At the last Winter Olympics in 2022, close to 2 billion people tuned in to watch the events, and if this Winter Olympics gets anywhere near that number, those who don’t know the name Connor McDavid will soon learn it — when they see a hockey player clearly on another level, blowing past defenders on Olympic ice.

The Edmonton Oilers captain has been spectacular for his NHL club this season, and if his dominating ways with the team are any indication of what’s to come, combined with the fact that the best hockey player in the world has that extra gear to elevate his game, it feels like the fireworks are about to go off on the international stage.

McDavid was recently named assistant captain of Team Canada, and with his team set to take on Team Czechia in their first Winter Olympics game on Feb. 12, we’ve put together a little ode to the Oilers’ superstar, revisiting each time he has represented his country.

McDavid first played for Team Canada at the 2013 IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia, when he was just 15 years old. The tournament also served as a test event for the facilities to be used in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

McDavid flashed glimpses of his greatness, finishing as Canada’s top scorer in the preliminary round, where Team Canada went 4-0. He recorded 11 points (five goals, six assists) in four preliminary games, including scoring back-to-back hat tricks against Sweden and Switzerland.

In the finals, Team Canada defeated the four-time defending champions, Team USA, 3-2, to win the gold medal. Overall, the 1997-born McDavid dominated the competition against players mostly two years older than him, leading the tournament in scoring with 14 points. He was named tournament MVP and the Best Forward and set a record for the most goals scored by a Canadian player in U18 tournament history.

The 2014 World Juniors (WJC) were held in Malmö, Sweden, and McDavid, at just 16 years old, was named to Team Canada’s roster after making an impression at the junior level, where he led the Erie Otters from last place to among the top teams in the OHL.

Remarkably, at the time, the young phenom was just the sixth 16-year-old to play for Canada at the under-20 tournament, joining the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros, Jason Spezza, Jay Bouwmeester, and Sidney Crosby. Though as one of the younger players on the team, he didn’t make a huge impact, scoring one goal and three assists in seven games.

Unfortunately for the Canadians, they finished fourth in the tournament, losing 2-1 in the bronze medal game to Russia.

While McDavid didn’t earn a medal with Team Canada at the 2014 World Juniors, he returned the following year and made an even bigger splash, earning another shot with Team Canada at the 2015 World Juniors, which were hosted on home ice with games split between Toronto and Montreal.

In a preliminary round game against Denmark, McDavid intercepted the puck at centre ice, turned on the jets, and blew past two defenders to score a highlight-reel breakaway goal. Then, in the championship game against Russia, McDavid split the defence for another breakaway, slipping the puck five-hole past the goaltender to help Team Canada secure a 5-4 win.

All in all, McDavid tied for third in points at the 2015 World Juniors, led all players with eight assists, playing a key role in helping Team Canada capture the gold medal. On top of that, he earned a well-deserved spot on the tournament’s All-Star Team. Just five months later, the young phenom was selected first overall at the NHL Draft by the Oilers.

McDavid finished his rookie campaign with the Oilers in 2016, recording 48 points in 45 games, despite missing 37 games due to a clavicle injury. Still, he was selected to Team Canada for the World Hockey Championships in Russia that May.

Canada made it to the final game, where they faced Team Finland for the gold medal. The future Oilers captain scored the crucial 1-0 goal, and Team Canada went on to win by a score of 2-0, winning the gold.

Former Oiler Derick Brassard led the Canadians with 11 points, while McDavid recorded nine points in 10 games, marking back-to-back years in which the Oilers’ superstar put a gold medal around his neck with Team Canada. Additionally, McDavid captained Team North America — comprised of players 23 and under from Canada and the United States — just four months later at the World Cup of Hockey.

The 2018 World Hockey Championships took place in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark. Edmonton didn’t qualify for the playoffs that season, and by that time, McDavid was three years into his NHL career, coming off his second consecutive 100-point season.

That said, the Oilers’ centreman was selected to captain Team Canada, with Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn serving as alternates.

McDavid recorded a hat trick in the preliminary round against Norway, helping Team Canada to a 5-0 victory. However, the Canadians were stunned in the semifinals, facing a tough Swiss team that defeated them in a shootout. Unfortunately, they fell short again in the bronze medal game, losing to Sweden, leaving McDavid and his teammates empty-handed. The captain finished third in tournament scoring with 17 points in ten games.

The 4-Nations Faceoff was a tournament featuring four teams — Team Canada, Team U.S.A., Team Finland, and Team Sweden — held in February 2025 and served as a high-stakes precursor to the 2026 Olympics.

It had been seven years since McDavid represented his country in a best-on-best tournament, and did he ever put on a show. In Canada’s first game against Team USA, he scored a highlight-reel goal, turning on the jets and beating netminder Connor Hellebuyck with a wicked backhand to open the scoring at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

But he saved his best for last. In the gold medal game against the Americans, with the score tied 2-2 in overtime, he found open space, received the puck, and let off a quick wrister that once again beat Hellebuyck for the game-winner, giving Canada the win to capture the gold medal.

McDavid finished the 4-Nations Face-Off with five points in four games (three goals, two assists), and while he delivered his signature moment in a Team Canada sweater, knowing the Oilers captain’s flair for stepping up in high-pressure situations, it feels like the world is about to feel what the ‘McDavid Magic’ experience is all about at the Winter Olympics, and he might just have another one of his signature moments up his sleeve.

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