Connor McDavid and Lauren Kyle McDavid build careers beyond the rink

A partnership built on parallel ambition

For Connor McDavid, success has long been measured in goals, assists, trophies and the pursuit of the Stanley Cup. For Lauren Kyle McDavid, success has taken a different shape built around interiors, fashion, hospitality and creating spaces people remember. Together the couple have built something that reaches well beyond the Edmonton Oilers.

Their story is not simply about a hockey superstar and his wife. It is about two ambitious people building separate careers while learning how to support each other through demanding goals, setbacks and new opportunities.

Lauren Kyle McDavid builds her own business identity

Lauren Kyle McDavid’s career began long before she became known as Connor McDavid’s wife. Her interest in design started early and she studied interior design at Toronto Metropolitan University. After moving from Toronto to Edmonton in 2019, she launched Kyle & Co, an interior design studio that became the foundation for a larger business portfolio.

Her ambitions did not stop with residential design. Lauren later expanded into furniture, hospitality and fashion. Trove Living became a furniture showroom and home for Kyle & Co, while Bar Trove added a hospitality arm to her growing business world. In 2026, the University of Alberta described her portfolio as including Kyle & Co, Trove Living, Bar Trove and Sports Club Atelier.

“It’s all about the feeling,” says Kyle McDavid, creating experiences that make people feel good and, ultimately, part of something bigger than themselves. That idea now runs through several parts of her professional life.

Shared drive and mutual support

While Lauren has been building companies, Connor has continued to carry the enormous expectations that come with being the Edmonton Oilers captain and one of the NHL’s biggest stars. Their careers are remarkably different one revolves around competition on the ice, the other involves clients, employees, products, spaces and business decisions.

“We both have dreams that we’re chasing, and we can relate around that,” she said. “We both know how we need to show up for each other in those moments and how we need to support each other in order to reach our goals. It’s really important to have a partner like that, who does understand and does provide support, because you need all the support you can get when he’s grinding through the playoffs and I’m grinding through opening businesses.”

Forbes reported that Connor gave Lauren business-coaching sessions as a birthday gift, an early gesture that helped her develop skills needed to manage a growing group of ventures.

From interiors to fashion and hospitality

Sports Club Atelier grew from her experience designing playoff jackets for the Oilers’ wives and girlfriends. What began as a creative project developed into a sportswear business, with the brand moving beyond a single team and into broader sports partnerships. Forbes reported plans involving several NHL teams and Team Canada, while the University of Alberta later described the label as officially licensed with the NHL.

“I think, when you’re creative, you’re interested in everything that that inspires you creatively,” she said. “For me, I look at fashion to inspire my interiors, everything overlaps each other. So it’s natural that I would be interested in art, fashion. Anything that gets my creative mind going.”

Bar Trove, located in downtown Edmonton, combines hospitality with Lauren’s design sensibility. When the project was announced, CityNews reported the venture was entering an area where downtown businesses were facing an evolving commercial environment. For Lauren, the challenge was creating somewhere people would deliberately choose to visit.

In 2026 she told Alberta School of Business students that a physical business cannot rely only on foot traffic. Instead, it needs to become a destination through careful attention to details such as lighting, music, food and service.

Partnership without losing individuality

The pair met through a family connection when McDavid was a teenager, and their relationship grew while both were beginning important chapters in their lives. Lauren eventually moved to Edmonton and built her career there while Connor became the face of the Oilers franchise.

Lauren has pushed back against the assumption that being an NHL player’s wife is simple, pointing to the demands and strain that can exist away from public view.

The couple’s approach to mistakes offers a window into their shared mindset.

“We both are leaders in a sense. He’s a captain on his team. I manage different employees. And although our careers are so different, the principles are the same … Mistakes are great. They expose gaps. And then you work on constantly improving and finding gaps.”

In 2026, Lauren told Alberta School of Business students she has learned to remain closely involved in vision and creative direction while giving her team more ownership over execution.

For Connor and Lauren, success therefore looks different but follows a similar rhythm. One prepares for another NHL season. The other develops new brands and businesses. One faces the pressure of a packed arena. The other faces the pressure of building something from the ground up.