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Blackhawks get their first look at Oilers' magnificent McDavid

Every sport has that once-in-a-generation player that fans will pay extra to see in person.

• The NBA has given us Wilt Chamberlain, Dr. J, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

• In the NFL, it's been Jim Brown, Dick Butkus, Walter Payton, Lawrence Tayler, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

• Major-league baseball's long list includes Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Pete Rose, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.

• And finally, in the NHL we can rattle off the names of Rocket Richard, Jean Beliveau, Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Boby Orr, Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

It's been 11 years since Lemieux last played and 17 since the Great One laced 'em up, and while the league has plenty of stars in it, there is a 19-year-old who may be mentioned among those hockey immortals before it's all said and done: The Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid.

It may seem silly to put a kid who has just 64 NHL games under his belt on that kind of pedestal, but after you see him skate, you'll understand why it's entirely possible.

Said Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray: "People are saying if he's not already, he's going to be the best player in the National Hockey League in a very short time. And I'm excited to see him."

The Hawks, who play at Edmonton on Monday, did not see McDavid last season because he broke his clavicle on Nov. 3, five days before the Oilers played at the United Center. The Hawks and Oilers met two more times, but their season series was over on Dec. 17, about six weeks before McDavid returned.

The Oilers' phenom got off to a blazing start this season, scoring 3 goals in the team's first two games. McDavid had just 2 goals in his next 16 games, but he broke that dry spell by registering his first career hat trick in a 5-2 win over Dallas on Saturday.

Thanks in part to his big night, McDavid was tied for the league lead with 22 points heading into Sunday's action.

One thing that becomes clear in a hurry when you watch replays of McDavid's goals is that you'd better not give him a step, a half-step or even a tenth-of-a-step or it's sayonara.

"He's got a gear in skating that people have not seen in years compared to great skaters in the NHL," Murray said. "That's scary because he is just outright flying by players who can skate. He's a one-of-a-kind as far as his ability to just blow past people and it's not even close."

"The guy (McDavid) reminds me of is Mike Modano in his prime, the way he'd pick up a ton of speed through the neutral zone and if you didn't slow Modano down early, you were in trouble," the Ducks' Kevin Bieksa told the Edmonton Journal last week.

Edmonton won seven of its first eight games and was 9-3-1 on Nov. 6, but the Oilers sprung a bad leak the last two weeks having lost five in a row before the win over Dallas. Those setback came against the Penguins, Stars, Rangers, Ducks and Kings so it may be a case of Edmonton not quite being ready to consistently play with the best teams in the league.

Regardless, there's a new energy in Edmonton thanks to McDavid's arrival last year as well as a new stadium this year.

"All of a sudden there's a completely different attitude in the city, inside the locker room, around the team, around the NHL when they talk about the Edmonton Oilers," Murray said. "You get a guy like Connor McDavid and it's a game-changer."

Scouting report

Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place, 8 p.m. Monday

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: Edmonton snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Dallas 5-2 on Saturday. Connor McDavid recorded his first career hat trick, getting one goal when the puck bounced off John Klingberg's stick and into the net and the other two on rebounds. "Three pretty lucky goals," McDavid told reporters. "It's a funny league that way. You get grade-A chances and they're not going in, then you start putting it there and they are going in. It's weird that way. Definitely happy to get off that slump." McDavid broke a 10-game goal-scoring drought. ... Edmonton's penalty kill ranks seventh in the league at 85.7 percent. ... Marian Hossa has 11 goals in 19 games for the first time since 2008-09. He finished with 40 goals that season. ... Jonathan Toews is riding a six-game goalless drought. ... Richard Panik has not scored since recording his sixth goal in the sixth game of the season.

Next: San Jose Sharks at SAP Center, 9 p.m. Wednesday

- John Dietz

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