Connor McDavid Was Featured In GQ And Talks About Being A Man Rocket & Being Chirped In Edmonton
GQ - The NHL superstar known as The Next One had a tough season last year as the Edmonton Oilers missed the playoffs despite big expectations. Here he talks about getting roasted by locals, being a confident—but not cocky—childhood hockey god, and how he managed to escape “worst dressed” status as a young pro.
So Connor McDavid was featured in the latest GQ magazine and boy did he put on a show. McDavid talks a lot about his time in Edmonton and what it was like to grow up a hockey prodigy. For a guy who has the entire hockey world in the palm of his hand, McDavid came off as extremely humbled and really seemed like a guy who has a good head on his shoulders.
McDavid also talks about his style and what it is like to have all eyes on everything you do and wear.
I pulled some of the most interesting answers from McDavid and let me just say, Edmonton sounds like hell to play in. Who the fuck would ever chirp Connor McDavid? Did he build that terrible roster? Did he trade away Taylor Hall AND Jordan Eberle? No. So if you’re an Edmonton fan out there that has chirped #97, you’re a fucking moron.
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How miserable was the town of Edmonton during a losing season last that?
It was awful. It was terrible. It was miserable around town. I remember everyone just chirping at you all the time. I was at dinner one time with my parents, and I was walking out and guys were chirping me. They’re passionate people and passionate fans. When you’re winning, you’re a hero in this city, and when you’re losing they want to run you right out of it. They’re just passionate, and you have to be able to understand that.
This will always blow my mind. You want to go up to a guy like Whit while he is eating a steak and tell him to kick rocks? Go ahead. Even though that’s still wicked fucked up and i’ll probably have to fight you (#TeamWhitney). But McDavid!? Connor McDavid!? You’re going to chirp one of the best hockey players in the world while he is out to dinner with his parents? Holy shit, figure it out Edmonton. You should be kissing the ground he walks on.
When I was in high school in Minnesota, the hockey kids were the coolest kids. They had the mullet, but incorporated this spiky skateboarder’s side part into it—this is back in the ’90s. Did you have a style in Toronto?
My style was not good. It’s definitely something that’s grown over time. As a kid I wore my team’s tracksuit all the time. Splash pants or track pants. I wore a hat every day. And then when I got to the NHL, guys would make fun of me that I had the worse style in the league. I showed up for my first road trip and all the guys have these Gucci bags and these Louis Vuitton bags—you know, these sweet bags. And I showed up with my Erie Otters team bag, and [Oilers vet] Eddie Purcell was like, “Dude, what are you doing with that?” Well, what do you mean, it’s my bag, what am I supposed to do? “Go out and buy yourself a nice bag.” Sure enough, had to go out and buy myself a nice Tumi bag. Next thing you know, they’re chirping my hair. “You gotta go get a nicer hair cut than that—that’s awful.” I think it’s a little bit better now, but I still have some work to do.
This actually reminded me of when I first started doing the podcast with Whit and when I first started hanging around Biz. One night I went out with Biz and right when I walked out of the bathroom I got the same exact thing “Dude, you are really wearing that out?”. NHL guys like to look good. You can’t have one squid in the group who makes all the boys look like trash because he looks like a donkey at the bar.
Give McDavid two-three years, he’ll be one of the best dressed guys in the NHL. A little money and some fame will change you real quick. But at the same time, how stylish does one need to dress in Edmonton? I feel like a flannel and jeans would do the trick every night.
Any who, McDavid is a stud. He is going to be a stud in this league for a long time. And if you are from Edmonton and chirp him, fuck you.