We’ve seen many Ontario Hockey League players get taken first overall in the NHL Entry Draft. Five of the last seven years we have seen an OHL player get his name called on draft day. And in 2015 we can expect another one to join the list.
Erie Otters teenage sensation Connor McDavid has already solidified his spot as one of the best junior hockey players in the world. At age 15, he was granted “exceptional player status” and declared eligible for the OHL draft a year earlier, only the third player to earn that distinction since it was created in 2005.
What were you doing as a high school sophomore? McDavid was named rookie of the year in the OHL last season. This time around? McDavid has 22 goals and 64 assists in 51 games. More substance and to match hype with McDavid. How has he fared against international competition? At the U18 championships last April, he scored eight goals and six assists in seven games playing against kids two years older than him. Imagine you putting up a double-double numbers on the basketball court against high school seniors who would normally be shoving you inside a locker. He’s that good. At the 2014 World Juniors a few months ago, he was held to a goal and two assists but he was further down the depth chart due to an older, stacked Canadian team. He was the He was the sixth 16-year-old to play for Canada at the World Junior, joining the likes of Wayne Gretzky,Eric Lindros, Jay Bouwmeester, Jason Spezza and Sidney Crosby.
This won’t be the last you’ll head of McDavid as he scored a highlight reel against the Plymouth Whalers Wednesday night. He went one-on-one with Plymouth’s Alexander Peters (Ranked No. 36 overall on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm ranking of North American skaters for the 2014 NHL Draft), and the rest can be seen below.
His goal on Zack Bowman was one of the four points he had on the night as Erie routed Plymouth 11-2. Erie currently has the second best record in the division, conference and league behind Guelph. The OHL playoffs are around the corner.