Draisaitl & McDavid Embody Golf Legend Jack Nicklaus’ Sage Advice

Scheffler won his second, and back-to-back, Memorial Tournament, founded and hosted by Jack Nicklaus, arguably the best golfer ever. The 85-year-old had high praise for Scheffler, saying, “He’s played better than I played and more consistent.”

But he also had an insightful tidbit about what it takes to be the best that Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid have played out to near perfection this postseason.

Nicklaus’ Thoughts on Confidence, Humility, and Focus

Nicklaus knows what it’s like to be in the discussion about the greatest of a particular sport—just like Draisaitl and McDavid. The difference is that Nicklaus won just about everything you could win in golf while Draisaitl and McDavid are in the midst of raising the Stanley Cup. Given Nicklaus’ championship pedigree and experience, when he speaks, we should listen.

Discussing how the best athletes in the world constantly strive to improve while remaining humble, Nicklaus said:

Once you start getting a big head and you believe you’re too good, then you will get beat. As long as you keep trying to play well, climb a mountain, try to feel like [you’re] trying to get better, trying to be smart, being consistent, and playing what [you] think is the best golf at that particular time—that’s when you play well, not when you’re sitting there saying, ‘Oh I’m really this good. I can do that.'”

It’s a nuanced nugget of wisdom from Nicklaus that we’ve seen Draisaitl and McDavid wrestle with since losing in the Stanley Cup Final last season to the Florida Panthers. Everyone knows that they are two of the best hockey players in the world. They should be confident that they can win the Stanley Cup. But you haven’t heard either of them remotely hint at being the best or that they will win.

McDavid acknowledged how losing last year prepared them for this second chance, saying, “If you asked me this question last year, I’d probably say no. Now that we’ve lost, I’ll say, ‘Yeah, of course you’ve got to lose before you win.'”

Draisaitl reiterated similar sentiments after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 1. Talking with Darren Pang after the game, Draisaitl said, “I think [we’re] just a little bit more mature. I thought we hung in there, we’re mature, and obviously we needed just one look and capitalized on that.”

These are quotes that Nicklaus would approve of. Not once throughout this entire run for the Oilers have I heard a player or coach say, “We’re the best team.” Every line delivered to the media has reiterated how the team has improved, emphasized what the team needs to do better, or praised the play of a teammate. Draisaitl told reporters in May, “I can put my own stats on the back burner for a couple of months if that means that we’re going to be the last team standing.

If that’s not the attitude Nicklaus emphasized is needed to become and stay the best, I don’t know what is.

Will it Be Enough?

There’s no doubt that Draisaitl and McDavid are exemplary leaders. They embody the attitude that Nicklaus stressed is needed for the best athletes in the world to succeed at the highest level. The only remaining question is: Will it be enough? Unfortunately for the Oilers, the Panthers have a say in how this will end as well.

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