Oilers’ McDavid a gift from above

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This article was published 13/02/2016 (3517 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — It’s more difficult than it’s ever been to have razzle-dazzle in the NHL.

The players are bigger, faster and stronger and because of it, there’s less time and space than there’s ever been on a rink.

Edmonton Oilers super-rookie Connor McDavid, though, has already shown an ability to nullify those factors and be brilliant.

His career is just 20 games young but the 19-year-old has already amazed with his moves and his production, including 12 points in the last six games since returning from a broken collarbone.

Off the ice, you find only the opposites — low-key, quiet-spoken, vanilla.

And that was enough to bring a smile to teammate Jordan Eberle’s face Saturday before the Oilers met the Winnipeg Jets at Rexall Place.

“The one thing I notice about Connor is that he’s very even-keeled,” said Eberle, the Oilers first-round pick in 2008. “In games where he plays well or he doesn’t, he seems to be the same.

“I think people still have to understand he’s just 19 years old. He’s a young kid and he — I really don’t know how to put this — is still young. He’s still learning the ways to be an NHL player.

“But for me, at his young age it’s amazing how he handles the pressure and how he’s so humble. He’s wise beyond his years, you could say. People see the speed and the plays he makes on the ice but off the ice, it’s impressive how he handles the media with all the coverage he’s been getting probably since he’s been 12 or 13.”

Eberle, now 25, played his 400th NHL game Saturday night. He’s been through and around some hype himself.

“Yeah, but not to that extent,” he laughed. “I think for our team, he’s got some guys to look to. Nuge (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins), Hallsy (Taylor Hall) and Yak (Nail Yakupov) have been in the spotlight of being the first overall pick so he’s got a lot of guys to look at.”

McDavid, selected No. 1 last June, is a transformational player in the Edmonton room, veteran Matt Hendricks said.

“There was a lot of hype coming into the season,” Hendricks said. “I knew he was a highly touted player, but what he’s done is come in here and give our room new life since he came back from the injury.

“His abilities, there’s not many comparables out there. He can take over games. He showed it the other night (with five points) against the Maple Leafs. Without him in the lineup, we don’t win that game.”

Hendricks, 34, was asked if he’s seen anything at all similar in his NHL days.

“I’d compare it a little bit to Ovie,” said the former member of the Capitals. “But Ovie, well, he was a pure goal scorer. Can make good plays, too. He’s a good passer. But I just think Connor’s ability to just explode and find guys in open areas and understand the game so well, he’s got such a good mind.”

Still very close to the start of McDavid’s journey in the NHL, the Oilers are just getting comfortable talking about their young star.

“Expectations for him after his three-point start (three points Feb. 2), the next night I was trying to downplay it a little… then he goes out and gets five,” Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. “I’m still a big believer that it’s a tough thing to do in this league night in and night out.

“We just want him to continue to grow and evolve as a player and do the things he’s been doing.”

McLellan said he detected McDavid was anxious while he was out with his injury.

“He was frustrated when he got injured and he was frustrated in the recovery phase, especially on the back half when he was close to playing,” the coach said. “I think he’s just a hungry player that wants to prove to himself and his teammates and our fans that he can maintain a high level of play night and night out.”

An amusing sidebar to the McDavid story happened Saturday when McLellan was asked why McDavid gets so many breakaways.

“Have you see how fast he is?’ McLellan said, not even letting the questioner finish. “He anticipates well and he has the ability to strip pucks and maintain momentum while he’s doing it.

“His read and anticipation skills are elite.”

From McDavid on Saturday, there wasn’t much profound.

No, he said, he wasn’t riding high after his five-point night on Thursday.

“No, you’ve got to let that go,” he said. “Enjoy the night and come to work the next day ready to work.”

But he at least cracked a smile when the subject of former Oilers great Wayne Gretzky came up. After the five-point night, it came up that Gretzky had 79 career five-point games, though further research showed he had 79 four-point games and 57 five-point games.

Nevertheless, McDavid was a bit sheepish, because he had guessed 20 five-point games when asked out of the blue the other night.

“That’s a pretty crazy number,” he said with a smile. “I felt pretty stupid saying 20 when it was 79 or whatever it was. It’s a pretty big number.”

More of his own to come.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca