NHL draft.
Probable No. 1 draft pick excited to celebrate with family, friends
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — In spite of all that lies ahead, Connor McDavid was certain that sleep would not elude him on the eve of the NHL entry draft.
He had done all he could to get to this point — this apex that will see him selected first overall when the draft gets underway at 5p.m. MDT Friday in Sunrise, Fla.
“It’s a day I’ve been waiting for my whole life,” McDavid said after taking part in an on-ice youth clinic with a few of the NHL’s top prospects on Thursday morning.
“My family has been waiting for it as long as they can remember. ... It’s going to be so exciting to celebrate with family and friends. It’s more of a day for them. It’s a day we’ve all been working toward.”
A new chapter will also begin for the Edmonton Oilers, who were winners of the NHL draft lottery. They have the No. 1 pick for the fourth time in six years and will use it to select McDavid, a proficient centre who was characterized as a game-changer when he was with the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League.
In 2011-12, the year prior to McDavid’s arrival, the Otters had just 10 wins. By 2013-14, they had 52 wins and were playoff-bound.
It would be foolish to think that the 18-year-old is going to single-handedly turn the tide for the Oilers, a team which hasn’t made a playoff appearance since 2006, when McDavid was nine and playing for the York Simcoe Express. But he will make the NHL team better.
“You don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself, you want to make sure the proper steps are taken to get him up and running,” Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said earlier this week, “but (players like McDavid) only come around once in a while.”
McDavid said having been a part of the rebuilding process in Erie will be helpful when he makes the move to the NHL.
“The similarities, if it is Edmonton, are there, of course. It’s not a very good team in terms of the standings and they both have (had) the first overall pick,” he said. “It’s not going to be great off the start, it never is as part of a rebuild, but it does get better.
“Erie gives me hope it’s not always a rebuilding phase.”
First, however, there’s the draft, which opens with the first round on Friday and continues with Rounds 2 through 7 on Saturday. The Oilers go in with a total of 10 picks, barring any trades.
“For sure, I’ll be thinking about it (Thursday night), but there’s nothing to be too nervous about,” McDavid said. “The work leading up to it has been done. There’s nothing more you can do. All you have to do is go there, sit and wait till your name is called.
“I can’t really say how I’m going to be feeling. It’s going to be an emotional day, an exciting day. I’m just looking forward to celebrating it with my family and friends.”