Imagine being a beer league hockey player and seeing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the NHL’s greatest dynamic duo, show up as ringers for your game that night.
Now imagine outscoring them.
The Edmonton Oilers superstars suited up for a Wednesday night pickup game at the Magna Centre in Newmarket, Ontario, around where McDavid grew up playing hockey. McDavid and Draisaitl hit the ice wearing Oilers practice jerseys to the delight of fans.
But if those fans were expecting the former NHL MVPs to crush the locals like they were playing a video game set to “easy” mode, that wasn’t the case. In fact, according to reports, neither McDavid nor Draisaitl had a goal in the game.
Granted, they were playing at offseason speeds and looking to set up others. McDavid wasn’t exactly dipping into his bag of tricks when he got breakaway chances against the opposing goaltender. Not that the goaltender probably minded, having been gifted the tale of stopping Connor McDavid on multiple breakaways.
According to reports, McDavid and Draisaitl found themselves down 4-0 after the end of the first period. They eventually lost the game 6-2.
On-ice officials said they were given a heads-up that McDavid and Draisaitl were going to play that night, according to TSN. They were still a little “starstruck” but admitted the refs worked harder for the occasion “even though it’s a summer league game in July.”
This isn’t the first time McDavid has dropped in to play summer hockey. He caused a stir back in 2023 when he suited up for a championship final game against a team that had Los Angeles Kings star Quinton Byfield as a ringer.
“That’s a league I played in with my buddies for over ten years now. We joined that league back when I played junior hockey. I was a little bit surprised to see it get blown up,” he told ESPN. “I’ve been playing in those games for over a decade now. So it’s pretty funny that it just kind of came up.”
McDavid and Draisaitl will run it back with the Oilers next season as they seek a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final and their first championship together. But before that, Edmonton fans — and fans around the NHL — are waiting to hear McDavid’s decision on a new contract with the Oilers, as he’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.