SUNRISE, Fla. — Minor hockey coach Ken Strong can still remember the early teenage days of Connor McDavid wheeling around the ice and feeding the puck to Sam Bennett for a goal like it was yesterday.
“They were unstoppable,” Strong said. “Connor was the better player. Sam had great skills and hockey sense.”
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McDavid and Bennett are childhood pals who used to play mini-sticks in hotel hallways at travel tournaments. They were linemates from before they hit double digits in age — the younger McDavid played up an age group. They first played with the York-Simcoe Express and finished their youth hockey careers in minor midget with Strong’s Toronto Marlies in 2011-12.
Now members of the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, respectively, the two players will face off for the Stanley Cup with each player trying to claim his first NHL championship.
“It’s pretty remarkable how things work out,” Bennett said. “Back then, we were just a couple kids enjoying minor hockey, having fun. The dream was to play in the Stanley Cup Final. To actually get a chance to go against him is a pretty cool experience.”
“It’s pretty wild to think about, to be honest,” McDavid said.
After seven seasons playing together, it was their Marlies campaign that left no doubt McDavid and Bennett would be on to bigger things.
Strong guided a dominant Marlies team that included Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh, and Josh Ho-Sang and Roland McKeown — who got cups of coffee in the NHL.
Strong would tell anyone who’d listen at the time that McDavid was the “next phenom.” He put McDavid at center next to Bennett. They predominantly skated on a trio that included Jaden Lindo — a complementary, powerful winger who went on to play major junior and in the Canadian university system.
“I always tried to put it (the lineup) together like a puzzle,” Strong said. “Everybody brought something different.
“McDavid would never shoot. He could stickhandle through the team, go back, and do it again. I had to teach him to shoot — and know when to shoot. He’d always dish it off to Bennett, who knew how to finish.”
There are two moments that Strong will never forget.
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The first was during a tournament in Boston, where the Marlies played opponents a year their senior — two years in McDavid’s case. That didn’t seem to bother McDavid, 14, a bit.
The way Strong tells it, in a game against the Boston Jr. Bruins, McDavid made an unreal end-to-end rush that included splitting a spin-o-rama and splitting the defense. As he moved toward the net, he fended off a couple opponents as he deked to the right. The puck was now below the goal line, but McDavid pulled it back toward the slot between his legs and flipped a shot under the crossbar.
Strong said everyone in the arena, including players on the opposing bench, gave him a standing ovation.
“It was jaw-dropping what he did,” Strong said. “After the game, some of the kids on the other team were actually asking for autographs. The play was unbelievable.”
“There were a lot of really cool goals that he scored,” Bennett said.
Strong’s second lasting memory was in the league final against current Detroit Red Wings winger Robby Fabbri and the Mississauga Rebels.
The Marlies were down 2-1 with roughly 90 seconds left and there was a faceoff in the Rebels zone. Strong pulled his goalie. Things quickly turned in the Marlies’ favor.
McDavid won the draw and found Bennett for the tying goal. Strong left them on the ice. Within moments, McDavid grabbed the puck, skated around a couple players, darted toward the net and scored. Those two markers won the Marlies the Greater Toronto league championship.
“I knew who was going to win the game for me,” Strong said.
Connor McDavid played minor midget for the Toronto Marlies in 2011-12. (Photo courtesy of the GTHL)
The Marlies lost five times all season. Shockingly, they fell in overtime of the OHL Cup — a showcase tourney ahead of the junior draft. By that point, McDavid and Bennett were already cemented as top prospects.
McDavid earned exceptional status to enter the OHL a year early and was selected first by the Erie Otters. McKeown went second to Kingston, Ho-Sang was chosen fifth by Windsor and Bennett joined McKeown after being nabbed ninth.
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From there, Bennett was picked fourth by Calgary in the 2014 NHL Draft a year before McDavid went first to Edmonton.
McDavid continues to play the same style now that got people talking when he played for the Marlies.
“He’s the best player in the world for a reason,” Bennett said.
Bennett’s game has veered a little, especially after being dealt to Florida in April 2021.
Though Bennett always played with bite — “Since he was a little guy, he’s been competitive,” McDavid said — he’s evolved into a thorny, agitating player.
“Bennett’s, all of a sudden, a bit of a prick out there — and I love it,” Strong said, laughing. “It’s fantastic. He’s added that element to this game.”
“I always had a physical edge to my game — even when I was younger,” Bennett said. “But this game is about adapting and owning different roles. Some teams need different players to do different things. I’m willing to do whatever role I’m needed to help our team win whether that’s go out there and be a prick or go try to generate some offense or play hard defense.
“Whatever I need to do, I’m going to try to do it. Whatever it takes to win the Stanley Cup.”
McDavid believes Bennett will show him no quarter.
“It’s not surprising to (see him) play that role now,” he said. “He’s good at it. He plays hard. He’s got enough skill to hurt you going the other way as well. He’s a great player.”
Strong has other connections in the series. He coached the Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues from when the winger was 6 until he was 16. He coached alongside Dan Brown, the father of Oilers forward Connor Brown, with the Marlies as well.
Given all that, you might think Brown would have a hard time picking a rooting interest in the final. That’s not the case.
“I’ve got to go for Edmonton,” Brown said. “They’re Canadian.”
Allegiances won’t impact the outcome in this series, though.
And neither will all those mini-stick games when the Stanley Cup was only handed out in make-believe.
“The stakes aren’t as big as they are today,” McDavid said. “Certainly, there was nothing handed out (back then).”
(Photos of Connor McDavid and Sam Bennett courtesy of the GTHL)
Daniel Nugent-Bowman is a staff writer who covers the Edmonton Oilers for The Athletic. Daniel has written about hockey for Sportsnet, The Hockey News, Yahoo Canada Sports and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Follow Daniel on Twitter @DNBsports
