McDavid, Otters Shine On NHL Stage - By Victor Fernandes - Erie Times-News - GoErie.com - Wednesday, October 22.
Buffalo, NY - Connor McDavid was the center of attention for the first OHL game in the Buffalo Sabres' hockey home. Sabres fans want McDavid, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL draft, to make Buffalo his home next season. But on Wednesday night, he wasn't the only Erie Otter who felt at home at First Niagara Center.
McDavid led the way with a goal and three assists. But 11 other Otters contributed to another potent offensive performance in an 8-4 win against Niagara in front of a pro-McDavid crowd of 11,391 fans - the largest to ever watch an Otters' game in franchise history.
"I thought we got off to a pretty good start there. My linemates (Alex DeBrincat and Nick Betz) played very well. So it was a good game for us," said McDavid, who was happy to spread the credit around a team that tied a season high in goals.
It was well-deserved praise. That top line combined for three goals and seven assists, with DeBrincat scoring his league-best 12th and 13th goals of the season and Betz adding three assists. Kurtis MacDermid scored his first two goals of the season from defense. Troy Donnay added a goal from the blue line, while rookie center Shaun Bily scored his first OHL goal.
http://www.goerie.com/mcdavid-otters-shine-on-nhl-stage
McDavid Show Gets Rave Reviews Downtown - Amy Moritz - Buffalo News Sports Reporter - BuffaloNews.com - Wednesday, October 22.
It was near the end of the first period when it happened. What everyone who came to First Niagara Center on Wednesday night was eager to see. His team shorthanded, Connor McDavid picked up the puck, exploded through the neutral zone, then weaved the puck around the defender to go in one-on-one with the goalie. He didn’t score. But it didn’t matter. It was electric. Speed and vision.
Those are McDavid’s claims to fame. And all aspects of his game were on display in front of 11,391 as the Erie Otters defeated the Niagara Ice Dogs, 8-4, in an Ontario League Hockey matchup. He finished with a goal and three assists. The likely No. 1 pick in next summer’s NHL draft has been called a generational player. With a strong possibility of McDavid landing in Buffalo in the draft, fans came out to see the young superstar and he didn’t disappoint.
“It’s not a whole lot of thinking that you’re doing,” is how McDavid described his game and that play in particular. “If it is thinking, often times you’re going to get caught. It just has to be instinct. And that’s something I think I may have. It’s just creativity and looking to try different plays.”
Then again, it’s not a total absence of thinking. When pressed, McDavid talks through his process on that head-turning play. “You get the pass and obviously you know,” the defenseman is there, McDavid said. “He had a good step on me. I tried to shake him a little bit and burn him wide but he stayed with me. You take one hard step and now he’s gotta commit. He commits and as soon as he lunges forward, you try to cut back. I wasn’t necessarily looking to try and go through his feet or anything like that. I think I was more trying to go through his stick because I thought he might have been lunging forward a little bit. It just went through his feet.”
It’s the type of “wow” play people have come to expect from McDavid.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/s...2944D177221B381926937B59B69551BD733769B5752D3
