BLOG: McDavid pushing himself to new heights

EDMONTON, AB – When you’ve already reached the individual heights that Connor McDavid has so far in his NHL career, it’s almost farfetched to think that his influence could hit another level.

But here we are.

The Oilers captain hovers above his teammate and the rest of the League in the NHL’s scoring race with 31 goals and 67 points in 36 games — 10 points ahead of Leon Draisaitl in second place and 16 ahead of the next closest competitor with 51 points in Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson.

McDavid’s 31 goals are five more than Buffalo’s Tage Thompson and Vancouver’s Bo Horvat with 26, while his game-winning tally on Tuesday night in the Oilers 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames extended his point streak to 16 games that includes 15 goals and 17 assists — numbers that seem only possible for the captain.

“He’s got 31 goals,” linemate Zach Hyman stated simply. “I think that his numbers and his goals speak for themselves.”

Video: RAW | Zach Hyman 12.28.22

McDavid took the space awarded to him by the Flames bon the power play with twelve-and-a-half minutes left in the third period of a 1-1 game back on Tuesday, observing his options and electing to send a wrist shot from the slot that beat Jacob Markstrom post-in with shades of Game 5 in the second round of last season’s Battle of Alberta: Playoff Edition.

Number 97 of seasons past might have waited for the pass to open up, but with a determined effort to shoot more this season, McDavid’s produced at a 0.86 goals-per-game clip that’s over three-tenths above his most-productive goal output of 44 goals in 80 games (0.55) during 2022-23.

“I think he’s having more willingness to shoot the puck obviously and he creates so many chances for his linemates,” Hyman said. “He’s still doing that, but I think he’s taking advantage of those chances himself as well.”

Video: EDM@CGY: McDavid rips a shot from the slot for a PPG

Hyman has seen firsthand, both in-season and during off-season training, the dedication that his captain has put into improving his ability to score. Only McDavid’s teammate in Edmonton for two seasons, he can’t imagine the progress that’s being seen by some of the longer-tenured Oilers.

“Yeah, I think he’s worked on it a tonne. I trained with him in the summer and he works on scoring goals,” Hyman said. “I’ve played here for two years now, and I think he’s gotten better this year than he was last year, so I can’t imagine for the guys who have been with him for his whole career and kind of watched his game develop.  

“It’s fun to watch the best player in the world to try to get better, and that’s what he’s been doing and he’s playing his best hockey now. It’s fun to watch.” 

Video: RAW | Jay Woodcroft 12.28.22

How McDavid is able to elevate his game year-by-year despite reaching almost unheard-of levels the previous season is an amazing thing to witness, and the players, coaches and even the fans can become accustomed to that kind of production from their captain and the game’s greatest player.

As Head Coach Jay Woodcroft put aptly in his morning media availability on Wednesday following Oilers practice, when you live next to the mountains and bear witness to their beauty every day, it’s possible to become numb to their brilliance. 

“You know what? I heard something the other day, and I wish I could tell you where I heard it so that I could attribute it properly, but it was somebody talking about someone at the height of their field or the top of their game,” the bench boss said.

“They said it’s almost like living at the foot of Mount Everest in that brilliance becomes commonplace. Some of the things that this guy does, we’re privileged to have a front-row seat.”

What makes the best players the best, however, is their continued pursuit to better themselves – an aspect of McDavid’s makeup that brought him back for practice the next day wanting more from himself after scoring the game-winner in the Battle of Alberta despite his self-assessment post-game of not having his best on the night.

“But the thing that I find most impressive about him was something I saw in practice today; how he came to practice with the purpose of improving himself despite having given everything he gave last night to the game and playing 20 odd minutes,” Woodcroft said.

“He came to work. He came to improve.”