MAKING ROOM FOR THE KIDS
McDavid leader of Team North America
No matter how muscular the competition, no matter how snarly the opponent, no matter how much more experienced the player across from him, Connor McDavid has never been one to back down.
Playing against older kids has been in McDavid’s DNA since he was a wee lad competing in older age groups. It would be a career trend that would endure all the way to the Ontario Hockey League, where he was granted exceptional player status to suit up for the Erie Otters at age 15.
Now, here we go again, courtesy of the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. When Team North America congregates for the start of training camp on Sept. 5 at Quebec City’s Videotron Center, McDavid, 19, will find himself as the poster child for the squad made up of Canadian and American players 23-years-of-age and under as of Oct. 1.
And, just as it was when he was playing minor hockey, McDavid relishes the challenge of being one of the youngest competitors in the dance.
As such, he fears nothing. Not the bone-crushing hits of Canada’s Shea Weber. Not the towering presence of Team Europe’s Zdeno Chara, the future Hall of Famer who is more than twice his age. None of it.
McDavid’s outlook for the tournament: Bring it on. And if any of his teammates don’t share in that belief, perhaps they should not be taking part.
“There’s no reason to be intimidated at all,” McDavid said Monday during a lengthy one-on-one sit-down with Postmedia at the annual BioSteel hockey camp. “If you are, then you really shouldn’t be there.
“These are guys we play against every day at the NHL level. Obviously it’s going to be different now that we’re all playing together on a team. But, like I said, there’s no reason to be intimidated.
“We are younger but we have to lead young lives like everyone says. And we have a lot of skill. So I think there is no reason it can’t be us.” You have to love such subtle swagger. And, upon further review, McDavid makes a good point: Why not The Young Guns indeed?
Remember back when the concept of a roster comprised of 23-and-under North American players first leaked out during the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremonies of November 2014? The initial reaction of many of us in this business (guilty as charged) was to look at the makeup of this team as mere shtick, a gimmick that certainly would end up imploding.
Instead, the opposite has happened. Interest in Team North America has gained traction as the tournament approached, to the point where these Young Guns arguably have become the most intriguing storyline of the World Cup.
Think about the cache of riches this team has when it comes to raw skill. Forwards McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and defenceman Aaron Ekblad are all first overall draft picks, while centre Jack Eichel was plucked second right behind McDavid in 2015. Add in the likes of Dylan Larkin, Jonathan Drouin, Mark Scheifele, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan — the list of skill seems endless.
“I’m definitely excited about it,” McDavid said. “There are a lot of good young talented players in the league. To be able to team up with them and go up against the vets in the league and the best players in the world as young guys, it’s a great opportunity for us to make names for ourselves and really put a stamp as the young guys in hockey.
“Obviously there are some of the best young talents in the world. They’re going to bring so much. Eichel obviously has the great shot and such good speed. Auston, I don’t know much about his game, but he’s obviously so highly touted and will bring so much. Those two are going to be such huge pieces for our team.”
One interesting twist to the plot: McDavid might be an Ontario kid who now represents Edmonton, but he now becomes the enemy, at least to the members of Team Canada.
“I guess for a little period of time I’m going to have to forget I’m Canadian for a little bit and think of myself as a young guy, and that’s that who I’m representing,” he said. “We all understand some guys are American, some guys are Canadian — some guys we’ve never met before — but I think all that goes away when you are out on the ice, you ultimately become a team. That’s what I’m excited about.” He has reason to be. And that’s bad news for the older kids in the tourney who will be facing Team North America.