#8. McDavid Was Coached By His Dad
When you’re a kid, it’s cool to be coached by your dad. That said, it’s probably pretty rare when someone who reaches the level of excellence McDavid has is coached by pops during some of the most formative years of his life.
Brian McDavid coached his son when he was playing in Aurora, Ontario. The drive and early skill set that McDavid learned that took him into other levels of hockey can, in many ways, be attributed to his father who had him on his junior team. It was a team that went on to win four championships.
#7. His Mother Wanted McDavid to be a Skier
While Connor’s dad helped develop his hockey career, interestingly enough, his mother was hoping he’d take up another sport. Early on, Connor’s mom Kelly didn’t really believe Connor would turn into the phenom he became and for a long time, wanted him to become a skier.
However, the sport of skiing didn’t stick for McDavid who wanted to spend every waking hour playing hockey; and, eventually, Kelly realized she was never going to get Connor away from the ice. From that point on, she became extremely supportive of his hockey aspirations.
#6. McDavid’s Neighbours Were Hard On Connor’s Parents
What do you do when your kid wants to do something so badly you can’t drag him away from it? For Connor McDavid, that was the case with hockey. He was so driven to improve his skills, he would go out into the driveway and practice for hours and hours. He wouldn’t leave until he was happy with his own results.
While that’s some serious drive, it also got the neighbours concerned who apparently saw how much McDavid was out there and thought maybe his parents were putting him up to it. Many thought McDavid’s dad Brian was making him practice, which wasn’t the case.
Brian says he did tell Connor that to be the best you had to train and practice, putting in the hard work. At the same time, Brian also couldn’t get McDavid to stop, even when he wanted him to. Apparently, Connor was pretty upset when rumors spread his parents were forcing him to practice.
Related: Edmonton Oilers End Evan Bouchard’s Overseas Loan to Sweden
#5. His Girlfriend Designed His House
Now that McDavid is a superstar, he’s got some money to burn. With that money, he had his long-time girlfriend Lauren Kyle design him a house that has caught a lot of attention. Kyle is an interior designer by trade.
The house itself is beautiful, but it’s also a lot of black, white and grey which has people being a bit critical. They’re notes are that house is very depressing and absolutely devoid of any color or human connection.
I would say the house is pretty nice and I wouldn’t mind living there, even if the roof on the basketball court is a bit low and not ideal for three-point shots.
#4. Connor is Superstitious
Like a lot of hockey players, McDavid is said to be superstitious. We don’t have first-hand knowledge of any of these superstitions, but he’s been noted to have lucky underwear, listen to the same music, take the exact same amount of shots per day, pack his bag the same way, park in the same spot, and more.
There’s one story of how he asked his mom to sit in the back seat of the car once because his team had won a big game in their previous outing and he was sitting in the front seat on that way to that contest. He was concerned about altering the pattern. We’ll assume he’s not nearly as superstitious now, but most players have their “things.”
For example, his teammate Leon Draisaitl stays out on the ice as the last player at the end of a pre-game warmup and fires the puck down from his own zone into the opposition’s net. He does it without fail and it’s part of his routine.
#3. McDavid Made a Last-Minute Career-Altering Decision Not To Have Surgery
The story of McDavid’s rehab during the 2019 offseason was well documented. He suffered a nasty knee injury that finished his season and there were questions about his career moving forward. Ligaments were torn away and there was a chance he’d never be the same skater. Under the wire of a looming decision about surgery that would potentially put him out the entirety of the following season, he chose instead to rehab.
It was the type of rehab that had never been done before by an athlete, yet McDavid did it in an incredibly fast amount of time, skating again much earlier than he was supposed to. The Oilers even had to hold him out of pre-season games he wanted to play but medical experts figured didn’t project he’d be ready for.
2. Still the Youngest Captain in NHL History
In 2016, Connor McDavid became the youngest captain in the history of the National Hockey League. It’s a record he still holds to this day. It was a no-brainer for the Oilers as it was easy to see McDavid was going to be the leader of that team for the next decade.
At 19 years and 266 days, he broke the record when he surpassed Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog who was named Avs captain at the age of 19 years, 286 days. Before that, Crosby held the honor.
#1. Has An Affinity For Rebuilding Struggling Teams
For all the talk that McDavid might not have wanted to join the Edmonton Oilers, there’s one thing many of these hockey fans are forgetting. That is, he turns around struggling clubs and makes them contenders.
Prior to McDavid’s arrival, the Erie Otters of the OHL were not a very good team. When McDavid was selected to the team at age 15, there was concern he wouldn’t want to play with the Otters. First, they weren’t in Canada. Second, they struggled… a lot. He signed without blinking and called it “an honor.”
Even with McDavid, in his first season, the Otters missed the playoffs with only 47 points. That didn’t sit well. In his second season, the Otters posted a 106-point season but lost in the playoffs. Eventually, the Otters became league favorites.
Can he do the same thing for the Oilers? McDavid has said he wants to spend his entire career with the Oilers so the plan seems to be that he’ll try. Can he ignore the fact that people have said his talents are being wasted in Edmonton and make the Stanley Cup Champions? Considering all he’s done to this point, it’s hard to put it past him.
Next: Edmonton Oilers News & Rumors: McDavid, Bouchard, Savoie & Nurse
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