EDMONTON – Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid took the next step in his NHL career Thursday, checking in to rookie camp before heading out to play in the Young Stars tournament in B.C.
“It’ll be fun,” McDavid told reporters after he and the other Oiler rookies finished up medical and fitness testing at Rexall Place. “Penticton is part of the process. Let’s get it started.”
Rookies from the Oilers will play against fellow first-year rivals from the Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames starting Friday in Penticton.
The Oilers’ main camp begins next week, and the anticipation of McDavid’s arrival in the Alberta capital continues to build. The team announced Thursday that crowds for the first days of training camp are expected to be so large, a lottery will be held to determine who gets in.
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McDavid’s dazzling offensive talent has observers predicting he is a generational player akin to Pittsburgh Penguins great Sidney Crosby.
The 18-year-old forward, drafted first overall this spring by Edmonton, said he is getting used to the glare of the spotlight.
“It’s something I’ve prepared for,” he said. “It comes with the job that we all picked.”
While McDavid is the headliner, the Oilers are hoping a number of highly talented newcomers will take the next step this season and return the Oilers to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
Two of them, centre Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Darnell Nurse, will be with McDavid in Penticton. Nurse said the intensity of the tournament is a good way to start.
“You don’t play many games in the summer that have high tempos … so it will be good to go out there and get my legs under me,” said Nurse.
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He added it will be fun to play with McDavid.
“He’s a very dangerous player,” he said. “He goes out there every day and works hard, and pushes himself.
“It’s something the other guys feed off of.”
Nurse is looking to stick full time with Edmonton after playing just two games last season before returning to junior. Draisaitl, meanwhile, played 37 games with Edmonton before being sent down to junior.
The former first-round pick said his goal for this training camp hasn’t changed.
“I come in with the same mindset,” said Draisaitl. “I want to establish myself as a full-time NHL player.”
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Head coach Todd McLellan has said he is considering moving him from centre to wing. Draisaitl said he hasn’t played the position recently, but has in the past.
“It shouldn’t be too big of an adjustment,” he said.
The Young Stars Tournament runs Sept. 11-14 at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The Oilers Rookies were 2-1 at last year’s event, with Draisaitl and Nurse in the lineup.
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