C Connor McDavid - Erie Otters, OHL (2015 Draft) V

[Cyborg LeClair]

In terms of dominating his peers, he falls somewhere between Kane and Crosby. The biggest concern for me when making that Crosby comparison is the transferability of CMD's style.

Crosby played a very "NHL" type game in junior. Scoring a ton of garbage goals and playing a very simple game, relative to what his skill level was capable of.

A lot of CMD's goals are "junior hockey" goals, and he lacks the brute strength that made Crosby a superstar from day 1. Those two factors lead me to doubt his ability to reach Crosby's level.

He'll very likely be a top 3 player in the NHL for a long time, beginning once Crosby and Malkin exit their primes.

I think McDavid is a smarter hockey player than Crosby tbh. He may not have a 100 point season in his rookie year but I still think he'll have nights that blow people away and make them say "holy crap, how is this 18 year old doing this". I know it seems hyperbolic and McDavid won't ever break 60 NHL records, but the best comparable for his playstyle is Gretzky. He just has an ability to make plays and passes that shouldn't even be attempted. It has been a pleasure to follow McDavid this season and last season and I can't wait to watch him in the NHL. I'll probably hate whatever team he goes to, but I don't plan on missing a single game of Connor McDavid's career.

 

[Shwaguy*]

Riiiight, your chances aren't that great.

To be fair no ones are


We're still definitely getting him though, it's pretty much guaranteed.

 

[1Gold Standard]

From my rather limited viewings (limited to WJC, maybe five junior games on tv and highlights) I would say that McDavid is just slightly below Crosby as a junior player. Some people seem to think that it's unthinkable to match Crosby, or at least come close to it, but his greatness in junior wasn't unprecedented. It's exciting to basically know that another superstar player is coming to the NHL, since every player who has been this good in junior (Crosby, Lindros, Lemieux, 16 year old Gretzky, Lafleur) has worked out pretty well.

In terms of projecting where McDavid ends up as an overall player, it's difficult to say how he will compare to a Crosby type player. I will say that ultimately Crosby has not lived up to my expectations based on his junior play, where he looked like a Lemieux type talent as opposed to more of a Forsberg type talent. I wouldn't be surprised if McDavid ends up better than Crosby (or worse). It would be shocking if he starts off as well as Crosby did though. I would put Crosby's 19 year old season up against that of anyone else in hockey history outside of Gretzky.

You'll be able to watch live free streaming tomorrow and Saturday...

 

[Halfy]

You'll be able to watch live free streaming tomorrow and Saturday...

I thought you still have to sign up for Neulon for that?

 

[1Gold Standard]

not that I'm aware of...but check out the ohl site.

 

[McOvechking]

I think McDavid is a smarter hockey player than Crosby tbh. He may not have a 100 point season in his rookie year but I still think he'll have nights that blow people away and make them say "holy crap, how is this 18 year old doing this". I know it seems hyperbolic and McDavid won't ever break 60 NHL records, but the best comparable for his playstyle is Gretzky. He just has an ability to make plays and passes that shouldn't even be attempted. It has been a pleasure to follow McDavid this season and last season and I can't wait to watch him in the NHL. I'll probably hate whatever team he goes to, but I don't plan on missing a single game of Connor McDavid's career.

It's funny. Just yesterday I was watching Connor play and wondering to myself why are there all these Crosby comparisons? Their games are very different in my opinion. Both highly dominant, but in different ways. McDavid plays far more similarly to Gretzky than to Crosby if you ask me.

Crosby doesn't really have a comparable. Maybe someone can think of something, but he's a very unique player.

 

[Hockey Crazy]

I would sell my soul for the leafs to win the draft lottery. Please....

 

[Gobias Industries]

Crosby doesn't really have a comparable. Maybe someone can think of something, but he's a very unique player.

Crosby is such a prototypical 21st century athlete that it seems hard to compare him historically.

I think we're at a point where conditioning and work ethic need to be lock-step with talent, and Crosby's got a great, extremely high equilibrium there.

 

[Apotheosis]

Riiiight, your chances aren't that great.

Neither are Buffalo's or anyone else in the bottom 5 like all of us. Statistically speaking, it is more likely that a team outside the bottom 5 (when you add up the sums of all the percentages for every team who doesn't make the playoffs) wins the lottery. The bottom 5 have anywhere between an 80-93.5 percent chance of NOT winning the lottery. It's no guarantee for anyone.

 

[arsmaster*]

Agreed. How many goalies get beat nowadays by shots from forwards above the hashmarks? Not many.

How many guys in the NHL look like they can skate through the team everytime they touch the puck.

To be compared to Crosby you need a shot. Connor's goals are almost all dekes.

He'll need a shot to keep people honest at the next level.

 

[Shwaguy*]

Am I the only one who sees a better Datsyuk? No way someone with that Elite of Hockey IQ doesn't become elite defensively.

(Side note: If the Leafs win McDavid I'd all of a sudden totally become on board with getting M. Richards, to help teach defensive game for the centre. At a reduced price of course).

 

[Shwaguy*]

How many guys in the NHL look like they can skate through the team everytime they touch the puck.

To be compared to Crosby you need a shot. Connor's goals are almost all dekes.

He'll need a shot to keep people honest at the next level.

His shot is definitely still good enough to keep people honest though. It's just relative to how damn good every other part of his game is it's not that impressive.

 

[Patmac40]

How many guys in the NHL look like they can skate through the team everytime they touch the puck.

To be compared to Crosby you need a shot. Connor's goals are almost all dekes.

He'll need a shot to keep people honest at the next level.

He has a very accurate shot with a good release. Not overly heavy but he can snipe from outside.

 

[Halfy]

If you have enough skill to take the puck directly to the net....why would you ever take an outside shot?

 

[X66]

People are selling McDavid so short, it's ridiculous.

Both McDavid and Strome do not play even strength together, which is why it's silly to compare someone like Kane to him because Kane played on a line with Gagner and Kostitsyn, that's 3 prolific junior scores on the same line, and even they still don't produce to McDavid's level as a trio.

Connor McDavid had he played a full season would have been on pace for 180 points in the OHL, think about that. Many people are claiming that the QMJHL and OHL aren't different, but look at how many draft eligible players put up McDavid numbers in their draft year in the OHL.

Then compare the difference in quality of talent the OHL has produced over the QMJHL in the NHL, what McDavid is doing right now is downright remarkable against tougher competition IMO.

I'm not saying McDavid is above Crosby, but he's in the same tier at the same stage.

As legendary as Crosby was/is, his best season in the QMJHL is good for 28th in terms of points per game, that just goes to show you how much crazier the QMJHL was in terms of point production throughout it's history, and why it's not a good gauge when it comes to comparing the two.

Connor McDavid is 8th in the OHL all time for best PPG in a single season, and has a strong chance to jump to the top 3 once the season is done.

He's a generational talent, just as deserving as Sidney Crosby of that title.

 

[Canovin]

How many guys in the NHL look like they can skate through the team everytime they touch the puck.

To be compared to Crosby you need a shot. Connor's goals are almost all dekes.

He'll need a shot to keep people honest at the next level.

Gretzky didn't have Crosby shot. Didn't hurt his career.

 

[tze]

Neither are Buffalo's or anyone else in the bottom 5 like all of us. Statistically speaking, it is more likely that a team outside the bottom 5 (when you add up the sums of all the percentages for every team who doesn't make the playoffs) wins the lottery. The bottom 5 have anywhere between an 80-93.5 percent chance of NOT winning the lottery. It's no guarantee for anyone.

Probability doesn't work like that.

 

[VOB]

He's a generational talent, just as deserving as Sidney Crosby of that title.

Yup, been saying the same thing....this board has many posters who'll pick apart every aspect of a given prospects game and magnify any negative, no matter how slight to proclaim that said prospect's skills will not translate as well to the NHL.

McDavid is a very special player, the likes of which have not been seen for quite some time. There is nothing wrong with his shot. I've seen enough of him to flatly state that he can score from anywhere in the offensive zone. He is not in any way remotely weak on the puck. His IQ (something that cannot be taught) is off the chart...better than Crosby's. Enjoy him for what he is cause I suspect that it will be quite some time before we see another like him.

 

[lawrence]

People are selling McDavid so short, it's ridiculous.

Both McDavid and Strome do not play even strength together, which is why it's silly to compare someone like Kane to him because Kane played on a line with Gagner and Kostitsyn, that's 3 prolific junior scores on the same line, and even they still don't produce to McDavid's level as a trio.

Connor McDavid had he played a full season would have been on pace for 180 points in the OHL, think about that. Many people are claiming that the QMJHL and OHL aren't different, but look at how many draft eligible players put up McDavid numbers in their draft year in the OHL.

Then compare the difference in quality of talent the OHL has produced over the QMJHL in the NHL, what McDavid is doing right now is downright remarkable against tougher competition IMO.

I'm not saying McDavid is above Crosby, but he's in the same tier at the same stage.

As legendary as Crosby was/is, his best season in the QMJHL is good for 28th in terms of points per game, that just goes to show you how much crazier the QMJHL was in terms of point production throughout it's history, and why it's not a good gauge when it comes to comparing the two.

Connor McDavid is 8th in the OHL all time for best PPG in a single season, and has a strong chance to jump to the top 3 once the season is done.

He's a generational talent, just as deserving as Sidney Crosby of that title.

its just the haters wanting to take a few jabs at him. I personally think he is in Crosby's caliber no question about it. those clowns can waste all the time in their life they want dissecting every millimeter of each player of how McDavid is not Crosby, whatever. Mcdavid is the closes thing to Sidney Crosby bar none. our sport is so lucky to have a guy like him coming out.

from the looks of it it's 2 guys continuing the McDavid rant. Let them rant away. It's quite funny seeing them do it.

 

[Byefooglien]

People are selling McDavid so short, it's ridiculous.

Both McDavid and Strome do not play even strength together, which is why it's silly to compare someone like Kane to him because Kane played on a line with Gagner and Kostitsyn, that's 3 prolific junior scores on the same line, and even they still don't produce to McDavid's level as a trio.

Connor McDavid had he played a full season would have been on pace for 180 points in the OHL, think about that. Many people are claiming that the QMJHL and OHL aren't different, but look at how many draft eligible players put up McDavid numbers in their draft year in the OHL.

Then compare the difference in quality of talent the OHL has produced over the QMJHL in the NHL, what McDavid is doing right now is downright remarkable against tougher competition IMO.

I'm not saying McDavid is above Crosby, but he's in the same tier at the same stage.

As legendary as Crosby was/is, his best season in the QMJHL is good for 28th in terms of points per game, that just goes to show you how much crazier the QMJHL was in terms of point production throughout it's history, and why it's not a good gauge when it comes to comparing the two.

Connor McDavid is 8th in the OHL all time for best PPG in a single season, and has a strong chance to jump to the top 3 once the season is done.

He's a generational talent, just as deserving as Sidney Crosby of that title.

Anyone who thinks that McDavid isn't every inch the prospect that Crosby was is kidding themselves.

 

[FDBluth]

How many guys in the NHL look like they can skate through the team everytime they touch the puck.

To be compared to Crosby you need a shot. Connor's goals are almost all dekes.

He'll need a shot to keep people honest at the next level.

I'd say that McDavid's shot is ahead of where Crosby's was in junior. And even still, most of Sid's goals are from within the hashmarks. Furthermore, McDavid has the right body type to develop an excellent shot if he keeps working on it.

 

[Apotheosis]

Probability doesn't work like that.

When percentages are involved it does.

The sum of all the lottery balls in relation to the percentage given to each team outside or within the bottom five yields the sum and said probability.

 

[Offtheboard412]

It's funny. Just yesterday I was watching Connor play and wondering to myself why are there all these Crosby comparisons? Their games are very different in my opinion. Both highly dominant, but in different ways. McDavid plays far more similarly to Gretzky than to Crosby if you ask me.

Crosby doesn't really have a comparable. Maybe someone can think of something, but he's a very unique player.

I thought the same thing at first, because I was comparing the 27 year old version of Crosby to Mcdavid, but if you go back and watch his junior highlights and his first two years in the nhl, the comparison makes a lot more sense. Crosby's style of play back then was very similar to Mcdavid, with insane acceleration and agility on his skates, splitting d men constantly and making passes that nobody else would even consider trying. After those first two years he had the ankle sprain and he packed on some size and really slowed his game down. Honestly Crosby's game is almost completely altered from when he entered the league, you might see those exciting burst 10 or 15 times a year now, back then he was doing it every time the puck touched his stick.

I think Mcdavid can be what Crosby was and possibly even better as long as he stays healthy. I do believe he has better hands, only thing I question is how quickly hus game will transfer, I don't think his rookie season will be as good as Crosby's as I feel Sid was just a little more physically developed at that point. Then again McDavid is only 17 and he could and probably will grow a lot even in the next 6 months if he's willing to put the time in the gym in.

 

[Plastic Joseph]

Enough comparisons, he, like Crosby is a unique player who has a combination of elite attributes no player in the NHL possesses.

We should all just watch and see what type of player he will becom.

 

[McOvechking]

Crosby is such a prototypical 21st century athlete that it seems hard to compare him historically.

I think we're at a point where conditioning and work ethic need to be lock-step with talent, and Crosby's got a great, extremely high equilibrium there.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Crosby is in better shape than probably any athlete in the 80's.

I thought the same thing at first, because I was comparing the 27 year old version of Crosby to Mcdavid, but if you go back and watch his junior highlights and his first two years in the nhl, the comparison makes a lot more sense. Crosby's style of play back then was very similar to Mcdavid, with insane acceleration and agility on his skates, splitting d men constantly and making passes that nobody else would even consider trying. After those first two years he had the ankle sprain and he packed on some size and really slowed his game down. Honestly Crosby's game is almost completely altered from when he entered the league, you might see those exciting burst 10 or 15 times a year now, back then he was doing it every time the puck touched his stick.

I think Mcdavid can be what Crosby was and possibly even better as long as he stays healthy. I do believe he has better hands, only thing I question is how quickly hus game will transfer, I don't think his rookie season will be as good as Crosby's as I feel Sid was just a little more physically developed at that point. Then again McDavid is only 17 and he could and probably will grow a lot even in the next 6 months if he's willing to put the time in the gym in.

Crosby's game was always at a higher pace though. McDavid slows the game right down, which is where I see him more closely resembling Gretzky than Crosby ever did. I would like to be clear, though. I'm not commenting at all on the relative greatness of these three players, just contrasting play styles.