Connor McDavid enlisted a four-legged trainer to help him stay in shape during the NHL’s coronavirus shutdown.
The Oilers captain and two-time scoring champion is working out at home in Edmonton with Lenny, his nine-month-old miniature Bernesedoodle.
On Thursday, McDavid posted a video on social media after he did 15 squats in 30 seconds with the wriggling, joyous fluffball clutched against his chest. On March 23, which was National Puppy Day, he shared a snippet from a shooting session in which a wagging Lenny ran off with one of his rubber balls.
McDavid, who has a gym in his newly built house, is better off than many of the players left idle when games were suspended on March 12. Most rely on their teams’ fitness centres and own little equipment themselves.
Along with training with Lenny, the 23-year-old has been running with teammate and pal Darnell Nurse while both keep a careful distance of two metres apart. He is also collaborating on a home-workout video for fans with former NHL player and fitness trainer Gary Roberts.
On Friday, McDavid joined Calgary’s Mark Giordano, Vancouver’s Bo Horvat and Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson on a video call with journalists arranged by the league. When sports screeched to a halt, all four teams were battling for playoff positions in the Pacific Division.
“It is tough,” McDavid said. “We don’t know what is going to happen with the season. We are very hopeful it is going to come back and we will be able to pick up where we left off.”
With the standings frozen, McDavid’s Oilers are in second place, three points ahead of the third-place Flames. If the remainder of the regular season is scuttled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alberta rivals would meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Flames have won three of the four games between them, but Edmonton won the last, 8-3. The bad blood that existed when both were among the NHL’s elite teams in the 1980s has resurfaced. The Oilers goalie, Mike Smith, and his Calgary counterpart, Cam Talbot, exchanged punches in their most recent meeting.
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“We’ve had lots of meaningless games between us [since he joined the NHL] but this year has been especially wild,” McDavid said.
The NHL is considering a number of variables, but all of them depend on when the coronavirus has run its course.
“As far as the break, if we can get back to playing, I think this will be one of the greatest playoffs ever because every team is going to have all their guys healthy and ready to go,” said Giordano, the Flames’ captain. “You are truly going to have the best version of every team.”
McDavid, who suffered a serious knee injury in the final game of the 2018-19 regular season, is second in the league in scoring with 97 points. He trails only his teammate Leon Draisaitl, who is first with 110. Edmonton trailed the first-place Vegas Golden Knights by only three points when a break was declared because of the spread of the dangerous flu-like illness, and was on the verge of reaching the postseason for only the second time in 13 years.
“It is very frustrating, but there are is a lot more important stuff going on,” McDavid said. “The health and safety of everyone is what’s important. Hockey can go on hold for a little bit.
“It is important that everyone does what they have to do and takes care of each other so we can get this over with and get back to playing hockey.”
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Vancouver and Arizona could possibly miss the playoffs if the rest of the regular season is cancelled. McDavid said he would hate for that to happen, even if provided automatic entry into the Stanley Cup playoffs for his own team.
“We need to have a fair season, and a fair season is a full season,” he said. “I don’t think we can just step into the playoffs and Game 1 with Calgary in Edmonton and guys running around killing each other without having played for two months.”
Although he comes from Newmarket, a suburb north of Toronto, McDavid decided to stay in Edmonton rather than join his family.
“I thought it was safest to stay put,” he said. “I didn’t want to travel through the airport.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.