Connor McDavid is and will continue to prove that he is the best hockey player on the planet. Whatever bar is set for McDavid at the beginning of any season, he has surpassed it and then some. He has some high expectations coming off of yet another impressive regular season and a solid playoff showing. He is the fastest player in the league and continues to use his speed to dominate his opposition.
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Playing alongside a few of the league’s most elite players, McDavid has the potential to blow the minds of even more fans this season. He only needs 150 points to surpass 1,000 career points, and he is only 53 assists away from 600 in his career. Barring any unforeseen events, McDavid not hitting that mark seems impossible. Heading into the 2023-24 season, McDavid will surpass 160 points, with at least 100 assists, and break the 50-goal mark for the second time in his career.
McDavid’s Career With the Oilers
McDavid was drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He had an outstanding junior career with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) where, over three seasons, he scored 97 goals and 285 points through 166 games, for a 1.72 points-per-game average. In his draft year with the Otters in 2014-15, he was named team captain and averaged over two points per game, scoring 44 goals and 120 points through 47 games. He also represented Team Canada at the World Junior Championships that season, scoring three goals and 11 points through seven games as the team’s assistant captain.
McDavid joined a struggling Oilers team in the 2015-16 season but still made an immediate impact. He scored 16 goals and 48 points in his rookie campaign, but an ugly collision limited him to 45 games. McDavid returned the following season as the Oilers’ captain, and, with a full 82-game season, scored 30 goals and 100 points, to completely put any doubt about his talent to rest.
He is now entering his ninth season in the NHL and will be looking to continue his dominance. Aside from his rookie season, he has only had one season below 100 points ( 97 during the 2019-20 season) and has cleaned house at the NHL awards show over the past several seasons. He is a three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner, three-time Art Ross Trophy winner, and three-time Ted Lindsay Award winner, and won his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy last season. While winning awards has to be fun for McDavid, like every NHLer, he has his eye on the Stanley Cup.
The future Hall of Famer has steadily increased his offensive production, and if the last few seasons are any indication, the NHL is in for a treat in 2023-24. He is coming off a career-high in goals, assists, and points and is in the prime of his career with some high-profile analysts projecting him to reach those kinds of numbers for a second straight season.
Why Will McDavid Reach 160 (Or More) This Season?
Last season was the second straight campaign when the Oilers were eliminated by the eventual Cup winners – the Vegas Golden Knights last season, and the Colorado Avalanche before that. They still have a tough hill to climb to defeat the best teams in the West, and eventually in the East, but the team has never been more motivated to prove themselves as more than just a regular season team.
McDavid will have Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Evan Bouchard back to help him lead the league’s best power play. With that kind of firepower, it’s more surprising when that group doesn’t score. Management also went out and snagged McDavid’s former teammate with the Otters, Connor Brown, who will also be looking to prove himself alongside his old buddy, as he is coming off of a season riddled with injuries.
With such a talented group heading into the 2023-24 season, it’s almost a guarantee that McDavid will break his own personal records again. The team didn’t make too many changes, and all key players are returning. They added the depth needed in the event of injuries and gave McDavid more than enough weapons to surpass last season’s stats.
While the Oilers are one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season, it’s hard not to wonder what kind of magic McDavid will pull off individually. He has often stated that he’s not focused on personal accolades, but with the teammates around him and more motivation than ever, there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll break the 160-point mark, which hasn’t been done since 1995-96 when legend Mario Lemieux put up 161.
