Captain Connor.
It should come as little to no surprise that the Oilers have named their franchise superstar their captain. Connor McDavid may only have 45 NHL games to his career so far, but there’s no doubt that he is the undisputed leader of the NHL’s worst franchise in the last decade.
Many believe Connor McDavid is ready to take on the leadership role as captain, with endorsements from the likes of Wayne Gretzky himself.
While there is some concern that Connor McDavid may be too young (blah blah blah Flames fans), he is not the first young player to get a “C” sewed on his jersey. Milan Lucic, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins were named assistant captains.
Today, Connor McDavid is 19 years, 266 days old making him the youngest captain in NHL history.
McDavid takes the title from Gabriel Landeskog, who is a much more interesting and unspectacular choice to lead his team. Connor is a franchise player. A generational talent. The best player in the league. Nobody batted an eye when Sidney Crosby was named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, that’s why it so head scratching that some insiders are saying the Oilers should approach this with caution.
YOUNGEST CAPTAINS IN NHL HISTORY
- Connor McDavid, 19 years 266 days
- Gabriel Landeskog, 19 years 286 days
- Sidney Crosby, 19 years 297 days
- Vincent Lecavalier, 19 years 315 days
- Jonathan Toews, 20 years 80 days
- Steve Yzerman, 21 years 151 days
Looking at that group, you’ll notice that all off these players played significant roles of being captain at a young age. How many of those players have won Stanley Cups with the group that named that captain? All except for Gabriel Landeskog.
Sidney Crosby has now worn the “C” while hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2009 and 2016.
Vincent Lecavalier may have been stripped of the “C” in favour of veteran Dave Andreychuk, but the group won the cup in 2004, and Lecavalier regained the captaincy before being bought out and finishing his career with seasons in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
Jonathan Toews was named captain very early in his career, but he raised the Stanley Cup three times (and counting) in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
Steve Yzerman was captain of the Red Wings for as long as I can remember. The team struggled when he was young and it was speculated that the Red Wings would need to trade him to win a cup. He wore the “C” proudly for the rest of his career and ended up winning cups in 1997, 1998, and 2002.
CAPTAIN CONNOR
There’s nothing to worry about. Connor McDavid is ready for the rigours of leading an NHL franchise to victory. He’s a stand up guy, a consummate professional, an incredibly humble human being, and an absolute stud of a hockey player.
Here’s to you Captain Connor, we in Oil Country, salute you.
Lead us to Stanley Cup(s).
MORE TO COME….
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