Across the Hall: The joy of Connor McDavid and the formidable task of trying to stop him
Across the Hall: The joy of Connor McDavid and the formidable task of trying to stop him
McDavid is the best player in the NHL by leaps and bounds, breathtaking to watch and gut-wrenching in trying to prevent him from scoring.
To watch Connor McDavid play hockey is truly, actually unbelievable. He’s an amalgamation of the skills we’ve seen in parts from some of the greatest players of all time.
The speed at which McDavid skates is like Pavel Bure or Sergei Fedorov. How he processes the game and sees things happen four or five steps ahead of everyone else makes you think of Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. His ability to score goals and set them up put him on par with Gordie Howe and Gretzky. The fire to which he competes and leads the Edmonton Oilers brings back memories of Mark Messier and Steve Yzerman.
He’s a freak in every possible way on the ice and in any kind of positive iteration. When teams surged for the bottom in 2015 to get their best shot at drafting him, they were all right to do so. The term “generational talent” gets tossed around at will, but he is the definition and without a comparable peer.
He ascended from Sidney Crosby who took the torch from Gretzky and perhaps McDavid will have to do the same someday with Connor Bedard, but right now he’s the elite, the absolute, the best there is, and no one comes close.
“When you’re witnessing what we’re witnessing, you become numb to the brilliance that you’re seeing on a day-by-day basis,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “The kind of story I’ve told—that I’ve read it somewhere or heard somebody say this somewhere—It’s almost like living at the foot of Mount Everest. Which means you walk outside, you see this spectacular mountain, the biggest mountain in the world every day, sometimes you become numb to how special that is. That’s how I feel about Connor.”
It’s hard to imagine the sight of seeing what McDavid does on the ice every becoming ho-hum when he’s capable of doing some of the most brilliant things you’ve ever seen on the ice at a moment’s notice.
And this isn’t to say McDavid is superhuman, he’s not. He’s just like you and I, except that he’s so good at hockey that no one is in his class. He’s the genius in class that destroys the curve and makes it so all comparisons fail because none can be made to or about him. Just imagine if he finds another gear in the days, weeks, months ahead.
“What not everybody gets to see is the amount of work and dedication that I get to see,” Woodcroft said. “I see that on a day-in-day-out basis. I see sacrifice, I see drive to win, and I see someone, and it’s scary to say this, but I think there’s more there. If there’s anyone that’s going to work that hard to reach their full potential, it’s Connor McDavid.”
Stopping McDavid is rarer than not by a long shot. No one is as fast as he is, certainly not on anyone’s blue line, and his hands and puck control are unbeatable. But what’s funny when he plays the Sabres is that they’ve been his kryptonite of sorts. He’s scored the fewest points in his career against Buffalo, 12 points in 12 games, and in games past we’ve seen guys like Rasmus Ristolainen and Josh Gorges play their best defensive games of the season against McDavid and the Oilers by frustrating the living hell out of him.
Those times feel like ancient history and given how much better McDavid is now compared to his first few seasons in the league, the task is even taller in trying to keep him off the score sheet. Asking his opponents how to stop him leads to hearing many of the same sentiments.
“You’ve just got to…I don’t know, it’s tough,” Sabres forward Dylan Cozens said pausing with a laugh. “He can do anything. He can find guys anywhere, he can beat anyone from anywhere, so you just have to be so dialed in when he’s out there knowing that if you make a mistake or make a crossover the wrong way, he’s going to take advantage of you.”
The “I don’t know man; how do you stop him” kind of chuckle from Cozens almost says it all when talking about how to handle McDavid. It’s not much easier for defensemen.
“All the speed and skill that he has, I think you’ve got to respect that,” Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju said. “But obviously you don’t want to respect that too much, you’ve just got to know he’s a good player, he makes highlight reel plays, and just try to eliminate those chances when he tries to (make an incredible) play against you. I mean, you don’t know (he’ll do that) but you can’t just go out there and say, ‘he’s the best player in the world,’ you’ve still got to treat him like anyone else.”
Treating McDavid like he’s just any player makes sense in a game plan sense, but the reality is he’s not. But trying to prepare for a player who can make something out of nothing on virtually every shift can make you go mad.
“It’s exciting,” Sabres defenseman Owen Power said. “It’s a big challenge, but I think for a lot of us it’s fun to challenge yourself and go up against top players in the league. I’m excited to play against him again and compete against him and we’ll see how it goes.”
Power got a first-hand experience of McDavid earlier this season, and playing against him the first time when you are part of your team’s containment unit means not getting awe struck. First impressions go a long way.
“(It’s) how fast he is and how he can do all that he can do with the puck at that speed,” Power said. “He’s probably the fastest guy in the league and he’s probably got the most skill in the league so it’s pretty impressive to see how good he is playing at that pace and how fast he is.”
What makes scouting him difficult is that video can show the moves and the stick handling and how he can alter his plan with the puck in a blink. What it doesn’t make expressly clear is just how fast McDavid’s version of fast is on skates. The way players describe it would make a great marketing campaign to get people to go see games at the arena instead of at home.
“When you see him on the ice in person versus on TV, it’s a lot different when he’s coming at you, he’s unbelievable,” Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson said. “He’s having one of the best years this year, but the first time (I faced him) I honestly just tried to stay in front of him. I didn’t want to get beat and put on a highlight reel.”
All the game planning and video watching in all the time leading up to a game against him can best prepare opponents for him, but the ferocity to which McDavid wants to win runs red hot. Any discussion with the Oilers captain and how the team is performing, good or bad, gets McDavid’s usual calm, cool demeanor to transform into adamant will to win; to do everything he can to ensure Edmonton comes out on top.
“(This stretch run) is really important. Really, really important,” McDavid said. “I think, the West is so tight, it’s just the teams that are playing at their best. This is a chance for us to really dial in our game. And with that being said, it's still a race. You know, we got to get in as well. We want to be playing our best hockey heading into and coming down the stretch here, and into and into April and May.”
It’s the team that means everything to McDavid. He’s collected plenty of individual accolades already and even though he’s putting up offensive numbers that belong more in 1983 or 1993 rather than 2023, piling up the numbers doesn’t matter unless they lead to more wins.
“I've had some pretty good years before,” McDavid said. “You know, it doesn't really feel all that different. Just doing my thing and trying to help the team win.”
McDavid is an anomaly and even writing all of this about him and getting opinions about him from the players he’s about to face isn’t something new. But even though the Oilers may be living next to Mount Everest, it’s still staggering to witness this brilliant wonder of a player.
“It’s special (to coach him),” Woodcroft said. “I’m fortunate that in my career as an NHL assistant coach, I go to coach him and Leon (Draisaitl) and I had the experience to coach some hall of fame players along the way in Detroit and in San Jose, so I feel quite comfortable. I believe that the best players in the world want to be coached, and they want to be led and that’s what I am here to do.”