On May 15th, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 in Game 7 of the first round of the NHL playoffs. The team’s star player Connor McDavid put the game away with a backhanded goal with 3:53 remaining in the third period. It was his second goal of the contest.
As shown in the tweet below, the game’s announcer said, “Big players in big moments, that’s what this is all about… He just stays with the puck. This is the relentless effort of Connor McDavid.”
https://t.co/LdAzfuOqAT
"Big players in big moments, that's what this is all about… He just stays with the puck. This is the relentless effort of Connor McDavid."— Brian Dodd (@BrianKDodd) May 15, 2022
McDavid is a big player, a big-time player. He is a two-time Hart Memorial Trophy given to the league’s Most Valuable Player and a four-time scoring champion. But what makes McDavid a transcendent player is his level of performance in high-pressure situations.
On the September 21, 2017 edition of The Herd With Colin Cowherd simulcast, Joel Klatt provided the best definition of greatness I have heard. He said, “Greatness is playing great when greatness is required… Being a great player is you are great when that is the minimal amount required to succeed.” For the Oilers to win the game and close out the series, greatness from its superstar player was the minimal amount required to succeed. And McDavid delivered.
After the game, teammate Leon Draisaitl said of McDavid in this ESPN.com article, “He’s the best player in the world. He showed that in the last two games. It’s not skill. … I mean, there’s lots of skill obviously with him; that’s a given. It’s the will. You can see it in his eyes. You can feel it every shift that he’s out there. He’s determined. There was just no way that he, or us, were going to be denied. He led the way. He was amazing.”
As Draisaitl teaches us, greatness is defined by skill, will, determination, and production during high pressure situations where greatness is the minimal amount required to succeed. This describes Connor McDavid. Does it describe you and your leadership?
The Top 75 Leadership Quotes From 2021 Part 2 is my latest ebook. For many entering a post-pandemic environment, leadership looks completely different than the pre-pandemic world. People are more broken now. They are more uncertain. Fear and anxiousness are unwelcome constant companions. Cultures are more unhealthy. Relationships are more dysfunctional. Hope seems to be in short supply. Every day seems to bring a new hacking, natural disaster, or unexpected calamity.
Therefore, the fundamentals of leadership are more important than ever. The quotes in this book deal with the basics of leadership. If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource. The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.