There is nothing in sport like watching the very greatest perform on the biggest stages and in the biggest moments.
And we are being treated to that very thing at the Olympic Men’s Hockey tournament and from Connor McDavid, in particular.
But what might the Edmonton Oilers learn from this display?
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. The Oilers are a veteran team. While every player would have preferred to be playing for their nation in the Olympics, might the Oilers benefit from the extra R’n’R from some of their older players down the stretch? I am thinking about Mattias Ekholm in particular, who had returned to his usual play for the Oilers
this season. He will be so critical down the stretch.
8. So far, I would suggest to you that Team Canada’s Defence has outperformed its pre-Olympic projections. A perceived “weakness”, at least relative to a couple others top teams, has looked pretty good. They are being coached by the otherwise unemployed (at the moment) Pete DeBoer. We all know how the Oilers Defence in general has fallen so far off this season. Hmmm…
7. I hear some embarrassing whispers about how this will not be a truly “best-on-best” tournament until the Russians are back. Last I checked, the Russians were still bombing the hell out of Ukraine. I feel bad for some Russians players, who may not have done anything personally to be excluded. But all I can say to them is “talk to your President”. Lots more on the Olympics coming up…
6. A few eyebrows raised when player agent Ritch Winter spoke out about Calvin Pickard’s current situation with Edmonton. The money quote: “There’s not enough evidence that the other guys are better”. Those who follow what I write here will known that I am on team Pickard as well. But I would not read a whole lot into Winter’s words. What else is he going to say about his own client. Calvin may still impact this season. We will see.
5. What do the Edmonton Oilers need the most at the deadline? Most of the talk has been on a top nine forward. I have gone on record that I feel another veteran D-man should be the higher priority. Oilers broadcaster Bob Stauffer, on Friday: “I would have said six weeks ago that we would be looking at forward, top nine edition. I now believe the target is another defenceman as well”. Music to my ears. Even a top-heavy Oilers forward group can score enough. What they need to do better is defend. Period.
4. Heading into play Sunday Team Canada has the narrowest of edges atop the 2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey standings. In many ways it is against the nature of Canadian players to run up the score at any level of the game. It is one of those unwritten rules of hockey. But Canada needs to set that aside against France on Sunday. If the Canadians are to finish on top and draw the less problematic opponent, they can not just win. They need to beat the French by more than the U.S.A. may defeat Germany by. They cannot throttle back.
3. No one likes to see a player have their Olympic dreams cut short by injury. And so, I was very sorry to see Kevin Fiala go down in the Canada-Switzerland game. I saw it as an accidental, incidental play with Tom Wilson. Now, if you want to relitigate whether NHL players should be in the Olympics based on injury risk and the associated cost to their club teams, go ahead I guess. But The NLHPA was abundantly clear how badly the players wanted to go to Italy. And an injury like Fiala’s could just as easily happen in a meaningless pre-season game.
2. Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are having very different Olympic experiences. In Leon’s case, with all due respect to his teammates, is having to shoulder at least as much if not more of the load for an improving Team Germany as he does in Edmonton. It must feel at least a bit familiar to him. Whereas McDavid, so far, while undeniably making major contributions to the always dominant Team Canada has a whole lot more high-level help around him than he does in Edmonton. McDavid will never say it because he values his Oilers teammates so highly. But it has to be a breath of fresh air.
1.Speaking of McDavid: Are we not entertained by Connor’s game in Italy so far? His mix of sublime skill, clutch competitiveness and raw physicality is shining bright against the other best players in the world. If you love the sport of hockey just as much or more than I do, then this is a blissful thing to behold. I am of the generation that vividly remembers watching the great Bobby Orr play. The 1976 Canada Cup was the last time Bobby was “Bobby”. He was the MVP of that tournament and was simply better than everyone else on the ice. And there were a lot of future Hockey Hall of Fame players on that club.
One particular thing that catches my eye so far in these Olympics is just how little ice time Connor McDavid is receiving relative to what he gets in Edmonton. McDavid skated 18:04 against Czechia. Then, he played 14:22 versus Switzerland. So far this season with the Oilers McDavid is averaging a career high 23:07 per night. And look: Do not get me wrong. If I am Kris Knoblauch I am playing my best player a lot, too. And Kris does not have near the same bench at his disposal that John Cooper does. No NHL team has that.
But look at the pure quality of each McDavid shift in Italy to date. In part because he is so rested, he can go flat out each time the gate opens. As a result, each shift is an “event”.
Would the Oilers be a bit better if Connor played just a tick less, especially in less critical situations?
It is hard to argue with the evidence which we are seeing in Italy so far.
Food for thought for Kris Knoblauch.
Leavins Cult of Hockey
Recently, at The Cult…
STAPLES: The Edmonton Oilers change their target as the NHL trade deadline looms
STAPLES: McDavid “sick” in hi-light appearance against Swiss
LEAVINS: McDavid leads way in win over Czechia
Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
This article is not AI generated.
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