Connor McDavid

“You want to win hockey games, and it doesn't really matter how you do it.”

“If you're tanking to get a higher draft pick, you really shouldn't be playing hockey.”

“I definitely believe in myself. And I don't need to show that on the outside. I just don't feel like I need to tell people how I feel about myself. I know my skills and I know what I'm comfortable in, and I keep it to myself.”

“Obviously, losing isn't fun. It's not fun for anybody. I'm no different.”

“There are certain things you can say off the ice, but I think it's mostly on the ice. There are certain situations where you feel like the team may need a big play, something like that, where you feel like it's your responsibility to step up and you do that, but I definitely do that more on the ice than off.”

“It's not always the best roster that wins, it's the best team, and sometimes that maybe doesn't jell all that well.”

“I never played against my own age, and I was one of the best players. That's when I would get really nervous, maybe not sleep the night before a game.”

“He's Bobby Orr - he's been through it all. Whatever he says, you listen. If you ask a question, you're dying to hear the answer, trying to figure out any piece of information that made him successful.”

“I think that's what you need throughout your lineup. You need guys to help each other and feed off each other and to have that chemistry.”

“It's more fun to be playing hockey than doing anything else.”

“Every Hockey Canada event, the first day you just do a thousand interviews. You get used to it.”

“I think when I first came into the League, I was blowing the zone all the time, just kind of expecting pucks to get out. You learn very quickly that you can't be doing that.”

“There's always ways to improve.”

“Hockey is a year-round job.”

“My dad gave me this advice: 'Make what you want to do for the rest of your life the first thing you do in the day and then worry about hanging out with friends.'”

“We owe it to the fans and we owe it to ourselves to give it everything we have to try and put ourselves in the playoffs.”

“It's a slim margin of error in this league.”

“I was always the pouty little kid whenever I lost.”

“I need to improve my physical play and get as big and strong as I can.”

“There's something about playing in junior and being with your buddies all the time and going through that run, it's hard not to fall in love with it.”