Most of us probably assumed that 2015 was the Summer of Connor McDavid. The most hotly hyped hockey talent in 10 years went No. 1 in the NHL Draft, as everyone predicted, and triggered a rapturous moment of selection for the lucky lottery winners at the Edmonton Oilers, as previously ordained.
But what if The Next One — the heir to Sidney Crosby, who was the heir to Wayne Gretzky — is already a fixture in the league? What if he's maturing into the role rather than springing full-grown from the hockey gods' heads?