His sophomore NHL season is putting smiles on the faces of Edmontonians and hockey fans around the world but the game’s most electrifying young talent was not smiling Tuesday when asked about the NHL’s decision to skip the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
“It’s disappointing – I think that’s easy to say,” Connor McDavid said in a video posted to Oilers TV on Tuesday.
“It’s disappointing for all the young guys in the league – Eichel, Matthews, Ekblad, the list goes on and on and on – all these young guys that are trying to make their mark on hockey and they may not be able to get their chance to on the international stage so that part of it is a little bit upsetting.”
On Monday, the NHL announced it would not send its players to Pyeongchang even though players had taken part in the past five Winter Olympics. In a statement, the league cited opposition from owners who didn’t want to disrupt the 2017-18 season and said the International Olympic Committee, International Ice Hockey Federation and National Hockey League Players’ Association did not engage in “meaningful dialogue” with the league for why it should participate.
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“Obviously the Olympics is the greatest sporting event in the world and not to be able to do that is disappointing but there’s a lot of people higher up making those decisions,” McDavid said Tuesday.
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“You look at those great moments like Sid (Crosby scoring a gold medal-winning goal for Canada in 2010) and those are the goals that you dream of scoring as a kid and not to be able to have that opportunity is, like I keep saying, disappointing.”
McDavid recently helped the Edmonton Oilers clinch their first playoff berth in 11 years and leads the NHL in scoring, elevating his already strong game and drawing comparisons to the sophomore season had by Pittsburgh Penguins’ forward Sidney Crosby.
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McDavid said he watched Crosby score his famous 2010 goal at a party held by his hockey team at the time.
“I just remember all the excitement. It was such a special moment that I’ll never forget.”
McDavid made the comments in Los Angeles as the Oilers prepared to face off against the Kings Tuesday night.
Hockey fans Global News spoke with in Edmonton also said they were disappointed NHL players would not be participating.
“I’m shocked,” a man named Alex said on Whyte Avenue. “I would have loved to have seen Crosby and McDavid play on Team Canada.
“I just wish they could have been there.”
“They’re the best players in the world,” Curtis, an Edmonton hockey fan, said. “Why on Earth should they not be allowed to go?”
Some players were more outspoken in their opposition to the NHL’s position on the Olympics. On Tuesday, one of the league’s premier goal scorers said he planned to go to the games regardless of what the league said.
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-with files from The Canadian Press
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