McDavid takes part in viral social media video, makes young fan's day

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid was delighted to meet a young fan in collaboration with social media sensation Zachery Dereniowski, also known as “mdmotivator.”

Dereniowski reached out to the Edmonton Oilers captain asking if he would be willing to participate in one of his videos, which generate millions of views on a variety of social media platforms. Dereniowski has been producing videos since August 2020, highlighting random acts of kindness and has a following of 18 million on TikTok and 5.3 million on Instagram.

“Zachery does great things,” McDavid said. “Seeing some of his videos, he spreads a lot of kindness and love and I think that’s a great thing.”

Dereniowski posted a video Sunday of him offering a young Oilers fan, Omar, a Connor McDavid jersey or $1,000 outside a Walmart store in Edmonton. Omar chose the $1,000 saying it would help his single mom. Dereniowski gave Omar the $1,000 along with the jersey and surprised them both with tickets to the game between the Oilers and Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Place this past Saturday.

After the game, Omar and his mother met McDavid, who autographed a stick and his jersey. The video has generated 2.7 million views on TikTok.

“My manager Erica lives in Calgary, and she manages myself as well as Connor McDavid’s fiancée, Lauren Kyle and they became great friends,” Dereniowski said. “They basically thought it would be a great idea to do something with Connor for a deserving fan sometime this year. Just the timing aligned with the home game and Connor was keen to get involved, so I was very honored that he wanted to and that’s how that synergy happened.”

Dereniowski put up a story on his Instagram account asking people in Edmonton if they knew of anyone who was deserving of going to an Oilers game and meeting McDavid. Omar was nominated and Dereniowski arranged to meet them and make the offer, not knowing what the reaction would be.

“I was told how kind Omar is and that he always puts others before himself, and his Christmas wish was to go to an Oilers game,” Dereniowski said. “He doesn’t own any Oilers merchandise, so I thought, let's surprise him with an Oilers jersey and then 100X that experience for him, and that’s how it transpired.”

Omar took in the game with his mother, was featured on the scoreboard and met McDavid in the Oilers dressing room after the game.

“I didn’t really see him until after the game,” McDavid said. “[Dereniowski] brought Omar in there and it was great to see Omar and meet Omar and hear a little bit of his story.”

It turned out to be a special night for the young fan.

“It was beautiful watching the mom watch Omar,” Dereniowski said. “She was crying most of the night and most of the afternoon, just because he was so happy. She was just grateful that he got this opportunity.”

Dereniowski has been able to fulfil wishes of young fans throughout North America and help people in all walks of life. A former medical student, he started making videos to help his mental health.

In fact, he said his social media handle, mdmotivator, stands for Medical Doctor Motivator.

Dereniowski was very appreciative McDavid and the Oilers were able to connect with Omar and his family, and McDavid was happy to help.

“It was great,” McDavid said. “Omar taking the $1,000 to help his mom says a lot about him and says a lot about what his values are. And if you can help bring a smile to a kid like that and make his day, I think that’s a great thing and Zach does that everywhere and it was cool to be a part of one.”