McDavid Doesn't Hold Back - Not a Robot Superstar

[Muggs]

I'm relieved that McDavid said what he did there. I was seriously doubting his competitive drive. Kudos to Sportsnet. Jordanesque. The competitive killer beside me. Scary.

 

[dechire]

Any player who says they're more interested in winning the cup than the Art Ross or another individual trophy is lying, unless they're the Ovechkin/Thornton type and have been there and done that already. Tons of players win the cup, but doing good individually is what gets you noticed, and into the history books. Good on him for being honest.

You should probably watch Jamie Benn interviews when he earned the Art Ross. He was pretty open about not giving a crap about it but wanting to win because his teammates cared.

 

[OilCanada92]

We have really low standards if that's "not holding back."

When McDavid says he wants to eat Crosby's children, that's when I'll give him credit for being a good quote

 

[Bood12]

Any player who says they're more interested in winning the cup than the Art Ross or another individual trophy is lying, unless they're the Ovechkin/Thornton type and have been there and done that already. Tons of players win the cup, but doing good individually is what gets you noticed, and into the history books. Good on him for being honest.

I don't believe that for a second, I am willing to bet the overwhelming majority of players would rather get their name on the cup than win an individual trophy if they had to choose between the 2

 

[TheWolf*]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/mcdavid-pretty-stressful-watching-art-ross-race/

So this was an interview McDavid did while at the Memorial Cup this weekend. It's a couple minutes and it's interesting, but what struck me the most was what McDavid actually said and how he said it. Everyone should definitely watch it.

Basically he was talking about what he did to become a great skater and he talked about just training as often as possible and spending time on his rollerblades when he couldn't get ice time. He then goes "Yeah, kids used to tease me but I'm pretty sure I got the last laugh." Funny enough, he wasn't laughing when he said that. A few moments later he just says outright that watching the Art Ross race was stressful and discounts any suggestion that other players don't watch it.

Nothing crazy, but it shows a willingness to be much more candid than we often see from hockey players - certainly the players of his caliber.

Earlier in the year he really went off on that Manning guy from Philly and looked legitimately ****** after the game. He also was angry when they called him off the ice for the concussion protocol.

Point is: he's definitely wearing his heart on his sleeve more than Crosby or 99 ever did. Sidney Crosby doesn't even have a personality that I'm aware of. Perhaps he's just a really mellow, boring guy, but I'd think it more likely that he intentionally reveals only what's necessary. McDavid, on multiple occasions, has gotten emotional in front of the cameras (pretty much just anger). He seems have a bit of a vindictive streak.

I don't know that this means anything, so I was curious if anyone else has been following him this closely. Anyone agree? Disagree? While he was in Erie he definitely played the part of the robo-phenom well. But even then I'd see one of the short video interviews he'd do with the hockey writer in the Erie Paper and he always looked pissed and sounded salty about something.

Do you guys think this is good? (I do. He can act however he wants if that's what it takes for him to be as incredible as he is) Bad? Am I making stuff up Oilers fans? As much affection as I have for our neighbor to the North, I have to say I find the enforced humility paradigm a little silly. There's no reason McDavid needs to pretend he's not an incredible hockey player. When he explicitly says "I want to be the best player in the world" I like hearing that. Anyways - let's see what other people think.

You say he is wearing his heart on his sleeve, but there's a certain immaturity about this player that was not evident with Crosby. He's no Crosby, that's for sure....but few are.

 

[Dhockey16]

I don't think it should be a surprise that he's probably one of the most competitive human beings on the planet.

Definitely not a surprise that he's ultra competitive. Just a but unusual that we see a player of his stature speak so... honestly. I think it's cool that he goes beyond rehearsed, generic statements in his interviews. He wants to be the best, believes he is the best and wants everyone watching to know it. He's been pretty convincing.

 

[La Bamba]

You say he is wearing his heart on his sleeve, but there's a certain immaturity about this player that was not evident with Crosby. He's no Crosby, that's for sure....but few are.

You obviously didn't watch Crosby during his rookie season

 

[El Travo]

"I won the Art Ross Trophy? I was too busy working towards the Playoffs that I didn't even notice. Do people still keep track of points these days? The Cup is all that matters."

 

[OilTastic]

I'm relieved that McDavid said what he did there. I was seriously doubting his competitive drive. Kudos to Sportsnet. Jordanesque. The competitive killer beside me. Scary.

^i wasn't ! a good example of this was he knew he was in a fight in March when the season was starting to wind down with guys like Backstrom and Marchand for the scoring championship and he basically went out and left them in the dust by seasons end. having watched every game all season i have never questioned his competitive drive !

 

[voxel]

Any player who says they're more interested in winning the cup than the Art Ross or another individual trophy is lying, unless they're the Ovechkin/Thornton type and have been there and done that already. Tons of players win the cup, but doing good individually is what gets you noticed, and into the history books. Good on him for being honest.

Also winning the Art Ross means BONUS money for a kid on his ELC.

 

[TheWolf*]

You obviously didn't watch Crosby during his rookie season

Sure did....on the ice he's emotional, off it, he's as polished as any professional athlete I have ever seen. There's something about McDavid that just doesn't sit right....a certain selfishness or egotism combined with immaturity. Those comments he made off the ice about Brandon Manning were incredibly petty.

 

[TheWolf*]

Also winning the Art Ross means BONUS money for a kid on his ELC.

Pretty sure McDavid is not worried about money. If he is, that's a separate problem as well.

 

[tarheelhockey]

TBH that all sounds a bit unbalanced.

I think it just shows that he's extremely competitive.

Extremely competitive people often are a bit unbalanced.

McDavid seems like a natural product of a hockey development system that chooses talented toddlers and forms them into pure hockey players from the day they're old enough to skate straight. It used to be that NHL players had somewhat normal life experiences before they came into the league. They were grounded in having been raised as more or less normal people, with normal social lives and life experiences until they hit juniors. That is not the case anymore, not with kids who go through the hockey talent factory where you're on a travel team at age 9 and are basically a public figure at 12.

He might be more direct than a Crosby or Toews, but there's just something missing there. He's a robot, just not the same kind of robot as those other guys.

 

[TheWolf*]

Extremely competitive people often are a bit unbalanced.

McDavid seems like a natural product of a hockey development system that chooses talented toddlers and forms them into pure hockey players from the day they're old enough to skate straight. It used to be that NHL players had somewhat normal life experiences before they came into the league. They were grounded in having been raised as more or less normal people, with normal social lives and life experiences until they hit juniors. That is not the case anymore, not with kids who go through the hockey talent factory where you're on a travel team at age 9 and are basically a public figure at 12.

He might be more direct than a Crosby or Toews, but there's just something missing there. He's a robot, just not the same kind of robot as those other guys.

I'll agree with you on most of this...talent wise he's ahead of Crosby....Toews is not even in that league. I also agree that there is something missing, but I think that what's missing is character. I mean, he is only 19 or 20, but he just does not carry himself as well as Crosby. I am thinking it might boil down to intelligence, not hockey smarts, just general intelligence.

 

[OilCanada92]

I'll agree with you on most of this...talent wise he's ahead of Crosby....Toews is not even in that league. I also agree that there is something missing, but I think that what's missing is character. I mean, he is only 19 or 20, but he just does not carry himself as well as Crosby. I am thinking it might boil down to intelligence, not hockey smarts, just general intelligence.

Huh? The kid is camera shy.

 

[Muggs]

^i wasn't ! a good example of this was he knew he was in a fight in March when the season was starting to wind down with guys like Backstrom and Marchand for the scoring championship and he basically went out and left them in the dust by seasons end. having watched every game all season i have never questioned his competitive drive !

Sarcasm. Even if he were a mute I wouldn't doubt his drive having watched him a ton over the years.

 

[leafsfuture]

Pretty sure McDavid is not worried about money. If he is, that's a separate problem as well.

Interesting though as well.... In that interview he mentioned helping Draisaitl get his bonus money was a motivator as well, and I absolutely believe him

I love this kid's attitude. Seems to have the right balance of humility vs confidence. He says what he feels, but it never sounds forced, as if he is trying to cause a scene with his comments.

Maybe I'm biased cause I was always an Ovi guy, but I feel like he is more mature at 20 than Sid was. Not sure if he has the same "coach" like ability though as Sid (to be fair)

 

[Kosik]

Interesting though as well.... In that interview he mentioned helping Draisaitl get his bonus money was a motivator as well, and I absolutely believe him

I love this kid's attitude. Seems to have the right balance of humility vs confidence. He says what he feels, but it never sounds forced, as if he is trying to cause a scene with his comments.

Maybe I'm biased cause I was always an Ovi guy, but I feel like he is more mature at 20 than Sid was. Not sure if he has the same "coach" like ability though as Sid (to be fair)

Easily the most interesting part of that whole thing was the part about Drais money you almost never hear people mention Money/bonuses.

 

[Forgot About Drai]

Everybody remember the **** show on here after he talked about Brandon Manning. Hockey fans cry for more personality but whenever somebody takes a chance and expresses himself they get destroyed by hockey media and fans.

Im sure one or two semi controversies will beat it out him soon.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

Sure did....on the ice he's emotional, off it, he's as polished as any professional athlete I have ever seen. There's something about McDavid that just doesn't sit right....a certain selfishness or egotism combined with immaturity. Those comments he made off the ice about Brandon Manning were incredibly petty.

The comments about Manning couldn't be any further from petty. McDavid defended Manning after the incident, and then when Manning said it was intentional, it made McDavid's past comments dishonest. He had to set the record straight as well as hold Manning to account for having such little character.

Please give examples of his selfishness. You couldn't go a day this season without a talking head saying that he needs to shoot more. The kid passes off on empty netters to pad teammates stats. He also puts up with more garbage than the vast majority of players and usually says something to the effect of "it's just something I have to play through." When he's asked about individual accomplishments, he almost always gives all of the credit to his teammates.

It honestly seems like you're projecting a little bit, because none of your analysis on McDavid is accurate.

 

[RJJ]

I'm sure this is off topic and not what the OP intended but is Conner on some "speed" in that interview. The kid is twitching, playing with his hair, looking all over the place, what a weird interview. Lucky this kid is a revelation at hockey cause in real life he might be best suited for a padded cell and some heavy medication.

 

[Jyrki Lumme]

It's sad that people consider this candid.

 

[authentic]

You say he is wearing his heart on his sleeve, but there's a certain immaturity about this player that was not evident with Crosby. He's no Crosby, that's for sure....but few are.

Lol what. McDavid is a far more mature player mentally and emotionally than Crosby was at his age.

 

[Rufus]

Crosby gets emotional: "whiner"
McDavid get emotional: "superstar"

 

[OilCanada92]

Crosby gets emotional: "whiner"
McDavid get emotional: "superstar"

McDavid wasn't chasing the refs around before he even had a letter on his sweater. Let's not act like this is the same thing.

McDavid doesn't like it when guys intentionally break his collarbone. I can't say I blame him. There is no way in hell that I'd be taking the high road on someone if they admitted that to me.