from Stephen Whyno of the CP at the Globe and Mail,

Connor McDavid stood in the crowded Chicago Blackhawks locker room at chatted with Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning down the hall.

An appearance at the Stanley Cup final with other top prospects was just the latest step on McDavid’s rock-star tour before the Edmonton Oilers, as expected, draft him first overall later this month. Along the way, McDavid has been to the Memorial Cup and the scouting combine and gotten to know fellow top prospect Jack Eichel.

“It’s been a whirlwind and it’s been a dream come true,” McDavid said Monday morning at United Center. “It’s been crazy. It’s been a very busy couple of weeks. But it’s exciting. It’s where you want to be.”

McDavid would have rather been on the ice at the Memorial Cup but was instead in Quebec City for the CHL awards. At the combine he got to meet with Oilers brass and finally get acquainted with Eichel.

They had met on the ice at two world junior championships but never as regular, teenage kids. That happened in Buffalo outside the Sabres’ HarborCenter facilities.

“The two of us were just walking down the street, just bumped into each other shook hands and that was it,” Eichel said. “I don’t think we wanted to make a big deal of it as everyone else did.”

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