SUNRISE, Fla. — Connor McDavid’s favorite hockey player is Sidney Crosby. His favorite non-skating athlete is LeBron James.
He’s now in their club, forever to be known as a No. 1 pick.
FIRST ROUND
1. Edmonton, Connor McDavid, C, Erie (OHL)
2. Buffalo, Jack Eichel, C, Boston U.
3. Arizona, Dylan Strome, C, Erie (OHL)
4. Toronto, Mitch Marner, C, London (OHL)
5. Carolina, Noah Hanifin, D, Boston College.
6. New Jersey, Pavel Zacha, C, Sarnia (OHL)
7. Philadelphia, Ivan Provorov, D, Brandon (WHL)
8. Columbus, Jack Werenski, D, Michigan.
9. San Jose, Timo Meier, RW, Halifax (QMJHL)
10. Colorado, Mikko Rantanen, RW, TPS (Finland)
11. Florida, Lawson Crouse, LW, Kingston (OHL)
12. Dallas, Denis Gurianov, RW, Togliatti 2 (Russia-Jr.)
13. Boston, Jakub Zboril, D, Saint John (QMJHL)
14. Boston, Jake DeBrusk, LW, Swift Current (WHL)
15. Boston, Zach Senyshyn, RW, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
16. N.Y. Islanders, Mathew Barzal, C, Seattle (WHL)
17. Winnipeg, Kyle Connor, LW, Youngstown (USHL)
18. Ottawa, Thomas Chabot, D, Saint John (QMJHL)
19. Detroit, Evgeny Svechnikov, LW, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
20. Minnesota, Joel Eriksson Ek, C, Farjestad BK (Sweden)
21. Ottawa, Colin White, C, USA U-18 (USHL)
22. Washington, Ilya Samsonov, G, Magnitogorsk 2 (Russia-Jr.)
23. Vancouver, Brock Boeser, RW, Waterloo (USHL)
24. Philadelphia (from Nashville through Toronto), Travis Konecny, C, Ottawa (OHL)
25. Winnipeg, Jack Roslovic, C, USA U-18 (USHL)
26. Montreal, Noah Juulsen, D, Everett (WHL)
27. Anaheim, Jacob Larsson, D, Frolunda Jr. (Sweden Jr.)
28. N.Y. Islanders, Anthony Beauvillier, LW, Shawinigan (QMJHL)
29. Columbus, Gabriel Carlsson, D, Linkoping Jr. (Sweden Jr.)
30. Arizona, Nicholas Merkley, RW, Kelowna (WHL)
McDavid’s journey toward widely expected NHL superstardom began Friday night when the Edmonton Oilers grabbed him with the top overall selection in the draft.
No player has entered the league with such hype since Crosby a decade ago, and McDavid’s level of celebrity within the game already may rival what James was dealing with when he joined the NBA in 2003.
“It was even better than I expected,” McDavid said. “It’s so exciting to hear your name called. It was unbelievable.”
Crosby and James proved the buzz surrounding them was worthwhile, and now McDavid now gets a turn. The Oilers haven’t been to the playoffs since 2006, a far cry from when Wayne Gretzky dominated and Edmonton won five titles in seven years from 1984 through 1990.
“The Edmonton Oilers have such a historic history,” McDavid said.
He’s their future.
“We’re lucky to have him,” Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli said.
Buffalo took the Hobey Baker winner, Jack Eichel of Boston University, with the No. 2 pick, another no-surprise move. Eichel had 26 goals and 45 assists in 40 games this season.
“I think Buffalo is heading in the right direction, as a team and as a city,” Eichel said. “There’s a lot of positives and I want to be a piece of the puzzle. Buffalo wants success and they want success soon, and it’s going to happen.”
Fans from across the league – at least their jersey choices suggested so – were in south Florida for the festivities. Many endured long lines to pose with the Stanley Cup. A group of Edmonton men wore matching McDavid No. 97 jerseys. A few from Buffalo wore “I like Eich” T-shirts, a nod to the 34th U.S. President, Dwight Eisenhower.
They knew who the first two picks would be.
The rest of the night was a guessing game.
Arizona used the No. 3 pick on center Dylan Strome, McDavid’s teammate with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters, finishing this season with nine more points but in 21 more games. Toronto took Mitch Marner at No. 4, making it four straight centers to lead off.
Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifin went No. 5 to Carolina, which meant two U.S. players were top-five picks for the first time since 2007.
The Florida Panthers, the new parent of the Portland Pirates, used the No. 11 pick to take Lawson Crouse, a forward from Kingston of the OHL.
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