Connor McDavid named North America captain for World Cup

Connor McDavid will captain Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid has lived up to a lot of hype. McDavid averaged over a point per game in his rookie campaign despite suffering a nasty clavicle injury. Even with that, though, he nearly won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Another captaincy could be in the near future for him, but McDavid is a captain for the first time in his NHL career. He will captain Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

McDavid is well deserving of being the team captain. He is the team’s best player, plus has shown impressive leadership despite not being old enough to legally drink alcohol in America. This should serve as a chance for McDavid to show his head coach, Todd McLellan (also his coach with the Oilers), that he can handle the role.

Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers and Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers will serve as his alternate captains. Couturier has the most experience of any player on the roster and Ekblad has been extremely impressive despite his young age.

The North America team will feature players from America and Canada who are 23 years old or younger. Other stars on the team include 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews, Johnny Gaudreau, Jonathan Drouin, Matt Murray, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jack Eichel, and Dylan Larkin. They might be young, but make no mistake about it, they are a very talented bunch.

If they want to win the World Cup, they will have to beat some very tough teams. Sweden has an impressive blue line and Henrik Lundqvist in net. Russia has a dynamic offense that can seemingly score at will. America has a fairly well-balanced roster. Of course, though, Canada is the favorite to win the World Cup, but don’t count out the young guns just yet.