Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews revive 'Showdown' campaign in viral post exchange
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
McDonald's Canada has brought back the Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid rivalry as their new mini stick promotion has caused a bit of a social media stir.
Last year, McDonald's partnered with both Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid in a recreation of the 1997 Mats Sundin commercial as well as introducing a new menu inspired by both players -- the Big Mac David and the Smoky Quarter Papi for Matthews.
This year they have decided to bring in something cooler with the introduction of mini figurines and sticks of several NHL stars including Matthews and McDavid as part of a new promotion.
Matthews and McDavid have fun with McDonald's mini stick promotion
In addition to Matthews and McDavid, Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, Sam Reinhart, Sam Montembeault and Macklin Celebrini will all receive figures as well, and it's sure to become a hot collector's item.
But it's seemed to have drawn a bit of a stir on social media as McDavid and Matthews decided to renew their McDonald's rivalry once again, with both men tagging each other on X regarding the new mini sticks:
While all in good fun, it's hilarious to think about how McDavid or Matthews using these sticks to actually try and outdo one another and no doubt they already got their hands on these early in order to have a bit of fun.
It's also interesting to see the two burying the hatchet pretty quickly at least when it comes to on-ice rivalry as this is a week after Matthews beat McDavid in the gold medal game during the 2026 Olympics; so it's nice to see that the 'bad blood' is during games only.
According to a release, the mini figures and sticks will be available starting March 3rd, which would be this upcoming Tuesday and it might not be long before we see them sold out of locations as fans try to get their hands on their favourite players.
While some may see this as a potential distraction from both men's seasons, they are only human and poking a bit of fun at each other in their free time is nothing to be concerned about, and it's something rare that they can share together.
The only question now remains: Which player are you most excited about?
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| POLL | ||
MARS 1|508 ANSWERS Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews revive 'Showdown' campaign in viral post exchange Are you going to try and collect all the McDonald's NHL Mini Sticks? | ||
| Yes | 70 | 13.8 % |
| No | 400 | 78.7 % |
| Only a couple | 28 | 5.5 % |
| Only Matthews | 10 | 2 % |
| List of polls | ||