Don Cherry knows a superstar when he sees one.
In an appearance on Coach’s Corner with Ron MacLean, Cherry compared a recent highlight-reel assist (you can see the play below) from Erie Otters superstar Connor McDavid to a similar effort from Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr.
“Watch (McDavid) go through the whole team and set up the goal,” Cherry said Saturday night. “Isn’t it beautiful? He is really something. Now watch Bobby Orr. He’s held and still puts it over to (Johnny Bucyk) for a goal.”
Orr is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most exciting players in NHL history. Cherry would know. He coached the Hall of Fame defenceman for parts of two seasons (90 regular season games) with the Boston Bruins in the mid-1970s.
Cherry isn’t the first person to hold McDavid in such high regard. In a recent interview with Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun, OHL commissioner David Branch said the Otters forward is one of the three most dominant players he’s ever seen at the junior level.
The other two on Branch’s list: Eric Lindros and Orr. He ruled out Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky.
“It’s hard to put (Gretzky) on the list,” Branch told the Toronto Sun. “He only played in our league for one year, as outstanding as he was…If we’re talking Canadian Hockey League, (Crosby) would be right up there with Orr and Lindros. “But he played in the Quebec League.”
“With the speed of the game and the size of the players, the way (McDavid) can skate, the way he can make plays, the way he can stickhandle in tight spaces, there is just such a separation between him and the other players,” Branch said.
Entering Saturday, the 18-year-old McDavid has accumulated 43 points in 16 playoff games this season. He is expected to be selected by the Edmonton Oilers with the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
