Every decade or so, hockey fans get excited over a “generational talent” coming into the N.H.L. Wayne Gretzky in 1978, Mario Lemieux in 1984, Eric Lindros in 1992 and Sidney Crosby in 2005 were all considered can’t-miss centers bound for immediate greatness and eventually the Hall of Fame.
This season there are two 18-year-old centers who are being heralded as the next great ones.
The Canadian Connor McDavid has dazzled in the junior ranks, most recently for the Erie Otters. Sherry Bassin, the Otters’ owner, quoted the Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk as saying of McDavid: “He skates like Bobby Orr.