This morning as I was driving to work, I was listening to the local sports talk radio as I do every morning. Every morning during the week the morning show has a segment with Pierre McGuire, former coach and NHL analyst for NBC. During the discussion this morning there was a lot of talk about Connor McDavid and his impressive start to his NHL career. McDavid has now led the league in scoring two straight years and is only getting better every year. The discussion about Mcdavid's continued development and how he is only going to become more dominant in the years to come led to the BIG question. Is Connor McDavid the greatest player of all time? As an Edmonton Oilers fan, I might be a little bit biased but I think the answer is pretty clear. Connor McDavid is absolutely the greatest player ever.
<grammarly-btn>You might be reading this and thinking I am being ridiculous to make such a claim for a player that only has three seasons under his belt. How can someone be anointed as the greatest of all time this early into a career? In most circumstances, I would completely agree with you but with McDavid, I think that is safe to say that there has never been a player who played the game at the level that he does. Now, he could suffer an injury and all this discussion will be merely a "what could have been" but as things stand right now, Connor McDavid will walk away from the game being recognized as the best player there ever was.
<grammarly-btn>At the young age of 21, McDavid is already widely considered to be the best player in the world. He plays at a speed that has not been witnessed in the NHL before. Not only is he fast, he is also able to demonstrate an extremely high level of skill at that speed. He won the fastest skater competition in the NHL all-star competition, proving his speed to the hockey world. In his first three seasons in the league, he has already won the scoring title twice. He was injured in his rookie year and only played about half the games that season. In today's NHL scoring over 100 points is considered a huge accomplishment. McDavid has done it in both of his full seasons and with the way he has played during the pre-season, he is only going to continue to surpass his previous numbers.
<grammarly-btn>McDavid's ability to take over a game and dominate the play is second to none in the NHL right now but he is so much more than his sheer scoring ability. McDavid is a gritty and hard-nosed player who has very quickly become one of the best leaders in the league. He was named the captain of his team in his second season and rightfully so. He set the example for greatness in everything he does from his off-ice training program to his dedication to fine-tuning his skills on the ice through practice. The biggest attribute he brings to the game might be his ability to make the players around him better. One of the worries, when you have a player of his talent is finding players to play on his wing with him. Players that have the skill and speed to keep up with him. McDavid has the ability to make the players who are on the ice with him even better. His skill, talent, and hockey sense help to elevate the play of his linemates. This is an attribute that the best players ever possess.
<grammarly-btn>I can't make this claim without at least addressing the elephant in the room. Long has the greatest of all time been debated and in hockey, it has been less of a who is the greatest and more of a who are the next greatest. Wayne Gretzky has long been recognized as the greatest player of all time and someone who not only re-wrote the record books but changed the game in so many ways. Gretzky's ability to score points will never be matched. Let's face it, scoring 200 points and 90 goals in a single season will never be matched by any player.
<grammarly-btn>This is where it gets tricky when trying to compare players from today's NHL and the players from past lore. The NHL has evolved immensely and to be honest, it is a completely different game form what was played 20 or even 10 years ago. The players are so much bigger, stronger and faster not to mention that the level of skill throughout the league is so much higher than it was in the past. This is not to take away from the amazing things that Gretzky accomplished but one has to ask themselves, could Wayne have been the Great One in this era? I am a huge Edmonton Oilers fan and have been since I was a little kid ruining Wayne Gretzky cards in the spokes of my bike. I have long touted Wayne as the Greatest, that was until Sid the Kid came along and took the league to a new level. Not long after Sidney Crosby entered the league, the debate about him being better than Gretzky started and now that debate has transferred to the player they are dubbing The Next One.
<grammarly-btn>The best part about this debate is that everyone has their own opinion. The idea of what makes a player the greatest can be very subjective and differ among fans. One fan might say that it is the statistics that show the greatness of a player while other feel that statistics mean nothing if you have never won a championship. Gretzky has claim to both the statistics and the accolades of championships and awards. Crosby has also laid claim to both now and his spot in the top tier of this list is secure. Connor McDavid has already demonstrated that he will be able to put up the statistics and the fan believes it is only a matter of time until he brings the Edmonton Oilers back to their glory days and wins the Stanley Cup. Yes, I might be a little early in my crowning of the hockey GOAT but I truly think that we will all look back on McDavid's career and feel lucky that we got to witness greatness unfold before our eyes.
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