Connor McDavid is off to a historic start. Could some of Gretzky's records fall this season?

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid is known for his blistering speed — and so far this year he's also flying up the stats leaderboard at a pace not seen since the days of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

"You just really run out of words," his linemate Leon Draisaitl said after a 6-5 win over the usually stingy Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, during which McDavid picked up his third five-point game of the young season.

McDavid, 29, has always been elite: after an injury-marred rookie season in 2015-16, the centre has been among the league's top scorers ever since, claiming the top spot six times, tying Lemieux and Gordie Howe and trailing only Gretzky (get used to reading that).

But so far in his 12th season he's taken it to another level. It's still very early — just 10 games into an 84-game season. But McDavid's start has hockey fans and players at least asking questions about what No. 97 might be able to accomplish this season.

Is this the best McDavid has ever played?

"I feel like I get asked that a lot, and my answer's always yes," Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the game Thursday.

First, the straight stat line: McDavid has eight goals and 23 assists in 10 games.

How good is that? Well, he's 10 points ahead of his closest competitor, his own linemate Leon Draisaitl. The next closest player, one not getting passes directly from McDavid, is Vegas Golden Knight Jack Eichel, who has 19 points and has also played two more games than McDavid.

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McDavid has more assists than anyone else in the league has points. And the vast majority of his