Esposito ‘absolutely a fan of’ McDavid on 60th anniversary of NHL debut

“And he has Leon Draisaitl with him on the power play,” Esposito said of the flashy fellow Oilers sniper who, entering the Oilers’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNW, TSN4) has 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists) in 39 games, trailing McDavid’s team-leading 57 (16 goals, 41 assists) in 37 games.

“Draisaitl can think like McDavid. He’s not as fast but he’s as smart, he can think like McDavid and knows what to do. That’s why Hull and I got along so well on the ice in Chicago, and Orr and myself in Boston.

“I tried to think the way Orr would think coming up the ice. Where was the puck going to be? Wherever I thought it would be, that’s where I’d be. Sooner or later Bobby had to give it off and that’s where I’ll be. Draisaitl does that with McDavid.”

Esposito then flashed back to his arrival in the NHL, not that he saw much, or any, of Montreal Forum ice 60 years ago on this night.

“I don’t think I had a shift,” he said. “I was the rookie, man, just called up from St. Paul, Minnesota.”

Playing for the St. Louis Braves, Esposito was the Central Professional Hockey League’s scoring leader with 80 points (36 goals, 54 assists in 43 games). He’d just scored two goals with three assists on Jan. 15, 1964, in a 7-3 road win against the St. Paul Bruins when the Black Hawks placed the call.