By: Matthew D
Nathan MacKinnon, the 18 year old rookie on the Colorado Avalanche, is making some great progress in his NHL debut season. As of right now MacKinnon is leading the race for the Calder trophy, and he is leading points in all rookies, as expected. MacKinnon was drafted first overall in the 2013-14 NHL draft.
There is something about MacKinnon that separates himself from all other NHL rookies. He had no trouble at all adjusting to the intensity and the fast pace play of the National Hockey League. Most rookies are too timid to get into the game, but not MacKinnon.
Colorado Avalanche captain, Gabriel Landeskog said “First time I met him I realized this is going to be a piece of cake for him on his own, off of the ice you can’t tell he’s a rookie, he’s certainly one of the guys on the ice. He’s gotten more and more comfortable as the season has gone along and he has gotten better and better. He has for sure been one of our best players these last couple months.”
On MacKinnon’s first NHL game, he scored two goals to beat the Anaheim ducks 6-1 on October 2nd, and put up seven points in his next three games, putting up one goal and 6 assists. He leads the Avalanche with 22 goals and a total of 45 points, and leading all rookies in points.
MacKinnon has been a key factor to why the Avalanche are such a strong team this year, since finishing fifteenth in the western conference in the 2012-13 NHL season.
The last two seasons MacKinnon played in the Quebec Major Junior league. Instead of playing really slow and not looking good in the next big league, MacKinnon showed everyone what he can really do and is dominating this NHL season. MacKinnon said “The game is the same forsure, hockey is hockey, it is at a different level but everyone is just better. Fast pace is a lot of fun for sure, you don’t have to overthink things or overthink plays.”
MacKinnon is on the exact same pace as Jeff Skinner on setting the record for points as a rookie at 63 points in the 2010-2011 season. He’s not just the only teenager striving for greatness in the league, but he has showed the world that he is a born natural for the game of hockey.
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