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Edmonton Oilers’ McDavid gives inspiring speech to his old junior team

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Jan 11 2025, 5:09 pm
Edmonton Oilers’ McDavid gives inspiring speech to his old junior team

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid was in Erie last night to witness his jersey get raised up into the rafters.

Before being selected by the Oilers first overall in 2015, McDavid spent three seasons in the OHL playing for the Erie Otters. Over that span, he racked up 97 goals and 285 points in just 166 games.

McDavid has since gone on to reach historic heights in the NHL, and currently sits with a ridiculous 1,040 points in just 683 career games. He’s undoubtedly the best player in Otters franchise history, making the decision to retire his jersey an easy one.

McDavid, who was in attendance at the game with his family, went into the Otters room just ahead of puck drop to give them a great speech on just how much the organization continues to mean to him.

“What’s up fellas? Thanks so much for having me,” McDavid said. “I’ll try to keep it brief, let you guys get at it, but I wanted to leave you with two messages. [Make sure] you enjoy this time. I sat right there in that stall 10 years ago. It goes by so, so fast. Enjoy this time, it’s the best time of your life. All your buddies, playing hockey, doing what you love to do. Enjoy it. My last message is to wear the jersey with pride. Our boys started this thing from kind of the ground up. This organization when we first got here was nothing to be proud of, but to wear that jersey now, it means something. It means something to me. Wear that jersey with pride.”

The Otters pulled out all the stops to honour McDavid, which included every player wearing No. 97 jerseys out for warmup.

McDavid also received a nice message from Dylan Strome, whom he played alongside during his final two seasons in Erie.

“Hey Davo, it’s Stromer. Just wanted to come here and say congrats on having your number retired by the Erie Otters,” Strome said. “You’re one of the best players that’s ever played in the organization. The best player that’s ever played in the organization. It was an honour to get to play with you and be your friend. Cheers to all the good memories we had, and hopefully we can make some more in the future.”

The night clearly meant a lot to McDavid, who has often been on record stating how much he enjoyed his time in the OHL and specifically playing in Erie. He was able to reiterate that speaking with reporters ahead of the game.

“It means a lot,” McDavid said. “To be recognized for my time here and the great teams that were here. I think of all the amazing players that were here, [Connor] Brown, Stromer, [Alex] DeBrincat, [Adam] Pelech, the list goes on and on of great players during that time. We had great teams and went on some really fun runs. I remember this building being rocking. It’s just fun to be back here.”

While he still has plenty of runway left in his NHL career, it’s widely expected that McDavid will one day receive a similar honour with the Oilers. The 27-year-old is having another fantastic season with 58 points through 38 games, and has his sights set on winning the first Stanley Cup of his career later this year.

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