them and they'll say, 'Did you see that,' and I'll say, 'Yeah, about 100 times,'" Bassin says. "I've seen him do things I can't believe and then I see it again and I still can't believe it. He's a franchise player in the NHL, make no mistake about it. Everyone knows that."

No one knows that more than Otters assistant coach Jay McKee, the former NHL defenceman who was a teammate of Crosby in Pittsburgh in 2009-10. He can draw the comparisons; he sees the parallels.

"On the ice, there's something new every night," McKee says. "He's on a whole different level. He's a generational player. He's going to be fun to watch for a lot of years moving on from here."

...

"Believe the hype," they said... McDavid, for years, has been labeled "The Next One" -- the coveted player who would finally be the next Wayne Gretzky. No one could ever match those expectations, but to even entertain the idea would be to consider this player to be exceptional, above his competition altogether. For that, the player must truly be great.

There have been past players who were given that same title, players who dominated at the junior level and then settled in among the NHL's best but never went above and beyond their peers. Those players, we can argue, were even better when they entered the NHL than McDavid has demonstrated himself to be thus far. There have been numerous top draft selections in the past that have had better starts than Connor -- players who showed right away why they were considered to be generational NHL talents.

Not everyone who has been bestowed the title of "The Next One" necessarily lives up to that title.

Junior hockey's No. 1 prospect takes on Soviets; Sylvain Turgeon's brother Pierre touted as next great one: [FINAL Edition]
Rick Mayoh. The Citizen [Ottawa, Ont] 25 Mar 1986: C3.

If Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux is the next Wayne Gretzky, then Sylvain Turgeon's kid brother Pierre is the Gretzky after that.

When the Canadian Olympic team's starting lineup was introduced Sunday to play the touring Moscow Selects in Noranda, Que., there was a tumultuous standing ovation for Pierre Turgeon, a home-town boy and the best 16-year-old hockey player in the world.

...

"Pierre is very creative with the puck," King said. "He can beat you with finesse or power. He's the kind of player who will rise to the level of the competition."

When asked about his brother being compared to Gretzky, Sylvain, 21, an NHL all-star with the Hartford Whalers, jokingly asks if you mean Wayne or his younger brother Keith of the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls.

"I'm not surprised he's getting a lot of attention," said Sylvain, former star centre and left winger with Hull Olympiques, from his home in Hartford. "He has great skill and is very intelligent with the puck.

" I've heard a lot about how he is doing lately from Mr. Francis (Whalers' GM Emile). He (Francis) told me he would pick him for sure if he is available (in 1987). That would be pretty nice. "

...

Pierre was the QMJHL's first pick overall in June and his objective as a rookie was to score 100 points. He earned 47 goals and 67 assists for 114 points with the ninth-place Bisons to lead his team's scoring by 20 points. He also was impressive in the OHL-QMJHL all-star games Ottawa and Hull Jan 28-29.

" He does everything, " said Francis, in a report in the Boston Globe. " He scores. He plays the point on the power play. He kills penalties. He is a tremendous centre. He dominated that midget tournament (outstanding player in the international ESSO CUP) and he was one of the youngest players.

"But that is not unusual. Scouts were talking about him when he was 14. The good ones are good at 10. They've been good all along, like Bobby Orr was. Players like Orr and Gretzky and Pierre are gifted, but it is more than that. They want to succeed so badly, they will pay any price. They are players who want to be the best. They are not satisfied with anything else."

Sylvain said people in the U.S. remember Pierre as that big pitcher with Canada in the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa., a few years ago.

...

The QMJHL doesn't want to lose a franchise player.

"Pierre is only 16 and he'll be playing guys 25 to 27," said QMJHL president Gilles Courteau. "It's not tough for him on the ice. He is good enough to play in the NHL next year. But I don't think he's ready to be with those guys."

...

Sabres expected to draft Turgeon: [FINAL Edition]
The Ottawa Citizen [Ottawa, Ont] 13 June 1987: F5.

DETROIT (CP) - Barring a colossal surprise, Pierre Turgeon will slip on a Buffalo Sabres' sweater today, moments after his name is called out as the top pick in the 1987 NHL entry draft.

Turgeon, who had 69 goals and 154 points with Granby Bisons of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, is considered a franchise player - a once-in-a-lifetime pick who will be the NHL's next superstar.

Almost everybody has conceded that the Sabres will make Turgeon, 17, their choice. Buffalo played host to Turgeon for two days earlier this week.

"We talked about the city and my life, and they showed me where most of the hockey players live," said Turgeon, who admitted he's nervous.

"I hope I sleep well tonight (Friday)."

Turgeon will go first but who the No. 2 choice will be is anyone's guess.

...

Turgeon was a five-time NHL All Star, and was affected by an injury sustained in 1993. Even before the 1993 playoffs, however, scouts realized that he was not exactly The Next One. There have been other players labeled "The Next One" who have had varying degrees of success in the NHL, from Alexandre Daigle to Eric Lindros to Sidney Crosby. From what we have seen so far, Connor does not look like the generational player that analysts have promised for the past four years.

Works Cited

Duff, Bob. "Life as the Lottery's Grand Prize; Teen Sensation McDavid Learns His Professional Destination Today." The Vancouver SunApr 18 2015. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2015 .

Ireland, Joanne. "The Next One could be 'a Career-Changer' for Teammates; Prospect of Playing Alongside McDavid Thrills Current Oilers." Edmonton JournalApr 20 2015. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2015 .

Matheson, Jim. "Gretzky Calls McDavid Best 'in the Last 30 Years'." Edmonton JournalApr 21 2015. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2015 .

Matheson, Jim. "Junior Star has Hockey GMs Drooling; Teen Phenom Connor McDavid Deemed Once-in-a-Lifetime Player." Calgary HeraldMar 13 2015. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2015 .

Mayoh, Rick. "Junior Hockey's no. 1 Prospect Takes on Soviets; Sylvain Turgeon's Brother Pierre Touted as Next Great One." The Citizen: C3. Mar 25 1986. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2015 .

"Sabres Expected to Draft Turgeon." The Ottawa Citizen: F5. Jun 13 1987. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2015 .

 

[Soundwave]

I've said it before but I think he will do better with Kunitz/Dupuis type wingers than he will someone like Hall. He needs that dumb winger who will go to the crease and put his stick on the ice. Unless Hall forgets the last 8 years of his Hockey life I don't think he will ever gel with McDavid.

Hi Connor

 

[Dhockey16]

IMO he hasn't really gelled with Hall as Hall is a bit of a tough cookie to crack. He also hasn't been very good on faceoffs from what I've seen. IMO if he played on RNH's wing he'd be in a better spot as RNH thinks the game better than Hall does and that'd likely fit McDavid better.

I was extremely fortunate to see him play 40+ times in person here in Erie over the past few years. He wasn't very good on faceoffs even in the OHL. Erie would regularly place him on the wing for offensive zone faceoffs. I think he's a classic case of a player who's been placed at center his whole life by virtue of him always being the most talented player on his team but I think he'd be better suited as a winger. It's a moot point as that's not going to happen but it's been my observation.

 

[Dhockey16]

I haven't seen the Oilers play much over the past few years but the best winger for him would be someone with a good shot who gets into open space in the slot. The best wingers he had during his time in Erie were Dane Fox and Alex DeBrincat. Fox had a great shot by OHL standards and DeBrincat is dangerous around the net. Maybe Yakupov? I honestly don't know. I don't think Hall or Eberle would be a great match in terms of style.

 

[Johnny McBravo]

Not worried about the quiet performance last night. He was matched against the Sedin line all game.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Not worried about the quiet performance last night. He was matched against the Sedin line all game.

Im curious what you mean by that? like he was quiet cause he played against Sedins all night and Sedin line shut him down?... I didnt watch the game at all so I really don't know how he played

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Not worried about the quiet performance last night. He was matched against the Sedin line all game.

A player of his ability should be noticeable regardless of who he is matched up against. McDavid just didn't have his best game.

Finished his preseason with 5 gp 0g 5a (2 primary, 2 secondary, and 1 primary EN). Would have been nice for his confidence to pot a goal before the season started.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

the rookie matchup I CANNOT wait to see is mcdavid VS parayko in Oilers opening game vs. Blues... a battle of the most talked about rookie VS the least talked about rookie.

 

[oilsands]

The older I get the more impatient these boards get:

Crosby keeping things light during goalless streak

Including the last five games of the regular season, Crosby has gone ten games without a goal, as he has not scored since March 30, when he had two against the Chicago Blackhawks.

McDavid is a PPG in the preseason. Elite players go through goal and point droughts, it's a fact.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

The older I get the more impatient these boards get:

Crosby keeping things light during goalless streak



McDavid is a PPG in the preseason. Elite players go through goal and point droughts, it's a fact.

Hard to call it a drought when we don't have a baseline for him.

You don't think it's a bit concerning that this drought just so happened to be in his first 5 games of preseason hockey? He didn't exactly play great in his 1 prospect tournament game vs Vancouver either.

 

[Beast Mowed]

I've said it before but I think he will do better with Kunitz/Dupuis type wingers than he will someone like Hall. He needs that dumb winger who will go to the crease and put his stick on the ice. Unless Hall forgets the last 8 years of his Hockey life I don't think he will ever gel with McDavid.

Penquins fans would be delighted to see Kunitz go. He played Junior in Melville, did well with the Ducks, maybe Edmonton needs to get on the phone?

Mcdavid will figure out the game as he goes, have patience.

 

[Paxon]

Hard to call it a drought when we don't have a baseline for him.

You don't think it's a bit concerning that this drought just so happened to be in his first 5 games of preseason hockey? He didn't exactly play great in his 1 prospect tournament game vs Vancouver either.

It's going to take McDavid some time to be a consistent goal scorer imo. Right now I think he will live and die off the breakaway to an extent. It should be noted Eichel's two goals so far both came off breakaways. McDavid is generating goals, though, which is ultimately what matters. When he's on the ice his team will score more and get scored on less. The rest will come in time. He needs to figure out what works, shoot more, and improve his shot.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

It's going to take McDavid some time to be a consistent goal scorer imo. Right now I think he will live and die off the breakaway to an extent. It should be noted Eichel's two goals so far both came off breakaways. McDavid is generating goals, though, which is ultimately what matters. When he's on the ice his team will score more and get scored on less. The rest will come in time. He needs to figure out what works, shoot more, and improve his shot.

Agreed. He'll be just fine. But anyone expecting him to be among the best players from day 1 (and that this is just a drought) might be disappointed.