Lauren Kyle McDavid dishes on being an entrepreneur in Edmonton
There isn’t much that Lauren Kyle McDavid hasn’t tried these days.
The wife of Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid has not been content sitting at home watching her husband play hockey. Instead, she’s carved out an impressive portfolio over the years, championing several different business ventures of her own, all in the comfort of the Alberta capital.
At first, Lauren channelled her love of interior design with the Kyle and Co. Studio in 2019, but that was just the beginning. Over the past few years, she has also launched her own bar and furniture store, Trove Living and Bar Trove, in downtown Edmonton, and has headed up a new fashion brand called Sports Club Atelier (SCA).
SCA launched in 2025 and has quickly become a powerhouse in fashionable sports attire. Lauren’s brand has collaborated with the Oilers, Hockey Canada, and is even gearing up for a unique team-up with Liquid I.V. ahead of the Montreal Grand Prix.
So, how and why did Mrs. McDavid decide to dip her toes into the fashion world? Lauren told Daily Hive about her inspiration in an exclusive interview.
“My original inspiration started from doing the [playoff] jackets myself for the girls on our team,” Lauren said. “I kind of was delegated to do that role and to create these jackets, and then I found a love and interest in fashion.
“When you’re a designer, you can kind of play with different areas of design, and fashion was something that I was really passionate about. I think with women like me, who really appreciate and love sport, there was a gap missing in the market of really fashionable wear that we could wear to games. I saw that as an opportunity and created the business from it.”
@laurenkyle1/Instagram
Those jackets, otherwise known as WAG jackets, have taken off in popularity over the past few years. Every year, fans are anxious to see what teams cook up and show off throughout the playoffs.
Lauren has been very active in that scene, with SCA designing jackets not just for the Oilers’ wives and girlfriends, but also for other teams. She shared her thoughts on the recent WAG jacket craze and what draws people to them.
“We’re talking about fashion and culture, and not just so much about the sport and hockey itself,” Lauren said. “We’re kind of bridging this new gap with this more social conversation… Every jacket that I try to create for the Oilers, I think about having it in my closet for future kids one day to pass down, and it just creates this really great sense of community and piece of time.
“When I look back at a jacket, I’ll remember that year and kind of what we went through in that year, what the playoffs looked like, and what the team looked like at the time. I just really love the sentimental part of the jackets.”
@laurenkyle1/Instagram
Being the wife of one of the NHL’s best players is a unique situation for Lauren. Though we always hear about how the wife supports the husband in these scenarios, she gave a peek behind the curtain of how McDavid supports his wife through all her ventures.
In the end, they are both the captains of their respective operations.
“I think we both support each other a lot,” Lauren said. “We’re both each other’s biggest fans, I would say, for both my businesses and his career in hockey. There are so many parallels when you’re running businesses and you’re a captain of a hockey team.
“I think that creates a better understanding of each other, and we kind of understand what that takes in order to be the best at what we both do, and lead teams. We have lots of shared experiences and values, even though we do such different things.”
@laurenkyle1/instagram
It’s not often that you see somebody in Lauren’s spot set up their base of operations in Edmonton. That sort of stuff is usually reserved for Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal. It helps that her husband plays for the Oilers, but she finds Edmonton to be a very unique spot for entrepreneurs.
In fact, it sounds like she adores the city and what it offers.
“What’s interesting about Edmonton is it’s such a big city, but it also feels like such a small city,” Lauren said. “There’s not a huge market saturation in Edmonton for different businesses, so I found that there’s a lot of opportunity and there are a lot of gaps to fill within the city, and also we’re eager to support local communities and local businesses.
“I’ve noticed such a great community, and everyone is willing to rally and support you. Also, everyone loves change. I think people do actually love change, and they love it when something is new in Edmonton. Personally, I’ve had a great experience with the Edmonton entrepreneurship business community.”
@laurenkyle1/Instagram
Things won’t be slowing down for Lauren, who mentioned that SCA has gotten its NHL licence and will be expanding its horizons with merch for teams outside the Oilers. The brand will also continue to expand outside hockey, with an upcoming collaboration with Stella Artois for Wimbledon planned for July.
Lauren also mentioned that SCA is planning to branch out into different sports.
“We’re in talks with some baseball teams, so we’re hoping to go into other sports as well,” Lauren teased.
Outside of the fashion business, she also confirmed that there are plans to expand Trove Living and Bar Trove with a second location in Texas sometime soon.