Meet Connor McDavid, the most significant hockey prospect since Sidney Crosby entered the NHL in the 2005 Entry Draft.
McDavid is the one prospect that makes lower ranked teams tank for a higher draft pick: he is the Andrew Luck of hockey.
He is the prospect that has teams frothing from their proverbial mouths. He has the ability to change a franchise from the second they select him.
The NHL Entry Draft does not always yield franchise players. This year’s first overall selection, Aaron Ekblad, will be an elite defenseman one day, but it isn’t clear if he can lead a team to the promised land.
However, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that McDavid, now playing major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League for the Erie Otters, is exactly that: he is the guy you want to take you to the top.
That’s a boatload of pressure on one kid. And that’s exactly what the 17 year old from Ontario is.
Canada has already put serious amounts of pressure on McDavid, because one thing is sure: after the reign of Canadian superstars Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby is over, McDavid will become the face of Hockey Canada.
McDavid is the definition of a play-making center. He has the hockey sense to know when to shoot and when to pass, as is evident when looking at his 2013-14 season stats with Erie. McDavid scored 28 goals and dished out 71 assists, for a total of 99 points in only 56 games played.
A solid number of points for an NHL first liner is one point per game, which totals 82 points for the entire season. In 2013-14, McDavid was not very far from scoring two points per game.
In last year’s World Juniors tournament, McDavid struggled against bigger and stronger players from different countries while representing Canada. So what did he do? He got bigger and stronger.
At this year’s tournament, McDavid has had much more success against stalwart defensemen, whose primary aim has been to contain his magic.
And not only can McDavid rack up the goals and assists, his new larger size has allowed him to play much more physically, and he is a very strong skater as well.
All in all, McDavid is the most complete prospect in ten years, and his eligibility for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has every single team excited.
McDavid is a more valuable prospect than Andrew Wiggins, and is likely equal to Andrew Luck. He is a prototype, a player who excels in every single phase of the game.
Teams wanting to trade up to the first pick to draft him might be looking at a cost of at least three first round draft picks as equal compensation. But there’s almost no chance that the team with the first pick trades that selection.
And why would you? He is the one franchise player who can lead you to pro sports’ most beautiful trophy. He is the next coming of Crosby, and will surely be one of the greatest players to ever lace up the skates.
Oh yeah: and he’s 17.
[Photo Credit: Mark Bell/ Erie Otters]
All included statistics were taken from hockeydb.com
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