There is virtually no debate across the hockey world: Connor McDavid remains the best player on the planet.
Whether it is his statistical dominance, recognition from his peers or performances on the international stage, the Edmonton Oilers superstar continues to operate on a level of his own.
The Impossible Task of Stopping the Oilers Star
McDavid added more hardware to his already impressive résumé this season.
He won his fifth Ted Lindsay Award, voted on by the NHL players as the league’s most outstanding player. That tied him with Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.
McDavid also captured his sixth Art Ross Trophy after putting up a staggering 138 points during the regular season, joining legends such as Mario Lemieux and Gordie Howe.
He was also named the NHL’s best player at the 2026 ESPY Awards, earning the honor for the fourth time in his career.
There is no question about McDavid’s ability. But one of the most underrated parts of his game is how effectively he creates power-play opportunities for his team. NHL insider Travis Yost recently highlighted McDavid among the league’s best players at creating a positive penalty differential.
“Great at drawing penalties and disciplined enough to not take penalties in their own right. And in the league’s heightened scoring environment, underpinned by an unrelenting upwards shift in power-play production, the ability to maintain such a positive penalty advantage is becoming even more valuable,” Yost said.
That advantage is largely a product of McDavid’s unique skating ability.
“One of the interesting wrinkles about drawing penalties as a skill is that it’s multi-faceted. McDavid, who relies on extreme top-end speed to break down opposing defences, is as good as any player in the league at putting opposing players in compromised positions. Caught flat-footed, defenders routinely grab, hook, or trip McDavid in feeble attempts to slow him down,” he added.
Most NHL skaters need to drive straight ahead to build up their top speed. McDavid is different.
He uses continuous lateral crossovers while accelerating, allowing him to build speed while cutting from side to side across the ice. That movement makes it extremely difficult for defenders to predict which direction he will attack.
Defencemen are generally taught to maintain a stick-length gap from the puck carrier. Against McDavid, however, that gap can disappear in an instant. Defenders often have no choice but to back off early to avoid being beaten wide. In doing so, they give McDavid and the Oilers valuable space to enter the offensive zone.
Once McDavid has a step, defenders are often forced into desperate decisions.
They can allow him to attack the net with speed, or they can reach for their sticks and risk being called for a hook or trip.
That is what makes defending McDavid so difficult. Even when a defender appears to have him contained, the Oilers captain can use his lower-body strength, wide skating base, and elite puck protection to keep possession.
A well-timed stick check can quickly turn into a penalty if McDavid gets his body between the defender and the puck.
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Defending Connor McDavid is less about stopping him completely and more about limiting the damage his speed and skill can create. Even when defenders know what is coming, the Oilers superstar continues to force them into impossible decisions.
