Oilers’ McDavid tops TSN Top 50 NHL players poll for 9th straight year

Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid looks on during training camp in Edmonton on Thursday September 18, 2025.

The biggest hockey star in the world is No. 1 on TSN’s Top 50 players poll as the 2025-26 National Hockey League season draws closer.

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers sits atop the Canadian sports network’s list of the NHL’s best for the ninth straight year.

His teammate, fellow star Leon Draisaitl, is third on the list that also finds Nathan McKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche at No. 2.

All three of the forwards are former Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy winners as the NHL’s top scorer and most-valuable player, respectively.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Rounding out the top 10 are Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar followed by Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov.

McDavid is entering his 11th NHL season, all with the Oilers, who drafted him first overall in 2015 after winning the league’s draft lottery to move up from No. 3 to top spot.

The 28-year-old, who scored 26 goals and 74 assists for 100 points in 67 games played last season as he led the Oilers to a second Stanley Cup Final appearance in a row, received 18 out of 20 first-place votes in a poll of TSN hockey experts. McKinnon garnered the other two first-place nods.