How many people have actually watched this guy play?
I am not saying he is anything other then what he is touted to be... But I see a LOT of people talking about how amazing he is, and its just not possible that many people have access to watch his games? Is everyone just going nuts over what other scouts have said and the youtube clips they have watched?
Since I'm a geek, I actually planned a few days in Detroit as part of my September vacation. Along with Tigers/Red Wings games, I drove across the border to Windsor to watch McDavid, and also catch the US U-18 team in Ann Arbor.
Those two goals in person were tremendous to watch live. Windsor kept McDavid off the scoresheet in the first period but I was really impressed by his defensive tenacity. I saw him in the tunnel before warmups and he looks like your average teenager. Definitely has room to add some muscle.
I was under the impression that McDavid was the best prospect since Crosby but not quite as good as Sid was as a 17 year old. Sportsnet had a magazine with McDavid on the cover with a tabloid headline "BETTER THAN CROSBY" but that seemed more of a tactic to sell more issues.
The next day I saw a USHL game with the US U-18 team and Youngstown. Youngstown has a 2015 prospect named Kyle Connor who most have top 15. US U-18 had a few 2015 guys (Colin White, Jordan Greenway, and Jeremy Bracco) plus 2016 (Auston Matthews, Matt Tkachuk). Just from those two games, McDavid was on another level by comparison.
On a side note, I had a fun interaction with a border patrol agent when I was driving into Canada. He didn't quite understand how somebody from San Diego was going to Windsor to watch a hockey prospect.