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Robin Brownlee
Apr 11, 2016, 13:30 EDTUpdated:
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It didn’t take Connor McDavid very long into his rookie season with the Edmonton Oilers to live up to all the hype and hoopla surrounding his entry into the NHL. That’s saying a mouthful, considering the superlatives pundits were using before the kid even played his first game.
Frankly, McDavid surpassed every expectation I had. There were no disappointments, save for the busted clavicle that limited him to 45 games and his scoring totals to 16-32-48 (1.07 PPG), leaving us to wonder if he might have taken a run at 100 points had he stayed healthy. At 19, McDavid is already Edmonton’s best player, and by a bunch, from where I sit.
McDavid’s displays of mind-bending skill, most of them performed at warp speed, and his gaudy PPG long ago triggered debate around the league about whether he deserves the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. That debate will continue as members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association prepare to mark their ballots.
Now, with the Oilers having cleaned out their lockers at Rexall Place Sunday after a disappointing season in which they finished 29th overall with a record of 31-43-8 for 70 points and missed the playoffs for the 10th straight year, the discussion is whether McDavid should be named captain for next season.
I wouldn’t be surprised if McDavid sweeps the captaincy and the Calder, but the bottom line as I see it is that in the grand scheme of things, neither one of the honors carries as much weight as some people attach to them.

CAPTAIN CONNOR?

I anointed Taylor Hall as the next captain of the Oilers more than once before McDavid arrived, so I’m not going to talk out of both sides of my mouth and say now that No. 97 is the obvious and only choice. What we do know, at least judging by what coach Todd McLellan said at his media availability this morning, is McDavid has already shown he’s a leader.
“Connor was a tremendous leader this year in his short time with us,” said McLellan. “His presence alone, when he walks into the room, and he knows it, he exudes confidence. He carries himself properly. I think leaders attract people. You want to be in his corner. You want to be around him . . . I think he’s close to being the guy and (is) ready for it.”
“I would think so, yes,” GM Peter Chiarelli said Sunday, asked if somebody will take the letter given up by Andrew Ference. “I would really think that we would have a captain next year.” Not unrelated (at least in my opinion), when Chiarelli was asked about dipping into his core to make trades, he said, “I guess no one is untouchable, expect maybe a couple guys.”
There’s no question Chiarelli is going to have to dip into that core to address the blue line, and while it’s true Hall would bring a handsome return, my gut tells me he and McDavid are those “couple guys” who are untouchable. For me – and I’ll get some disagreement on this – both Hall and McDavid are the best candidates for the captaincy.
Hall’s comments Sunday were a ringing endorsement of McDavid. Said Hall: “On the ice he was everything and more. By the end of the year he was our leader on the ice. With all the expectations on him, the way he conducts himself off the ice and the kind of kid he is, he’s a lot of fun to be around.”
I’ve said it before when writing about Hall and I’ll say it again as it pertains to McDavid — leaders are going to lead regardless of whether they have the “C” stitched on their jersey. Leadership is about character and commitment. Having the “C” didn’t make Shayne Corson a leader. The letter won’t define McDavid. He’s a leader, period. He doesn’t need to be captain. He just needs to be Connor McDavid.

THE CALDER

Of course Oiler fans want to see McDavid named Edmonton’s first-ever Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year. There’s certainly a case he deserves it ahead of Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks and Shayne Gostisbehere, the superb blueliner with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The arguments for McDavid we know. In terms of PPG, neither Panarin (0.96) nor Gostisbehere (0.70) can touch him. Panarin is 24 and played pro in the KHL. Gostisbehere, 22, is older as well. The only knock on McDavid is he played just 45 games. I’ll leave all that with the membership of the PHWA. All three are worthy of consideration and there’s not really a bad choice on the short list.
His on-ice accomplishments aside, McDavid showed me something Sunday when he was asked about his take on the season, specifically about how the team had failed to make significant gains in the standings.
“It eats me alive,” McDavid said. “Losing is something that has happened a lot here for a while now. I think it just gets to a point where you get so sick of losing that you can’t do it any more. I think a lot of guys are at that point and I’m someone who definitely doesn’t handle losing very well so this season has been hard on me.”
The Calder Trophy would be a nice bauble in McDavid’s trophy case, but, like the captaincy, having it or not having it won’t define him. I don’t have the slightest doubt that three years from now McDavid will be firmly established as the best player taken in the 2015 Entry Draft. I suspect he’ll be established as one of the best three players in the NHL. I’ll take that ahead of the Calder Trophy every day of the week.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.

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