The Edmonton Oilers’ wunderkind 19-year-old captain, Connor McDavid, played his first game in Denver last Wednesday. After he was the NHL’s No. 1 overall pick in 2015, the Oilers’ only appearances in Denver in his rookie season came during his three-month absence from the lineup with a fractured clavicle.
McDavid wowed anyone watching Wednesday night. The NHL’s leading scorer had a goal and two assists, but there was so much more to it than that. His stunning combination of skating speed, puck-handling skill and quick release was on display, and he again showed that the sometimes prematurely applied and ultimately off-target label of McDavid as a “generational” talent is warranted.