The German Gretzky has passed along one of his old nicknames to Connor McDavid.
EDMONTON -- Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are the heart of the Edmonton Oilers. They are the team's two best offensive weapons who have learned to step up their game come playoff time.
They are also the best of friends.
Most Oilers fans know by now the challenge that Draisaitl posed to McDavid before the 2022-23 season. In a 32 Thoughts interview with Elliotte Friedman, Draisaitl revealed a conversation he had with McDavid.
"I said to him that he needs to score 60 goals. I think he should be [able to] every year."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WgG6PjqsvE[/embed]
Fast forward to now, 56 games into the 2023-24 season and McDavid is not focused on scoring goals. He appears to have a new focus - assisting on every possible goal that he can.
McDavid has 70 assists in 54 games - that's 1.3 assists per game.
But if you ask Draisaitl, he believes assists are (in the very least) as important as goals are. At Oilers practice today he said, "making plays and setting your teammate's up is just as important as putting the puck in the net. If not, more important. Who's going to put the puck in the net if you don't have someone giving it to you?"
At the end of the media availability Tony Brar of Oilers TV asked Draisaitl about the nickname that Zack Kassian had given him. According to Brar, Kassian used to call Draisaitl the human apple tree.
Brar asked, "Is it safe to say that Connor's giving you a run for your money right now?" in regards to Draisaitl's nickname. Draisaitl responded, "he certainly is. I think he's the human apple tree right now."
"That's his slogan now, he can have it."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l1P_9nn53U[/embed]
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