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Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
The McDavid debate gets exhausting. He was Canada’s best and most noticeable player all tournament but he was never able to come through in the big moments. I don’t fault him as it’s a team game and this is more of a media problem as they have pushed this guy in the face of Canadians for years telling us he’s the greatest Canadian player. Lots of younger hockey fans in this country actually think he’s better than Gretzky, Lemieux, Crosby because they have been told over and over by the propaganda machine that he’s that good. The reality is that he’s accomplished some great individual achievements but for all the hype and statistics, he’s never been able to win anything.
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As a hockey skillset, as a force on the ice, he’s the best to play the game. I’ve never seen anyone better.
With that said, defending and overall skating ability has come such a long way, he can be defended with layers and team structure. There are simply too many good skaters now where he’s not going to go end to end 1 on 5. With great teams and coaching in all or nothing games, he’s not going to have the same room to operate.
What we haven't seen yet in his career is a more patient approach in these games. His will to win seems like it’s off the charts, but it also looks like it gets the better of him or that he refuses to gear down to preserve himself or jump on a counter punch.
He is so good that the teams he plays on almost become too reliant on him. When that is defended, it almost paralyzes the team because they don’t have a second gear or another attack they can rely on.