Sherry Bassin walked into the cold arena with his dog Newman, and one goal in mind.
Small talk around Connor McDavid — a talent making waves in the Greater Toronto Area — is on the rise.
As a longtime executive in the Ontario Hockey League, Bassin and his four-legged scouting partner got to see it up close.
After two rotations, Newman pulled the belt.
“He told me, 'Let's get out of here, we've seen enough,' ” Bhasin joked in an interview this week.
They stayed on the court for three periods, watching the gifted, baby-faced McDavid dazzle the crowd with his magical feet and hands. The Newmarket, Ont., native proved before the end that something special was going to happen.
This doesn’t just happen between the whistles.
“He’s always willing to prepare and is committed to doing his best,” Bhasin added. “He wouldn’t accept anything else.”
McDavid was given special status at age 15, then starred in the OHL with Bassin’s Erie Sea Otters and was selected No. 1 overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL draft.
After nine up-and-down professional seasons, the 27-year-old superstar is now just four wins away from the sport’s ultimate goal as his team faces the Florida Panthers on Saturday in the first game of the Stanley Cup Final.
McDavid's path has been both smooth and winding, especially since arriving in Alberta. Individual success — five scoring titles and three MVP nominations among his many accolades — has not always been matched by team success.
This season is no exception. The Oilers, who reached the second round last spring and the Western Conference finals in 2022, were 3-9-1 when Chris Knoblauch took over as head coach in November.
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Edmonton started out in a slow climb from 31st place in the standings before quickly rising with a 16-game winning streak. The Oilers entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division and subsequently defeated the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars.
McDavid set the tone for it all.
“It’s been a little bit of a bumpy road,” said Edmonton’s captain after scoring the opener in Sunday’s series decider against Dallas, where he leads the standings with a staggering 31 points through 18 playoff games. “The whole team just kept hanging on and we kept believing in ourselves.”
Despite a poor record in the fall, Bhasin feels the same way.
“There’s no question it’s going to get better — the question is how much better,” said the 84-year-old Erie general manager and part-owner. “(McDavid) isn’t going to allow that to happen because he’s a leader. There’s a difference between loving the game and loving the game.
Bassin, whose hockey career began in the 1970s, credits McDavid’s upbringing and his incredible baseline talent.
“It’s a product of a goal-oriented environment,” Bhasin said. “He’s his harshest critic.”
Bassin remembers supervising study halls with the Otis players, and there were always a few teenagers chatting when they should have been studying.
Not McDavid.
“Very mature,” Bhasin said. “He'll be in the corner doing his homework. There's an inner drive in whatever he does.”
At the same time, his ability on the ice is evident. Working hard has allowed McDavid to reach the level he expects.
“He doesn’t do it by hope,” Bhasin added. “He doesn’t expect to be the best.”
Bassin recalled visiting the center's house a season or two after he turned pro. McDavid had put in a tough practice and a few hours later was on roller skates — sweating again.
“Sweaty,” Bassin said. “He said, 'Buzz, my shot has to be better.'”
McDavid was already a lightning-quick assist-giver, and a few years later, he won the Maurice (Rocket) Richard Award as the NHL’s top scorer.
“Everyone has the will to win,” Bhasin said. “It's the will to prepare to win. He gives it his all.”
McDavid, who never misses Bassin's charity golf tournaments, remains in close contact with his former general manager. Bassin sent a message after Edmonton clinched the finals berth.
“Gives me a lovely letter back,” he said. “He’s family to me.”
Over the past few months, whenever the Oilers were on TV, Bassin would pace, just as he trudged around as a teenager watching McDavid play.
“I was on the edge of life and death all the time,” Bhasin said. “Sometimes when I was on one side of the room and they scored, I felt like I should never leave that area.”
McDavid seemed to add to his own superstition by wearing the same suit before Games 4, 5 and 6 against Dallas (all wins).
However, Bhasin was clear that the amazing feat of the child who had amazed him should not have anything to do with luck.
“I can't tell you how many times I've heard people ask me, 'Did you see that?'” he said.
“My response is always the same: 'I've seen it plenty of times.'”
