Oilers hope new captain McDavid will lead by on-ice example
'When we need a big play...he's definitely the first guy we're looking toward'
Connor McDavid emerged from the dressing room at the Edmonton Oilers' new downtown area with a 'C' on his jersey.
At 19 years and 266 days, McDavid became the youngest person in NHL history to lead a franchise team.
Flanked by alternate captains Milan Lucic, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid told media gathered at the announcement the news is just starting to sink in.
"I'm just excited about wearing the 'C' for the Oilers and being a part of this group here, and the hope that we have for the season. I think I'm just really excited for that," McDavid said.
Speculation about whether the teenage superstar would be named to the lead role started soon after last season ended. It ramped up even more this summer after McDavid was named Team North America's captain at the World Cup of Hockey.
His own team's general manager, Peter Chiarelli, and head coach Todd McLellan were at the helm for Team North America and got to see how the young phenomenon handled the added pressure and responsibility.
"Qualities that captains have, he possessed at a very young age," said McLellan, who liked what he saw in McDavid leading a team of young stars.
As an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings, McLellan also saw another young captain named Steve Yzerman lead from a young age. It's an ability he sees in McDavid, too.
"I think of Stevie Yzerman. He wasn't an overly rambunctious captain but I go back to a game in Detroit where things weren't going real well, and he just took his helmet and his gloves off and stood up in the middle of the room and told the coaches he has this, he's going to take care of it," said McLellan.
"He talked about what it was to be Red Wing and how unsatisfied everyone should be with the way we were playing at that point. And he said it started with him, and he asked his teammates for their help so he could become better. He took that onus and put it on him and everybody followed....I see Connor having those type of qualities in him."
Quiet off the ice, McDavid certainly isn't when he's on it.
Alternate captain Milan Lucic said the team's new leader has the ability to lead by example. That was something he saw happen in Boston with Zdeno Chara, and in Los Angeles with Dustin Brown.
"He's a very humble kid. He doesn't put himself above anyone else just because of his abilities and I think that's what makes him such a great leader," said Lucic.
The two other alternate captains have seen different leadership groups in the Oilers during their years with the team.
But this feels different, said Jordan Eberle.
"The biggest thing with Connor in the way that he leads is his on-ice ability. He's got that skill and ability to change the game in a moment," he said.
"He's not going to be a rah-rah guy in the locker room. But as far as a team on the ice, when we need a big play to be made, he's definitely the first guy we're looking toward."
It's the type of pressure McDavid thrives on and something he's already proven he can handle with his on-ice displays.