A beer league team in Ontario just earned themselves a lifetime’s worth of bragging rights.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl turned up in Oilers jerseys at a pickup game at Magna Centre in Newmarket, Ontario, last Wednesday night in a dream-come-true moment for local fans and players.
Making the moment even sweeter for the locals: neither of the NHL superstars scored a goal, and their teammates walked away with a dominant 6-2 win.
Neither McDavid nor Draisaitl were skating at full speed, but a local goalie did manage to pull off a few dazzling saves on No. 97.
The crowd that jammed into the stands at the rink ooh’d and aah’d each time McDavid or Draisaitl touched the puck, and clips of the game instantly blew up on social media, with dozens of fans impressed with the goalie who repeatedly stonewalled McDavid.
“Imagine being that goalie. Legend forever,” one user wrote on X, with another adding: “Edmonton should sign that goalie, he looks better than [Oilers starter Stuart] Skinner.”
“How do we buy the goalie a beer?” asked a third.
The game took place at a rink just a quick drive from McDavid’s hometown of Richmond Hill, Ontario.
“That’s a league I played in with my buddies for over ten years now. We joined that league back when I played junior hockey. I was a little bit surprised to see it get blown up,” McDavid told ESPN. “I’ve been playing in those games for over a decade now. So it’s pretty funny that it just kind of came up.”
Coming off a second consecutive loss to the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, McDavid, Draisaitl and the Oilers are preparing to make another run at the Cup next season.
First, though, McDavid’s contract status with Edmonton hangs in the balance, as he’s eligible for an extension this summer before potentially becoming an unrestricted free agent after next season.