Oilers rookie McDavid cleared for full contact

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid said Sunday he's been cleared for full contact. He will practice with Bakersfield of the American Hockey League during the NHL All-Star break but won't play in any games.

McDavid participated in the shooting accuracy portion of the Oilers' annual skills competition Sunday and hopes he'll be ready to return when the Oilers resume their season Feb. 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Rexall Place.

"Management and I came together and agreed to go to Bakersfield for a few days and skate and keep practicing," McDavid told the Oilers website. "It's a long break between now and then, just going to skate and get ready for what hopefully is a return on [Feb. 2].

"The practices are a little bit more intense, with a lot of battling and stuff like that. It will be good to be involved in that and hopefully come back feeling good and ready to go for the 2nd. Obviously, with this long break, it's not ideal to go and sit around for eight days and then try to come back and feel good. I think it’s a good opportunity for me to feel good and be ready to go when I come back."

McDavid, the top pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, has been out since fracturing his left clavicle in a 4-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 3.

"It [stinks] being out," McDavid said. "It feels like a long time. These last couple of weeks have been probably the longest. When you feel so good you want to play, but I'm being patient with it. Hopefully the patience is rewarded at the end."

McDavid had five goals and seven assists in 13 games and was named the NHL rookie of the month for October.

"I couldn't be more excited to come back," McDavid said. "Today was a little bit of a tease, almost. It was dressed up like a game, fans were there, everyone was acting like it's a game, so it's almost like a tease. It's exciting to be back on the ice today with the guys and the fans."