The Edmonton Oilers concluded their three game slate in Penticton earlier this afternoon with a battle against the Winnipeg Jets, and that means we are one step closer to hockey season being here. The Youngstars Tournament is meant to be a low profile event where prospects showcase their skills, but obviously that was not the case this year.
When Connor McDavid goes somewhere, the hype machine gets turned up, that’s what happens when one of the game’s biggest stars goes places. That said, the fans in Penticton only got a chance to see McDavid once during this tournament, and that was Friday night.
McDavid played against the Vancouver Canucks rookie team, taking one massive hit and scoring a goal and an assist in the Oilers blow out victory.
McDavid was a healthy scratch against the Flames on Saturday, and was again today against the Jets. That said, he’s slated to play Wednesday for the Oiler rookies against the U of A Golden Bears.
The Right Call:
Connor McDavid played a lot of hockey late last year, starting with the World Juniors and then continuing through the OHL regular season and then a long playoff run. This year, he’s going to play even more hockey, at least 82 regular season NHL games and a handful of pre-season games.
There is no need to exhaust McDavid and play him in all four rookie games, there just isn’t. We know what this kid can do, we know he’s going to make the team and we know he’s likely to be an impact player. Honestly, there is nothing left for him to prove against fellow prospects.
He dominated juniors, was great in the WJHC, and played terrific hockey in both the rookie camp scrimmage in July and the game against Vancouver on Friday night.
Besides, both the Flames and Jets feature heavier players looking to make a mark and simply plaster a guy like McDavid. We saw both of these teams goon it up against each other, there is no need to send McDavid into that when he has, quite frankly, nothing to prove.
He played one game, he’ll get another good test Wednesday against a really good Golden Bear team, and he’ll be getting a hell of a test next week against the Flames in the pre-season opener. There really is no need to overwork the kid in a rookie tournament.
Don’t Worry About The Hit:
While I’m at it here, can we all please stop worrying about the hit McDavid took on Friday night? He is a professional athlete now and he’s playing a very physical sport. He took hits in junior, he’s going to take hits in camp and yes, he’s going to take them in the regular season too.
If you go out of your way to protect McDavid, you are doing it wrong. He’ll be okay, trust me. Watching him play, you can just tell it’s going to be a task to catch this kid, he’s smart enough to protect himself.
Let’s all turn away from the panic button and let this kid play this contact sport without holding our breath at every hit!
Oh, one last thing, I loved Darnell Nurse’s response to the hit, and I’ve loved his physical play all tournament, he’s going to be loved by this fanbase for a long, long time.
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