McDavid Dealing with Issue?: Misses Oilers Annual Skills Event

It’s not clear if Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is nursing a nagging injury or potentially dealing with a bit of an illness, but to see him miss Sunday’s traditional skills competition was slightly alarming. McDavid is often front and center at these events, and his absence was noticeable. The hope is that whatever the issue is, it’s not serious.

It’s important to note that not all Oilers took part in the event. So too, McDavid did play on Saturday when the Oilers took on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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The event was sold out, and thousands of fans were in attendance to watch as the team ran through the fastest skater, hardest shot, and other drills to test their individual skills. McDavid is often part of the fastest skater competition, relays, and other events like the breakaway challenge. Not only that, but his miniature bernedoodle, named Lenard, is regularly a star of the show and part of the Ruff Ruff Relay.

There was no McDavid, no Mattias Ekholm, and no Mattias Janmark. Corey Perry was on the bench but not participating.

It could have been that McDavid and the others were resting. But, it has been reported that a bit of an illness has worked its way through the locker room over the past several days, which is why Ekholm was not in the lineup on Saturday versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Hopefully, This Issue Isn’t Anything Serious for McDavid

There have been no official announcements from the organization or statements related to McDavid not being involved. This may be nothing and the Oilers might have decided to simply give McDavid a day off. If he misses any game action, fans will know that he’s dealing with something.

Kasperi Kapanen won the fastest skater event at the Edmonton Oilers’ Skills and Drills, reaching a peak speed of 40 KM/HR. It’s unlikely Kapanen would have won the competition if McDavid had taken part. Kapanen said that all the competitors were lucky that McDavid wasn’t out there competing.

Viktor Arvidsson won the hardest shooter competition.

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