Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid was back to his usual calm and collected manner following a 6-3 preseason loss to the Calgary Flames last night.
Yet, most of the questions he faced from the media focused on a viral clip of him yelling at his teammates following last season’s Game 2 loss in the Stanley Cup Final. It offered a window into another side of McDavid, one that fans have never been able to see.
The clip was part of a trailer for Amazon Prime’s upcoming NHL docuseries, FaceOff, which promises to bring fans closer to their favourite players than ever before. McDavid commented on the clip, saying that the doc captured some moments that would have otherwise been private.
“They shot things in our most intense moments, most meaningful moments. They shot it, they may as well use it,” McDavid said. “There’s lots of emotions there obviously and I think fans will see that.
“You’re going to see hockey players, but you’re going to see the human side of it. You’re going to see joy on one side and you’re going to see a lot of heartbreak on one side as well… Hopefully, it’s worth it, it’s not the easiest thing to let some media in in some of those moments.”
“I thought the legs got better & better as the game wore on. I think it’s more the battling & stuff that you’re just not used to.”#Oilers Captain Connor McDavid spoke with the media about his pre-season debut tonight vs. Calgary.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/qdaJCZMht7
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 24, 2024
It’s shaping up to be an intense docuseries and if that fiery clip of McDavid indicates what will be shown, hockey fans will be in for a treat. However, the Oilers superstar did want to point out that fans should not take everything they see at face value.
“They get to contextualize it as much as they want,” McDavid said. “It’s interesting how they cut it up, they obviously need to make a story, but overall, I think you’re going to see emotions from both sides.
“It was never my plan to be the star of the show… I think we wanted to dip our toe in, but here we are headfirst off the diving board.”
Seeing McDavid in his most vulnerable and raw state lets fans get a glimpse of the kind of leader he is behind closed doors. While it may be surprising to those watching for the first time, it’s nothing new to his teammates.
“To us, it’s normal, he’s a phenomenal leader,” Zach Hyman said after the game when asked about the clip. “To us, he’s Connor, he is who he is, he’s a great player, the best in the world, a phenomenal leader.”
“Any time you’re in the pre-season the rhythm is always off, it’s a little different. I thought as the game went on we got better as a group.”#Oilers forward Zach Hyman checked in with the media in Edmonton following tonight’s loss. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/8cGm39t6vS
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 24, 2024
There is no denying that McDavid was able to light a bit of a fire under the Oilers after that clip. Despite losing Game 3, Edmonton was able to beat the odds and won three straight games to force a Game 7 before coming up just short of the Stanley Cup in a 2-1 loss.
We will see what more is revealed about McDavid when the documentary drops on Amazon Prime on October 4.