In a featured photo spread and Q&A article this month in GQ magazine, Oilers superstar Connor McDavid admits he's been "chirped" for both the style of his hair and clothing selections as well as for his team's poor play a year ago.
The 21-year-old winner of the past two Art Ross Trophies displayed self-deprecation about the former and an understanding of the latter in the piece that features several photos of McDavid modeling in true GQ-style.
"My style was not good. It’s definitely something that’s grown over time. As a kid I wore my team’s tracksuit all the time. Splash pants or track pants. I wore a hat every day. And then when I got to the NHL, guys would make fun of me that I had the worse style in the league. I showed up for my first road trip and all the guys have these Gucci bags and these Louis Vuitton bags—you know, these sweet bags. And I showed up with my Erie Otters team bag, and [Oilers vet] Eddie Purcell was like, “Dude, what are you doing with that?” Well, what do you mean, it’s my bag, what am I supposed to do? “Go out and buy yourself a nice bag.” Sure enough, had to go out and buy myself a nice Tumi bag. Next thing you know, they’re chirping my hair. “You gotta go get a nicer hair cut than that—that’s awful.” I think it’s a little bit better now, but I still have some work to do."
A gif of McDavid running his hand through his thicker, longer hair this season is part of the piece, even though he claims "I'm not somebody that's too particular about (hair style)."
The #NHL superstar Connor McDavid talks about getting roasted by Edmonton locals and escaping "worst dressed" status as a young pro https://t.co/V0qU0MiZJk pic.twitter.com/BVxAM0gLIf
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 24, 2018
When asked who the Russell Westbrook is in the NHL when it comes to style, McDavid offered up P.K. Subban and Henrik Lundqvist.
"You'll never see me with P.K.'s style," McDavid told the magazine. "But I'm definitely OK with it, I think."
Despite McDavid's league-best 108 points last season, the Oilers stumbled to a 23rd place finish in the 31-team NHL, a year after Edmonton reached the playoffs for the first time in 11 years and was a win away from reaching the Western Conference Finals.
According to the Oilers captain, Edmontonians did not spare McDavid their anger about the disappointing season.
"It was awful. It was terrible. It was miserable around town," McDavid tells GQ. "I remember everyone just chirping at you all the time. I was at dinner one time with my parents, and I was walking out and guys were chirping me. They’re passionate people and passionate fans.
"When you’re winning, you’re a hero in this city, and when you’re losing they want to run you right out of it. They’re just passionate, and you have to be able to understand that."