Connor McDavid has quickly become one of the most promising hockey talents in quite some time, and he is only going to get better. Drawing comparisons to hockey legends such as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux from the age of twelve, McDavid has been in the hockey world’s spotlight for a while now. The youngster was the 1st overall pick in 2015 and has already amassed tons of accomplishments through his first two seasons in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers.  

Childhood, Minor Hockey 

Connor was born on January 13th, 1997 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada to his parents Brian and Kelly. McDavid grew up playing hockey with his older brother Cameron in the driveway and spending time at the rink. He always loved the competition of playing against his older brother from a young age, which helped in developing his elite skill set. Growing up, Connor played minor hockey a year or two above his age level, a 1997 born kid playing against kids who were born in either 1996 or 1995. This helped tremendously in Connor’s development and was the reason he was granted exceptional status by Hockey Canada, to be OHL draft eligible as a 15-year-old, which had only been done twice before. In the 2012 OHL Priority Selection, McDavid was picked first overall by the Erie Otters, beginning his three season OHL career. As a 15-year-old now playing against opponents anywhere from one to six years older than him, Connor exceeded the already high expectations. McDavid was thought of as being better than Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby as a 15-year-old, which was a lot of pressure. In McDavid’s rookie season in the OHL, he tallied 25 goals and 41 assists, totaling 66 points. In Connor’s final season in major junior, he captained the Otters to the OHL Championship Series and won OHL MVP and Player of the Year. McDavid also lead the way to Team Canada’s Gold Medal at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships. This stellar junior career lead McDavid to be the consensus #1 pick for the upcoming 2015 NHL Draft.  

Days in the NHL 

Connor is currently playing in his third season in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. During the season he resides in Edmonton, but during the offseason he goes home to Toronto to be with his family and train for the upcoming season. From the second Connor joined the NHL, he was thought of as one of the best players in the league, which is very impressive for an 18-year-old. Connor’s rookie season in the NHL didn’t go as he hoped it would though, as he suffered a broken collar bone and was only able to play in 45 games. Even though his season was shortened, he still tallied 48 points, putting in his bid for rookie of the year. McDavid’s sophomore season was nothing short of extraordinary, as he was named the youngest captain in NHL history and tallied 100 points in 82 games. This performance earned Connor the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point getter, the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP, and the Ted Lindsay Award as the regular season’s most outstanding player. The Oilers made the playoffs for the first time in a decade as well, because of McDavid’s attributes. Leading into his second offseason, it was the beginning of the window for McDavid to sign a contract extension with Edmonton. In the summer of 2017, McDavid signed an eight-year, $100 million extension with the Edmonton Oilers, promptly making him the highest paid NHL player by $2 million annually, starting in the 2018-2019 season, according to TSN. McDavid’s current contract is a 3-year entry level deal that pays $925,000 annually with performance bonuses, which is the maximum salary allowed on an entry level contract. Currently in his third NHL campaign, McDavid is looking to lead the Oilers back to the playoffs for the second year in a row and win his first Stanley Cup. McDavid is still very young and the prime of his career is still in the future, which is exciting to look forward to because of how good he already is.