Connor McDavid eager for Olympic opportunity — and a gold medal

Connor McDavid has one goal as he prepares to don the Maple Leaf on Olympic ice: win gold.

The Edmonton Oilers captain isn't thinking about creating a special moment or what role he'll take on.

"I just want to win a gold medal, that's the only thing that matters," he said on Wednesday. "There's a lot of great players on that team. Everyone is going to play a role, everyone is going to play a part. The goal is just to win a gold, that's it."

Some of Canada's iconic Olympic hockey moments have stuck with the superstar centre.

"I vaguely remember the 2002 [Salt Lake City] one," said McDavid, who was five years old at the time. "I remember the whole thing with the loonie in the ice. That was a pretty cool story, looking back on it.

"Obviously, there's the Sid [Crosby] one in 2010. I remember that one pretty good."

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Crosby and other NHL players haven't competed at the Olympics since the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. The Milano Cortina Games will mark McDavid's first experience at the tournament.

But getting a shot at playing on the world stage was never a given.

"You always wonder. You never know if you're going to get the opportunity," McDavid said. "But obviously here we are. We're getting ready to go and gearing up to go. I'm really excited about the opportunity."

Playing against the world's best is a boon for high-level players, said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.

"Whether it's [Leon] Draisaitl or [McDavid] or whoever's going to be at that tournament, I think those players like that extra competition," he said. "You see it in the playoffs. They like it when the stakes are higher. And here, for a tournament representing your country, I assume that's something they're going to