<p>According to Sam Gagner, Connor McDavid is pretty good at hockey. </p>



<p>OK, that may be an understatement, but Gagner shared high praise for both the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/senators-hire-sam-gagner-as-director-of-player-development-matt-turek-named-ahl-gm#:~:text=stints%20with%20the-,Edmonton%20Oilers,-%2C%20Gagner%20racked%20up">Edmonton Oilers’ </a>captain and fellow NHL superstar Leon Draisaitl in an interview with <em>Daily Faceoff’s</em> Jeff Marek for DFO’s newest series, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQfzZB2h7m4">On The Road with Jeff Marek.</a>” </p>



<p>Gagner, who recently retired from the NHL and was hired by the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/ottawa-senators/line-combinations">Ottawa Senators</a> as the director of player development <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/senators-hire-sam-gagner-as-director-of-player-development-matt-turek-named-ahl-gm">for their AHL affiliate in Belleville</a>, discussed a number of topics with Marek, including his love of the game, Muskoka’s hockey culture and the toll playing in the NHL takes on a player’s body and mind. </p>



<p>Marek asked Gagner to name a few players in the league whose talent he admires, and right away he brought up the two Oilers forwards.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="136"></div>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">“Connor does things no one’s ever seen before.”👀<a href="https://twitter.com/89SGagner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@89SGagner</a> opens up to <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffMarek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeffMarek</a> about what makes McDavid &amp; Draisaitl next-level…<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AirbnbPartner?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AirbnbPartner</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/OilersNation?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OilersNation</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Airbnb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Airbnb</a> <a href="https://t.co/ptuODaFydS">pic.twitter.com/ptuODaFydS</a></p>
<p>— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff/status/1967580596995326212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>



<p>“I mean, Connor and Leon,” he said. “Having played with them, I think Connor does things that I don’t think anyone has ever seen before. It’s hard for me to look at him and think, ‘How does he do that?’ because I don’t think anybody knows. He’s at such a different level.</p>



<p>“Leon is probably the best in the game at picking a puck off the wall and finding a lane that you didn’t think was there,” Gagner continued. “I love watching him because those are areas that I think can be taught a little bit more. He does them at such a level that you can’t teach to his level, but I think I can study his game a little bit better.” </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="157"></div>



<p>Gagner, taken No. 6 overall by Edmonton in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, spent 17 seasons in the NHL, scoring 197 goals and recording 332 assists for 529 points in 1,043 career regular-season games with the Oilers, <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/philadelphia-flyers/line-combinations">Philadelphia Flyers</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/columbus-blue-jackets/line-combinations">Columbus Blue Jackets</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vancouver Canucks</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/detroit-red-wings/line-combinations">Detroit Red Wings</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/winnipeg-jets/line-combinations">Winnipeg Jets</a>. </p>



<p>You can watch the full interview here…</p>


<p><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oQfzZB2h7m4?si=eG-YC5DaBIw2-3g2" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
