The way he flies all over the ice is definitely similar to the Flower, that sudden explosion of speed when he gets the puck in the neutral zone is eerily similar to Guy's.
Nathan MacKinnon - Rookie Season
- Thread starter PorkChopSandwiches
- Start date
- Status
The way he flies all over the ice is definitely similar to the Flower, that sudden explosion of speed when he gets the puck in the neutral zone is eerily similar to Guy's.
I get the comparison and I know it's relative to their eras but I don't think LaFleur touches MacKinnon's speed. But I do agree that a big difference between MacKinnon and guys like Bure and LaFleur is his passing ability. But it's more than that. MacKinnon's effectiveness as a passer is an articulation of his understanding of what his speed dies to defenses. He knows the defense is going to overcompensate for his speed. He also understands this is going to leave open space for a teammate. The Avs have scored at least three goals because of this. OReilly, Landeskog, and Holden all have scored because of this. There might be others I'm forgetting. It's more than, "let me just use my speed to get myself a good shot."
agentblack
Registered User
Guy's more remembered for his scoring, but his passing ability was top notch as well, he had multiple 70+ assist seasons. If Nate becomes half the player Guy was in his prime (probably the 3rd best RW of all time behind Hull and Richard) we have a gem on our hands.
PepsiCenterMagic
Food is Great
- Jul 17, 2013
- 651
- 44
Soon, everyone will be comparing players to MacKinnon, being his own entity, and not just using him as an appendage to some former player.
Watching that you can tell just by his celebrations alone that he has a great feel for the importance of the goal. As has been evident in his brief career he really steps it up when the chips are down. Mack has this feel for the game that simply cannot be taught.
What the future holds for Nate who knows, but I shiver to think what would happen if the Avs somehow miraculously win the cup. The award he could/probably would win blows my mind. But thats just not possible is it?
tigervixxxen
Optimism=Delusional
If they won the Cup yeah it's absolutely possible. I'm sure he'd have the most points out of anyone and will certainly have broken Jagr's record. That's a lot of IFs and a long, long way to go but that's the pace he's on, it's not unfathomable.
Crazy to think he only had one 3 point game in the regular season and that was from the 7-1 whupping they put on Buffalo, he's had 3 in 5 playoff games. He also never scored a true game winner in the regular season, now he has one OT goal in the playoffs. One obviously can't expect it every night and he can't just will himself to score but he's going to be a clutch, clutch performer. We all know the legend of the Memorial Cup but that's junior and the dominant performers always put up crazy points in junior. But 10 points in one round of the NHL playoffs is crazy.
As much as I love his speed and highlight plays I love that the OT goal was his shot, hands and determination to make something out of nothing.
Crazy to think he only had one 3 point game in the regular season and that was from the 7-1 whupping they put on Buffalo, he's had 3 in 5 playoff games. He also never scored a true game winner in the regular season, now he has one OT goal in the playoffs. One obviously can't expect it every night and he can't just will himself to score but he's going to be a clutch, clutch performer. We all know the legend of the Memorial Cup but that's junior and the dominant performers always put up crazy points in junior. But 10 points in one round of the NHL playoffs is crazy.
As much as I love his speed and highlight plays I love that the OT goal was his shot, hands and determination to make something out of nothing.
nanzenkills
Registered User
Who was the last rookie to win the Conn Smythe? Coach Roy? Pretty sure no 18-year-old has won it before. It'd be something to see, that's for sure.
You guys are making me feel like a kid with your talk about Guy Lafleur. I was born in the summer before his final season.
Hate to be the one to break this to you, but in the same way that we call just about everyone on the Avs "kids", we are also still just kids.
Foppa2118
Registered User
- Oct 3, 2003
- 52,277
- 31,368
Seconds before that he had his stick broken and had to get a new one. I wonder if he got another player's stick or his own. I've always felt a little shorter stick might help him with his puck handling at full speed, and for some reason that stick looked a tad shorter but I might be trippin. He seemed to have it right on a string too when he got the pass.
Cousin Eddie
You Serious Clark?
- Nov 3, 2006
- 40,147
- 37,298
He is tied with Parenteau for the shortest righty on the team. Other guys may use a very short stick but I doubt many are noticeably shorter than Mac's.
Most NHL teams keep 2 average length sticks at the end of the bench. One left and one right. Since the average Righty is taller than Mackinnon that stick is probably even a little longer than what he's used to.
In the Avs 3 wins so far, Varlamov's save % is 90.7%. The Wild are scoring 3 goals per game. In those games, MacKinnon is averaging 3.33 points per game with 3 being the fewest.
All this tells us what we already know but also that he might be our MVP of the playoffs since his performance has correlated most strongly to success.
Now, if someone would just step up at the same time Varlamov has one of his better games. Moreover, hopefully Varlamov stands on his head again, especially as shaky as the defense has been.
All this tells us what we already know but also that he might be our MVP of the playoffs since his performance has correlated most strongly to success.
Now, if someone would just step up at the same time Varlamov has one of his better games. Moreover, hopefully Varlamov stands on his head again, especially as shaky as the defense has been.
The Kingslayer
Registered User
Im waiting till the season is over before I make my Mackinnon vid.
Man we have to wait till June, that's forever away
What music you thinking?
Man we have to wait till June, that's forever away
What music you thinking?
Agree
Want now!!!!!
Lol
Mac looks faster in person, he is scoring and getting assists. If we can put mini away I'm hoping to see dome great two way hockey highlighting his speed against Hawks. No reason he should not gain confidence as we progress.
The Kingslayer
Registered User
Bubba Thudd
is getting banned
I hate to lock this right after Kingslayer posted his video, but it's over 1000 posts, and MacK's rookie season is over...
- Status
