McDavid having Olympics of ages for Canada heading to gold medal game

MILAN -- The wait to play Olympic hockey has been long, and sometimes frustrating, for Connor McDavid.

The Edmonton Oilers captain is in his 11th NHL season, but this is his first kick at the Olympic can, having just missed out on Sochi in 2014, the last time NHL players appeared before the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

The NHL did not go to the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and pulled out from the 2022 Beijing Olympics because of concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In quiet moments, McDavid had to wonder if he were ever going to occupy the biggest international stage the sport has to offer, or the chance to replicate the feats of the national team heroes that occupied his boyhood dreams.

It has finally come and McDavid has embraced it all.

Now, on the eve of a gold medal game against rival Team USA at Santaguilia Arena on Sunday (8:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, NBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC, SN [JIP], TSN [JIP], RDS2, CBC), he said he is grateful.

“It’s been great,” McDavid said Saturday. “The hockey has been amazing, the level of competition, the parity between all the countries has been very good. Close games, exciting, and now it comes down to one game with two very good teams.”

And, when those two teams take the ice, McDavid will stand head and shoulders above the rest.

The 29-year-old center is having a tournament for the ages, even by his lofty standards.

The numbers tell the story.

McDavid has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in five games, the most points in a single Olympics involving NHL players. Hockey Hall of Famers Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, each of Finland, had 11 apiece in 2006.

No player has had more points in his first five Olympic appearances involving NHL players. Slovakia’s Marian Hossa had held the record with 12.

McDavid has multiple points in each of Canada’s first five games; no NHL player has ever done that in Olympic play.

Twelve players have 10 or more career assists in Olympic play involving NHL players. McDavid has done it in five games. Every other player on the list has played between 14 and 30 career games.

Data Visualizations: Milano Cortina 2026 Men’s Hockey

McDavid has been as dominant here as he is in the NHL, where he has 1,178 points (395 goals, 783 assists) in 770 regular-season games. He has won the Art Ross Trophy as the League’s top points producer five times. He has led the League in goals once, with an NHL career-high 64 in 2022-23. He was voted the winner of the Hart Trophy as League MVP three times.

He has been to the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two seasons, losing to the Florida Panthers each time, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted as playoff MVP, in 2024.

Tom Wilson has watched McDavid’s career play out from afar, consuming breathless commentary on social media, watching the highlights and listening to stories from McDavid’s teammates, past and present.

The Washington Capitals forward has marveled at the Team Canada leadership group throughout the tournament; Sidney Crosby is the captain and McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon are the alternates.

“What I have learned from some of these guys, just to start with Sid, Connor, Nate and even Macklin [Celebrini] is just how hard they work, every single minute,” Wilson said Saturday. “You guys don’t see it. You see them walk by or you see some stuff online, but when you are back there with those guys, the amount of time, effort and work that they put into their craft is exceptional. They are not just the best talents in the world; they are the hardest-working people in our sport. That has been so cool to see.”

“It is pretty special to be around those guys and it is something I will always remember and look back fondly on in my career.”

McDavid assumed the captaincy for the 3-2 semifinal victory against Finland on Friday because Crosby is out with a lower-body injury; with Crosby questionable again Sunday, McDavid may be captain again.

In the win against Finland, Canada became the first team in an Olympic Games featuring NHL players to engineer a multi-goal comeback win to advance to the gold medal game.

“We are a deep team with leaders up and down the lineup,” McDavid said after the win. “It doesn’t matter who is wearing the 'C,' who is in the lineup, everyone can play and play a big role and lead.”

Nick Suzuki is a few years younger than McDavid. The 26-year-old forward has been using his time at the Olympics to absorb what he can from McDavid, filing away lessons he hopes to apply as his Montreal Canadiens continue the transition into annual playoff contender.

“I’ve learned a lot just watching him go about his work,” Suzuki said Saturday as Canada held its final practice of these Games. “He is a guy at the top of the NHL and the world. You take little things from him and ask questions.”

McDavid has had all the answers so far. Now, he needs to the ace the final to make it all worthwhile.

He gets that chance Sunday. It is the challenge he has dreamed of for the better part of the past 10 years. It makes up for all the waiting, the frustration, the setbacks.

He has the Olympic spotlight now.

“We just have to go out there and get the job done now,” Wilson said.