EDMONTON – “Edmonton, since its inception in ‘79, have had some pretty good teams and some pretty good players to cheer for as fans.”
Mark Messier isn’t wrong.
The Edmonton Oilers have had great players wear the Oil Drop and represent the City of Champions. Wayne Gretzky, Chris Pronger, Doug Weight, and Messier himself have all had an impact on the team and the city.
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And now there are Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
In April, Messier spoke to The Hockey News in an exclusive interview to promote a limited edition City of Champions can from Budweiser. We discussed the comparisons that McDavid and Draisaitl get to Gretzky and Messier.
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“Any championship team has had generational players in some positions, And we're seeing it with Connor and Leon,” Messier said. He goes on to talk about the difficulty in comparing someone to Gretzky. “It's hard to compare styles. I don't think anybody's ever played the game the way Wayne has, as far as stylistically.”
“You can compare him to Wayne because of the way they played. They look like each other on the ice. They skate the same, but I don't think anybody's ever, and will ever play the game the way Wayne played.”
Messier has noticed a trend in recent years. There is a lack of comparison between the current Oilers superstars and past legends.
“Nobody talks about Leon or Connor and trying to compare them to a player that played in the past,” Messier told The Hockey News. “They surpassed that. Now they are Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.”
“They're the guy that everybody is comparing to now, which is a huge evolution in a player's career. When a young guy comes into the league, they say, ‘they kinda skate like him or kind of play like him.’”
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Oilers fans have the gift of two superstars on the team they cheer for. Messier recognizes this fact for what it is—a gift.
“You think about how many players are playing hockey globally,” Messier said. “To be at the very top of the sphere as being the best…that's incredible.”
“Everybody can have their opinion and who they like better…but there's just no question that the two of them to be on the same team in Edmonton is quite remarkable.”
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