The McDavid Effect: Connor McDavid and the New Hope for Hockey

Klinkenberg’s impressive debut is about far more than hockey star Connor McDavid. The prologue looks back to the moment in 1947 when oil was first discovered outside the city that would become home to the Edmonton Oilers. At first glance, the peripheral stories of construction workers, restaurant owners, oil field roughnecks, and parade route planners seem to take away from the narrative. In the hands of a less gifted writer, they might, but Klinkenberg, who covered McDavid for the Globe and Mail, ties it all together neatly, later noting that “how the rookie performed was important, but the Oilers hockey club and the city of Edmonton were critical characters” for the book. He delivers nearly as much as can be written about a 19-year-old wunderkind, especially one who was described as “unpretentious, bordering on naive” during his first year in junior hockey. Readers learn of McDavid’s stunning hockey talent as a child growing up in Newmarket, Ont.; hear from his parents and coaches; and follow him into the Ontario Hockey League, where he became a star and was taken first overall in the 2015 NHL draft. The rest of McDavid’s story, interrupted by injury for part of his first pro season, is still being written on the ice. (Oct.)