BLOG: McDavid eyes another milestone

EDMONTON, AB – Connor McDavid is in milestone territory.

The Oilers Captain’s next tick on the scoresheet will mark point No. 500 of his career as he currently rests at 171 goals and 328 assists over 368 career National Hockey League games. 

McDavid has a long list of accomplishments he could flaunt but isn’t the type to boast about individual success. The 24-year-old has already been the recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award and remains an automatic lock for every NHL All-Star Game. 

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The 1st-overall selection in the 2015 NHL Draft takes a team-first approach to the ice and off of it, caring more for collective success than the personal accolades. That aspect of No. 97 resonates most with members of the Oilers.

“That’s the leadership he shows,” Head Coach Dave Tippett said. “You respect a guy for his leadership and respect him for his ability. But ultimately, you respect him as a human being because he’s just a really good person. It just so happens that he’s a really good hockey player to go with a really good person.”

Defenceman Adam Larsson has shared the ice with McDavid for five seasons, getting a first-person point of view of the captain’s amazing body of work. Larsson, like Tippett, commended the leader’s ability to remain reserved despite being considered the NHL’s best player.

“He doesn’t really care about points,” Larsson said. “He’s so humble, too, and that almost makes it more impressive. He’s going to get a whole lot more points than 500.”

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 McDavid has averaged 1.35 points per game over his career. Should his next goal or assist be registered in Wednesday’s rematch with the Winnipeg Jets, that 500th point would come in the same amount of games it took for Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby to achieve the feat.

McDavid was amused by the fact but in typical fashion, pointed to the greater task at hand.

“I think that’s pretty cool,” he said. “He’s a guy I kind of grew up watching. He’s done a couple of other things that I’m trying to do with all of his Cups and all that stuff. That stuff is more important.”