YOUNG MAN’S LEAGUE
McDavid leads the scoring race while rookies Matthews, Laine are filling the net
Connor McDavid wasn’t biting. Not at all.
With the NHL schedule at the all-star break, the Edmonton Oilers’ captain continues his battle with Sidney Crosby for the Art Ross Trophy. But when asked if he had allowed himself time to think about the scoring race — or the MVP award, and the honour of being the best player in the world — McDavid was deferential.
“God no, not at all,” he said. “Like I said, there’s a lot of hockey left to be played. And it’s about the team. And the team’s put itself in a good spot here to chase down a playoff spot.”
It was the expected response from McDavid. And it wasn’t exactly the wrong answer. After all, he is in only his second season in the NHL. But the fact that we’re even asking these questions tells you what kind of season it’s been for him. It also tells you about the tectonic shift the league is undergoing.
A 20-year-old who has yet to play his 100th game is currently leading the National Hockey League in scoring. Two players who are ranked in the top 10 in goals are rookies. And 25 per cent of those selected to the all-star game had not yet made their debut when the last labour lockout occurred four year ago. It’s another way of saying that this is a young man’s league. Real young.
The top 100 players in the league this season include McDavid, Auston Matthews, 19, and Patrik Laine, 18, among others. As for the top 100 of all-time — which was announced by the NHL on Friday — well, give it time. As one league executive said, “In 10 years, McDavid won’t only be on the list, but we’ll be talking about him with Gretzky, Lemieux and Crosby.”
Ten years? Based on how McDavid and others have been playing, the conversation probably will happen sooner than that.
“It’s never premature,” Wayne Gretzky told Postmedia News, when asked about the McDavidversus-Crosby debate. “I think Connor and Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner all do a tremendous job. They play hard and they play well. There’s no question in my mind that Auston Matthews and Marner and Connor and some of the best young players that play the game are going to do special things.
“But Crosby’s the best player in the game and until somebody takes that mantle away from him and says, ‘you’ve won two Stanley Cups, how many Harts and Olympic gold medals, but here’s what I’m going to do’ — Crosby’s the best. In saying that, Connor and Auston and Marner are in the right direction and they’re right on their tails and nipping at their butts.”
Ten years ago, no one would have put Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin or Carey Price on their list of the top 100 NHLers all-time. But that was before they won Stanley Cups, MVP awards and Olympic gold medals. As Gretzky said, the next generation has to do something similar to get there.
For now, pencil McDavid in at No. 101. And don’t be surprised if 10 years from now, a few of these names aren’t on an updated top100 list.
Connor McDavid, 20: In an injuryshortened rookie season, McDavid ranked third in the league with 1.07 points per game. This year, he leads the league with 59 points in 51 games and is a major reason why the Oilers, who missed the playoffs each of the last 10 years, sit in second place in the Pacific Division.
Auston Matthews, 19: The No. 1 overall pick began his NHL career by scoring four goals in one game. Since then, the Leafs centre is in the top five in the league with 23 goals and has 39 points in 47 games. The most impressive factor? He’s doing it with linemates who are also rookies.
Patrik Laine, 18: Before suffering a concussion that sidelined him for 17 days, Lai new as putting up Ovec hkin-like numbers with 21 goals in 42 games. He already has two hattricks, four game-winners and a one-timer that is so accurate he once boasted: “I will score 99 times out of 100 — the stick will break once.”
Johnny Gaudreau, 23: Johnny Hockey is the poster boy for small, skilled players. As a rookie with the Flames, the fourth-round pick scored 64 points and followed it up by tying for sixth in league scoring last year with 78 points in 79 games. This year has been more of a struggle for Gaudreau, who still has 31 points in 42 games.
Mark Scheifele, 23: The first pick of the Jets 2.0, Scheifele might have taken some time to make a name for himself in the league. But after breaking out with 29 goals and 61 points last season — he scored 37 points in the final 33 games — he is in the top-10 in scoring with 48 points in 49 games.
Nathan MacKinnon, 21: The No. 1 pick of 2013 has not been able to match his Calder Trophy-winning season of 24 goals and 63 points. But part of that is because of how poor the Avalanche have been as a team. When representing Canada, MacKinnon has been a beast, which he showed with nine points in 10 games at the 2015 world hockey championship. Aaron Ekblad, 20: The six-footfour defenceman is having a bit of
a down year this season — seven goals and 15 points in 50 games — but Ekblad looks like he’ll be a Norris Trophy candidate sooner rather than later. As a rookie with the Panthers, he scored 12 goals and 39 points and won the Calder Trophy. The following year, he finished with 15 goals.
Jack Eichel, 20: Another player whose season was affected by a serious injury, the sophomore has made up for lost time with 12 goals and 21 points in 27 games. The No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft is not McDavid. But as Eichel goes, so do the 14th-place Sabres, who are 13-9-4 with him in the lineup this season.
Mitch Marner, 19: The “other” rookie on the Leafs is hardly taking a back seat to Matthews. In fact, Marner is tied with Matthews with 39 points and leads rookies with 28 assists. He is a major reason why James van Riemsdyk (17 goals and 39 points) and Tyler Bozak (12 goals and 30 points) are having bounce-back years.
Matt Murray, 22: In his first year in the NHL, Murray backstopped the Penguins to a Stanley Cup — and that was after appearing in just 13 regular-season games. In fact, Murray is technically considered a rookie this year, not that you would notice. He is 17-6-1 with a .921 save percentage and once again has Pittsburgh as Cup contenders.