Hall and McDavid, 19, were teammates with the Oilers last season. Hall was traded to the Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson on June 29, but in their time together Hall was impressed by what he saw in McDavid.

NEWARK, N.J. -- Connor McDavid has the qualities needed to be captain of the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall said Friday.

"For sure, [McDavid's] a great kid and an amazing player," Hall said. "He's got great character, and those are things you want to see in the captain of a team."

In July, McDavid told the Toronto Sun he'd call being a captain of an NHL team an honor.

"If I was ever the captain at any point, I think it would be one of the greatest honors and one of the accomplishments that I would definitely take the most seriously," he said. "I don't want to comment on it too much, but obviously it would be an unbelievable feeling."

Last season McDavid, the first pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, had 48 points (16 goals, 32 assists) in 45 games, and his 1.07 points per game was third in the League among players to skate in at least 40 games, behind Patrick Kane (1.29) and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars (1.09). He was third in voting for the Calder Trophy, despite missing 37 games because of an upper-body injury.

"[McDavid] might be a little young, but he's going to be a captain eventually; I'm just not sure of [Edmonton's plans] for obvious reasons," Hall said. "But as a person and as a friend, I'd want to see him be chosen for sure."

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

The Oilers have not had a captain since defenseman Andrew Ference in 2014-15. Last season, Ference and forwards Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins served as alternate captains. Coach Todd McLellan said in August the Oilers would name a captain sometime during training camp. McLellan coached Team North America at the World Cup.