The Oilers have recently made history within the NHL this season. The franchise has named 19 year old Connor McDavid as captain, making him the youngest player to ever bear this position. McDavid was drafted first overall by the Oilers last season and has already been compared to NHL greats such as Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby. Although he is an exceptional hockey player, many question his ability to lead the team at such a young age. Even Gretzky hadn’t captained the Oilers until he was 22.
Although McDavid has faced a heavy amounts of criticism and pressure, he has coped well by claiming “it doesn’t feel overwhelming at all; I just feel normal about it…I’m very humbled to wear it and excited about it.” His play has improved as well, being that he currently leads the league in points and assists. Many of his teammates have also made claims regarding that McDavid is definitely the best choice as captain.
His display of leadership can be correlated to that of an authentic leader. An authentic leader is typically genuine, ethical and a self-aware individual. They focus on the long term and base their actions on what’s best for an organization. Even at a young age, leaders can be authentic, if they possess traits similar to this and put their team before themselves.
Due to these allegations portrayed by both him and his teammates it is evident that Connor McDavid is an authentic leader. He is an unselfish, humble and non-oppressive individual, which is why he is definitely one of the most authentic leaders in the NHL. On top of all this, with McDavid as captain, the Oilers are also tenth overall in the NHL and are on track to make the playoffs, which they haven’t done in 10 years (current NHL record).
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Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/12/what-is-authentic-leadership/#cef743d2ddd2
https://www.nhl.com/news/connor-mcdavid-named-oilers-captain/c-282401230