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.
McDavid’s journey toward widely expected NHL superstardom officially 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 his level of celebrity within the game already may rival what James was dealing with when he joined the NBA in 2003.
“Unbelievable,” McDavid said. “This is such a surreal feeling. It’s really hard to put into words right now how much this means to me.”
McDavid looked on nervously as Edmonton’s 3-minute draft clock ran down, then hugged family when his name was finally called. He slipped out of his suit jacket, strolled to the stage, shook a few hands and then slipped the Oilers jersey over his head as the crowd cheered.
“We’re lucky to have him,” Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli said.
Buffalo then took Hobey Baker winner Jack Eichel of Boston University with the No. 2 pick, a move that was also expected. Eichel scored 26 goals and added 45 assists in 40 games this past season, on his way to being considered college hockey’s best player.
The intrigue in this draft essentially started at No. 3, when Arizona grabbed forward Dylan Strome McDavid’s teammate with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters.
The biggest early first-round splash was made by Boston, which had the No. 14 pick in the first round to start the day then got the No. 13 and No. 15 selections in a pair of trades Friday. The Bruins traded left wing Milan Lucic to Los Angeles for defenseman Colin Miller, goalie Martin Jones and the 13th pick, then got No. 15, No. 45 and No. 52 from Calgary in exchange for defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
The Colorado Avalanche selected Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen with the 10th overall pick.
