Canada's Connor McDavid #97 walks to the ice surface for bronze medal game action against USA at the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andre Ringuette
Connor McDavid continues to make history. The Edmonton Oilers captain reached 1,000 career NHL points in a 3-2 overtime win over the visiting Nashville Predators on 14 November.
Fittingly, McDavid's goal to reach the magic number was set up by his longtime friend and fellow superstar, Leon Draisaitl. On a 2-on-1 break, the German power forward slipped the puck left to McDavid, who made no mistake from the right faceoff circle at 2:44 of the second period. The NHL permitted Oilers players to flood off the bench unpenalized to congratulate their leader as the Rogers Arena crowd of 18,347 exulted.
Fittingly, McDavid's goal to reach the magic number was set up by his longtime friend and fellow superstar, Leon Draisaitl. On a 2-on-1 break, the German power forward slipped the puck left to McDavid, who made no mistake from the right faceoff circle at 2:44 of the second period. The NHL permitted Oilers players to flood off the bench unpenalized to congratulate their leader as the Rogers Arena crowd of 18,347 exulted.
McDavid also set up Darnell Nurse's overtime winner with a slick behind-the-back feed for a two-point night.
The number one overall draft pick from 2015 reflected on his achievement afterwards: "You spend your whole life playing hockey and loving the game and just wanting to play and make the NHL. One thousand points later, playing for 10 years, it’s pretty special."
Remarkably, McDavid got to the 1,000-point mark in just 659 games. The ultra-speedy 27-year-old centre becomes the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach that milestone after Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513 games), and Mike Bossy (656 games). In a whimsical twist, McDavid becomes the 99th player in NHL history to record 1,000 points, the number 99 being forever associated with Gretzky.
International hockey fans could see this coming. As a teenager, “McJesus,” as Oilers fans like to call him, racked up a ton of IIHF wins.
At 16, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native was tournament MVP and the leading scorer when Canada won the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. At 17, he cracked the tournament all-star team as the Canadians captured home-ice gold in Ottawa at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. And at 19, the number one overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft scored the winning goal when Canada beat Finland 2-0 for gold at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
Since then, McDavid’s NHL legacy has ballooned.
Most recently, when the Oilers lost Game Seven of the Stanley Cup finals to the Florida Panthers in June, McDavid led the post-season with 42 points. That was the fourth-highest total in playoff history after Gretzky (47, 1985; 43, 1988) and Lemieux (44, 1991). In a rarity for a player from the losing team, McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
It was the latest addition to the five-time NHL First Team All-Star’s packed trophy case. McDavid also owns three Hart Trophies as NHL MVP, five Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer, and one Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goals-getter, among other honours.
The number one overall draft pick from 2015 reflected on his achievement afterwards: "You spend your whole life playing hockey and loving the game and just wanting to play and make the NHL. One thousand points later, playing for 10 years, it’s pretty special."
Remarkably, McDavid got to the 1,000-point mark in just 659 games. The ultra-speedy 27-year-old centre becomes the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach that milestone after Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513 games), and Mike Bossy (656 games). In a whimsical twist, McDavid becomes the 99th player in NHL history to record 1,000 points, the number 99 being forever associated with Gretzky.
International hockey fans could see this coming. As a teenager, “McJesus,” as Oilers fans like to call him, racked up a ton of IIHF wins.
At 16, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native was tournament MVP and the leading scorer when Canada won the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. At 17, he cracked the tournament all-star team as the Canadians captured home-ice gold in Ottawa at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. And at 19, the number one overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft scored the winning goal when Canada beat Finland 2-0 for gold at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
Since then, McDavid’s NHL legacy has ballooned.
Most recently, when the Oilers lost Game Seven of the Stanley Cup finals to the Florida Panthers in June, McDavid led the post-season with 42 points. That was the fourth-highest total in playoff history after Gretzky (47, 1985; 43, 1988) and Lemieux (44, 1991). In a rarity for a player from the losing team, McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
It was the latest addition to the five-time NHL First Team All-Star’s packed trophy case. McDavid also owns three Hart Trophies as NHL MVP, five Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer, and one Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goals-getter, among other honours.
Draisaitl, who described McDavid's prowess as "legendary," said he would not be surprised if McDavid someday hits 2,000 points, a mark only previously reached by Gretzky.
In an ideal scenario for McDavid, he will boost his IIHF legacy further by joining the Triple Gold Club in February 2026.
The Oilers entered this season as the odds-on favourites to win the 2025 Stanley Cup. Like McDavid, they have had an up-and-down start, but are starting to heat up. Last year, the Oilers were 10 points out of a Western Conference wildcard playoff berth on 23 November when Kris Knoblauch was brought in as the new head coach. So a successful Cup run this season is certainly conceivable.
For the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, Canada’s overwhelming firepower up front – led by McDavid – and deep defence make it an obvious gold medal contender, despite the question marks in net.
Ultimately, owning a Cup ring and Olympic gold medal would mean more to McDavid than scoring 1,000 points as he continues to nail down his place among the all-time greats.
The next three NHLers in line to score 1,000 points are all Canadian forwards: Brad Marchand,of the Boston Bruins (942), Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (932), and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars (914).
In an ideal scenario for McDavid, he will boost his IIHF legacy further by joining the Triple Gold Club in February 2026.
The Oilers entered this season as the odds-on favourites to win the 2025 Stanley Cup. Like McDavid, they have had an up-and-down start, but are starting to heat up. Last year, the Oilers were 10 points out of a Western Conference wildcard playoff berth on 23 November when Kris Knoblauch was brought in as the new head coach. So a successful Cup run this season is certainly conceivable.
For the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, Canada’s overwhelming firepower up front – led by McDavid – and deep defence make it an obvious gold medal contender, despite the question marks in net.
Ultimately, owning a Cup ring and Olympic gold medal would mean more to McDavid than scoring 1,000 points as he continues to nail down his place among the all-time greats.
The next three NHLers in line to score 1,000 points are all Canadian forwards: Brad Marchand,of the Boston Bruins (942), Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (932), and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars (914).