Connor McDavid may be as special as any player Sherry Bassin has worked with in his hockey career – that's saying a lot.
The Erie Otters general manager has worked at every level of hockey in his 35+ years in management and he doesn't hesitate to throw out some big names when talking of McDavid. The 15-year-old was the first-overall pick in the April OHL draft and is just the third player granted exceptional status to enter the draft a year before he was eligible. The others were John Tavares and Aaron Ekblad.
McDavid, who has a goal and assist in his first two OHL games, will make his lone appearance at the Memorial Centre this season when Erie visits the Peterborough Petes 7 p.m. Thursday.
“I've seen a lot of players who have brought me out of my seat,” Bassin told The Examiner. “When I saw this kid I leaped out of my seat.
“He's a special player and a special person,” continued Bassin. “A lot of players with a lot of skill wish they had more character. A lot of players with a lot of character wish they had more ability. This kid has them both.”
Most GMs would refrain from heaping too much in the way of expectations on such a young player. Not Bassin, simply, he says, because McDavid is that good.
“Some people are ahead of their time,” said Bassin. “I have a cousin who was 11 years old taking calculus at the University of Texas and English Literature. You see these (child) violinists at Carnegie Hall. He's ahead of his time.”
Like all great players, he says McDavid makes everyone around him better.
“I've been around Sakic, Sundin, Yzerman, when he was in Peterborough he played for me at the world juniors, and Lemieux, this guy is in a special category,” said Bassin.
Speed, stickhandling, shooting, vision, fearlessness, desire – all that goes into a special player – are McDavid traits, he says.
What sets him apart, says Bassin, is a quality Wayne Gretzky was cited for – the ability to think ahead of the play. A book Bassin is reading called Two Second Advantage used Gretzky as an example of how corporations which think ahead of the curve can avoid problems by anticipating them.
“This guy has a two-second advantage,” said Bassin.
In his OHL debut, McDavid started the first shift on the Otters' top line against the Niagara IceDogs. Bassin said McDavid is mature beyond his years and they feel comfortable putting him in those situations, already. Bassin notes it wasn't long before Niagara matched OHL defenceman-of-the-year Dougie Hamilton against McDavid.
“That's a pretty nice compliment,” he said. “A 19-year-old first-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins. It told you in a hurry from a hockey standpoint they respect him.”
Bassin also praised McDavid for his humble nature. He says the youngster refused to wear Otters gear in training camp, preferring to wear old beat up equipment, because he felt he should earn his spot on the team first and also didn't want other players trying out to feel less important.
While last season was a miserable one as the Otters finished last with their worst record in franchise history, he said winning the right to draft McDavid has been the silver lining.
“If there is a hockey god, he was good to us because this guy is that special,” he said.
Story Courtesy of mike.davies@sunmedia.ca
