Connor McDavid has been called “The Next One,” but the Edmonton Oilers superstar hasn’t let that go to his head.
The 21-year-old Toronto-area native is featured in GQ where he opens up about everything from growing up playing hockey to winning the NHL’s MVP award in 2017.
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“I was 5, playing against those 9-year-olds,” McDavid says, recalling his childhood. “I was definitely not the cocky kid. I was probably on the other end of the spectrum – I was quiet. I remember a time when there was a skills competition, and I think I was 5, and I was so nervous to even compete that I chose not to do the skating part.”
McDavid says he has remained the quiet type even as he’s achieved huge success.
“I’m definitely still on the quieter side,” he says. “Definitely not cocky. But I have a quiet confidence. I definitely believe in myself. And I don’t need to show that on the outside. I just don’t feel like I need to tell people how I feel about myself. I know my skills and I know what I’m comfortable in, and I keep it to myself.”
The hockey star also shared his own opinion about the most stylish NHL players for GQ‘s Instagram Story.
In the interview he talks about his own cool, unassuming fashion sense: “In hockey, there’s definitely that middle ground where you need to be, and as soon as you get out of the middle, you start getting chirped again. I’m definitely not one of those guys that’s chirping the guys that dress super nice, because you know, there’s guys out there in the league – and on my team in fact – that have great style. And I’m just like, ‘go for it, man, you look good!’”
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Despite his MVP win in 2017, last season with the Oilers wasn’t so hot. The team landed sixth in their division and didn’t even make the playoffs.
“It was awful. It was terrible. It was miserable around town,” McDavid says of that period. “I remember everyone just chirping at you all the time. I was at dinner one time with my parents, and I was walking out and guys were chirping me. They’re passionate people and passionate fans.”
Still, the team is looking to do big things this season, and of course McDavid is thankful for winning that MVP trophy, even if he doesn’t believe he deserved it.
“Hockey’s about winning games and about having a team goal, and we weren’t very good last year, so, you know, I shouldn’t have been MVP,” he says. “And that was obviously the clear choice on the media side, whereas the players felt a little bit different. And I appreciate that.”
