Austrian forward Andre Burakovsky came to North America at age 18 to play Canadian major-junior with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League for the 2013-14 season. He became teammates with Connor McDavid, a 16-year-old phenom from the province, and finished right behind McDavid in scoring with 87 points in 57 games.
McDavid, who scored 99 points, went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft, the second Canadian center selected first overall in three years, joining the Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon (2013).
Burakovsky, a left-shooting right-winger, excelled while playing with McDavid, and now he’s hoping to do the same playing alongside MacKinnon, who was the runnerup for the 2018 Hart Trophy as league MVP.