After the game against the Calgary Flames on December 27, Connor McDavid was the guest on the “After Hours” segment with Scott Oake and Kelly Hrudey. While interviews with hockey players are known to be dryer than my cousin Derek’s miniscule Christmas turkey, this was actually a pretty good interview. McDavid wasn’t exactly Kevin Hart, but he was a little more honest and forthcoming than he would be in a quick postgame interview.
Here are the highlights:
McDavid’s excitement for the Olympics
For me, and I think for McDavid too, the most interesting topic of discussion was the upcoming Olympics, which will take place in Milan from February 6 to 22. The full Canadian roster will be released very soon now and I can hardly wait. After the pure adrenaline of the “4 Nations Face-Off” last year it will be great to see more teams, more games, and to be perfectly frank, some weaker teams for Canada to beat up on.
McDavid has already been added to the roster but wasn’t able to say much about who else will round out the squad, except that picking the team would be difficult based on how many Canadians are having good years.
One interesting point Scott Oake raised was is if Team Canada had to pick an entire line from a team, then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid, and Zach Hyman might be the best. It got me thinking so I looked into it and there really aren’t that many all Canadian lines believe it or not, despite nearly 42% of active players being Canadian.
Here are the all Canadian lines according to Dailyfaceoff.com:
| Left | Centre | Right |
| Verhaeghe | Bennett | Marchand |
| Perron | Cozens | Batherson |
| Crouse | Hayton | Guenther |
| Catton | Wright | McCann |
| Barkey | Couturier | Tippet |
| Smith | Howden | Bowman |
The Carter Verhaeghe-Sam Bennett-Brad Marchand line would also be very solid, but personally I think the Edmonton line would still be the winner. The Catton, Wright, McCann and Crouse, Hayton, Guenther lines are also interesting—they could be great in the future.
When asked about his two week slump after the 4 Nations last year, McDavid made it clear that an Olympic gold medal was a priority, stating that he would gladly have a two week slump in exchange for a gold medal and I really can’t blame him. He also mentioned in no uncertain terms that Sidney Crosby should be the captain of the team, quickly shutting down any talk that he could wear the ‘C’.
Bet like a pro here with Bet99—Ontario’s go-to for elite odds and nonstop action. And outside Ontario, Canadians bet better here with Bet99—bringing top-tier odds and action from coast to coast.
His focus on the playoffs
McDavid dropped his best gems when talking about the playoffs. “Missing the playoffs is not even an option, it’s something that we don’t talk about,” he said.
When Scott Oake asked if the two back-to-back Stanley Cup losses had broken his heart or made him hungrier. McDavid said, “Knock us down, we’ll keep coming back.” It was obvious that while he has surely been heartbroken to lose, coming so close has only galvanized him.
Earlier this year, while the Oilers were struggling, I had wondered if the changes the Oilers have made to their lineup were fundamental enough to keep Edmonton from going back to the finals, but McDavid’s recent play, in concert with this interview, honestly made me think he could bring any team to the threshold.
When talking about how difficult it was to lose two Stanley Cups back-to-back, he said, “These are moments that will live with us forever, but it will make it that much sweeter when we get the job done.” Listening to him speak, you can hear that there is not the slightest hint of doubt in his mind that he will win one, and what’s more, with this group.
It really brought home how single-minded he and all the best athletes are when it comes to winning the championship they have been chasing since they were children. It is a level of focus and determination the rest of us just haven’t felt before. I doubt you’ll get better odds on the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup than the +1000 where they currently sit and after hearing McDavid speak, I’m going to throw some money down.
Slow starts and other tidbits
McDavid talked about how the Oilers started this year in the same fashion as so many recently, which is to say, glacial. “We spend hours and days talking about how do we get out of this, how do we not go through this, and even when we’re in it, we’re like, ‘what’s going on’,” McDavid said. He also mentioned that the first half of the season was a much tougher schedule.
The lesson to be learned here is that sometimes a team just takes some time to build chemistry, and to get back in the swing of things. While it certainly feels like McDavid is what’s making this team great, it could also be the case that the team is doing all the little things right and allowing McDavid to go on this ridiculous run.
On the more trivial side of things, some of the tidbits that I found interesting were that McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Mattias Ekholm, along with their families, spent a day at an ODR and apparently “got the neighbourhood together.” Imagine being a 12-year-old kid going down to the local glass and finding McDavid, Draisaitl, and Ekholm messing around there. On the topic of McDavid’s neighbourhood, what if you were a lifelong Flames fan who moved to Edmonton and one day Connor McDavid started building a house across the street from you? Do you tell him that or do you just switch allegiances?
McDavid loves the compressed schedule, which is partially due to playing 84 games now and partially due to the lengthy Olympic break.
It is probably well known by now, but McDavid has a mysterious hate for ketchup, apparently going back to childhood. I found this odd since it’s so obviously mustard that can’t be trusted.
McDavid is a huge Morgan Wallen fan and walked out with him at a concert at Commonwealth Stadium at the start of a concert.
Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
