Andi Petrillo chuckled as she retold a story from her early days chasing a dream of becoming a broadcaster.

She was in her early 20s, working on-air for a community access cable channel north of Toronto where junior hockey — featuring teams such as the Aurora Tigers, Newmarket Hurricanes and Thornhill Thunderbirds — was a programming staple.

“I jokingly take credit for Connor McDavid’s career,” she said after a laugh. “I ran into his mom once and she said Connor used to watch those shows all the time and was obsessed and they started going to games.”