The Oilers on Friday night opened what they hope is a "new and course-altering chapter" in franchise history by selecting C Connor McDavid first overall at the '15 NHL Draft, according to Robert Tychkowski of the EDMONTON SUN. McDavid: "To be honest with you, it was even better than I expected. It’s so exciting to hear your name called. It was unbelievable. It’s a great feeling to be picked." Oilers Owner Daryl Katz and GM Peter Chiarelli headlined "an eight-person welcoming committee that could barely contain its glee." McDavid said recently hired Oilers Entertainment Group CEO & Vice Chair Bob Nicholson has "come in and done such a great job." McDavid: "It’s an exciting time to be an Oiler. I know the fans are excited and they should be. ... It’ll be a great time" (EDMONTON SUN, 6/27). In Edmonton, Joanne Ireland noted McDavid will "get a taste of the furor he’s sparked in Edmonton when he arrives next week for the team’s development camp." McDavid jerseys "immediately went on sale and thousands of excited Oilers fans cheered his addition to the team Friday night at a Rexall Place draft party" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 6/28).
SAVIOR STATUS: In Edmonton, David Staples wrote the Oilers drafting McDavid represents "a fine moment of optimism and possibility in the life" of the city. No team "has had greater need for such talent than the Oilers during the Katz era." The franchise has "been the worst in the league, and not by a little bit." It has been a "whole level of atrocious worse than any other team" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 6/27). The JOURNAL's Ireland wrote McDavid is "expected to be the next Sidney Crosby, capable of single-handedly pulling the Oilers back into the playoffs, much like Crosby did" with the Penguins (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 6/28).
JERSEY SURE: In Edmonton, Nicholas Hobson noted the Oilers at the Draft on Friday night introduced a new third jersey "for the special occasion." The orange jersey "features the classic Oilers’ logo in the centre with blue and white trim on the shoulders and sleeves." It will be "worn for seven select home games during the upcoming NHL season, including the home opener on Oct. 15." The jersey is a "throwback to the sweater the Oilers wore when they were one of the founding franchises in the World Hockey Association." Immediately following McDavid’s selection, the Oilers "announced that all current season-ticket and suite holders will receive the new jersey as a gift from the team" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 6/27). Also in Edmonton, Trevor Robb reported retailer Sport Chek "sent out an email to subscribers" just moments after McDavid's selection "informing them that staff had been working around the clock with overnight cresting shifts to get hundreds of #97 McDavid jerseys available in-store." His jersey was "already on the racks in West Edmonton Mall" by the time McDavid had "walked on stage in Florida." Store manager Samantha McLaughlin said that her store as of Saturday afternoon still had "at least 100 McDavid jerseys available in both home and away colours" (EDMONTON SUN, 6/28).
