That's saying a lot, because the buildup for the young center, who turned 19 during the season, was considerable. It was more impressive because his was a shortened rookie season; he missed 37 games because of a fractured clavicle but had 48 points in 45 games.

If it's possible for a teenage phenom to exceed the hype, then that's what McDavid did in his rookie NHL season with the Edmonton Oilers.

If it's possible for a teenage phenom to exceed the hype, then that's what McDavid did in his rookie NHL season with the Edmonton Oilers.

That's saying a lot, because the buildup for the young center, who turned 19 during the season, was considerable. It was more impressive because his was a shortened rookie season; he missed 37 games because of a fractured clavicle but had 48 points in 45 games.

The smaller sample size knocked him down to third in the voting for the Calder Trophy given to the top rookie in the NHL, but he still tantalized, which was no surprise, since the 6-foot-1, 193-pound center left major junior hockey as the most decorated player in Ontario Hockey League history.

McDavid won OHL and Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year honors in 2014-15, his final season with Erie, when he had 44 goals, 120 points and an OHL-best plus-60. He also won a second straight Bobby Smith Trophy as OHL top scholastic player. As an OHL rookie in 2013-14, he won the William Hanley Trophy as the league's most sportsmanlike player.

McDavid dazzled scouts with extraordinary acceleration and high-end speed, uncanny on-ice vision and a seemingly endless array of moves. It was a given that Edmonton, which won the draft lottery, would select him at No. 1 in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Even in an abbreviated rookie season, McDavid provided plenty of highlights. At the top of the list would be his five-point game Feb. 11, 2016 in his first time facing his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had two goals and assisted on each of Jordan Eberle's three goals in the Oilers' 5-2 victory.

McDavid took his game to another level in 2016-17, his first full NHL season. He led the League with 100 points (30 goals, and 70 assists), won the Hart Trophy voted as NHL most valuable player and the Ted Lindsay Award for the most outstanding player to help the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2006.

McDavid signed an eight-year, $100 million extension with the Oilers on July 5, 2017 and repeated as NHL scoring champion in 2017-18, finishing with 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists) in 82 games, and winning the Ted Lindsay Award for the second straight season. He didn't win a third straight scoring title in 2018-19 but had an NHL career-high 116 points (41 goals, 75 assists) and finished third in Hart Trophy voting.

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