National Post (National Edition)
Wayne Gretzky to Connor McDavid:
‘What’s going to surprise NHL people about Connor is he has an extra gear.’
Every 18-year-old is the same. They don’t cook a lot, they don’t like to do laundry. Best thing for an 18-year-old NHL player is to eliminate as many outside interferences as possible, so he can concentrate on hockey.
It was almost four decades ago that hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky was in Connor McDavid’s skates: The young child prodigy making the move to play with the big boys in the NHL.
“I remember them comparing me to Guy Lafleur and Mike Bossy, then there was another kid who came along named Mario (Lemieux). Then it was Crosby,” Gretzky reminisced this week while in Edmonton shooting a TV commercial.
“Before you blink, they’re comparing some new 18 year old to you,” he added. “It goes by so fast.”
McDavid, who was selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the entry draft in June, is coming to the NHL fresh from playing junior with the Erie Otters, where he was unstoppable.
In comparison, Gretzky had a year of preparation in the World Hockey Association in 1978-79 — a year that he found beneficial.
“The WHA was better than junior hockey, but wasn’t as good as the NHL. I had the one year to get groomed. I was playing against men, but not the best men in the NHL,” Gretzky said.
“Going right from junior to the NHL? That’s a big step for Connor. But he’s the one guy who can handle it. He’ ll be fine. With his speed and his shot and his creativity and his hockey knowledge, that’s as good as anybody.”
McDavid also has size on his side; he’s 189 pounds. How big was Gretzky at 18? “I think I won my first scoring title when I was 159 pounds,” he said. “I don’t think I got to 160 until the age of 20.
“But I don’t know if that means quite so much. The players averaged about 187-188 pounds when I broke into the NHL at 18. Now it’s probably closer to 200 pounds on average. Guys are stronger and faster. Hard to compare then and now.”
But nobody is telling Mc- David he’s too small and could use some more speed, the knocks on a young Gretzky.
“What’s going to surprise NHL people about Connor is he has an extra gear,” Gretzky said. “When you think you’ve got him, he’ll pull away. That’s his strength.”
Former child prodigies who move to the NHL have suf- focating pressure to succeed, of course. Was Gretzky ever scared that he couldn’t live up to the hype building after he racked up 110 points in the last WHA season?
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I never feared it, but I’ll tell you what … you have to respect the game and the players you’re playing with and play- ing against. You come to learn really quickly that you have to work really hard or you’ll be out real fast.”
With social media now and TV cameras in all the rinks, McDavid’s hockey steps have been chronicled daily for years. Maybe more than Gretzky’s.
“As much as Connor was sought after in Erie, it’ll be 10 times that in Edmonton, with the Oilers in the NHL,” Gretzky said.
“I don’t think it’ll be worse for Connor than it was for me, though. I’m emphatic about that. (Bobby) Orr had (the media glare). I had it. Then Mario came along. Then Crosby. Now Connor will have it. It’s part of the game and the great players thrive on it. They want that pressure, the added mark on them.”
To focus on doing well, McDavid might want to live with another family his first year in the NHL, Gretzky advised. He lived with a billet family during his first pro season in Edmonton “and really enjoyed it,” but got an apartment with defenceman Kevin Lowe in his first NHL season, when he scored 137 points.
“Every 18 year old is the same,” said Gretzky. “They don’t cook a lot, they don’t like to do laundry. Best thing for an 18-year-old NHL player is to eliminate as many outside interferences as possible, so he can concentrate on hockey.”
How many points can be expected from McDavid in the 2015-16 season?
“I don’t know what to expect quite honestly,” Gretzky said. “The best players in the game only managed 87 points to win the scoring title last year because the game is so defensive right now.”
Gretzky said it took him about 40 games in the NHL to get used to the league, the speed of the players and their size — and he thinks it will be about the same for McDavid.
“After half a season, he’ ll settle in with the lifestyle, the travel, the games,” he said.
“I expect his mindset will be the same as mine was, that he can compete with anybody.”