Nathan MacKinnon - Rookie Season

Status
Not open for further replies.

1Gold Standard

Registered User
Jun 13, 2012
7,897
188
I think a stint with the Canadian junior team at Christmas time is exactly what he needs. Just wishful thinking on my part though. He'll figure it out. I wrote before draft day, he will have a Stamkos like start to this NHL life, but by game 25 watch out.
 

UsernameWasTaken

Let's Go Hawks!
Feb 11, 2012
26,148
217
Toronto
I think a stint with the Canadian junior team at Christmas time is exactly what he needs. Just wishful thinking on my part though. He'll figure it out. I wrote before draft day, he will have a Stamkos like start to this NHL life, but by game 25 watch out.

you think that about everyone! :laugh:
 

1Gold Standard

Registered User
Jun 13, 2012
7,897
188
you think that about everyone! :laugh:

Well, I feel he was improbably used last year and deserves another shot on the world stage....as it will be a while before we see him wearing the colors again. I doubt it will be in the World Cup if there is one 2015/16... and this is most likely last Olympics with NHL participation.
 

failedsaucerpass

Registered User
Dec 4, 2007
438
0
BXtRO8WCYAEBjik.jpg
 

UsernameWasTaken

Let's Go Hawks!
Feb 11, 2012
26,148
217
Toronto
Well, I feel he was improbably used last year and deserves another shot on the world stage....as it will be a while before we see him wearing the colors again. I doubt it will be in the World Cup if there is one 2015/16... and this is most likely last Olympics with NHL participation.

You make it sound like it would be a privilege for him to be taken out of the NHL and to go play at a U20 tournament with an inferior level of play. I don't think he'd see things that way. No doubt he'd rather stay with his NHL team.
 

1Gold Standard

Registered User
Jun 13, 2012
7,897
188
You make it sound like it would be a privilege for him to be taken out of the NHL and to go play at a U20 tournament with an inferior level of play. I don't think he'd see things that way. No doubt he'd rather stay with his NHL team.

just from a fan perspective..that's all. And I really don't buy the nonsense argument of it will mess him up (or any player for that matter) to take 3 weeks from NHL action to play a junior age tournament.

Last year some people claimed oh RNH is just too good for that tournament... he'll destroy it. Well, he didn't actually destroy it. He was the leading scorer and all...but he didn't destroy it by any means.
 

cgf

FireBednarsSuccessor
Oct 15, 2010
59,988
19,060
w/ Renly's Peach
It's a total waste though when instead he could be learning against NHL competition and continuing to work on his chemistry with his real team mates. It's not like he's struggling massively and losing his confidence at the NHL level or being rushed, he's being sheltered so he can be brought along patiently as he learns, which is what he needs to continue doing, playing and learning at the NHL level.
 

tigervixxxen

Optimism=Delusional
Jul 7, 2013
53,056
6,154
Denver
burgundy-review.com
I understand for the fans of Canada hockey it would be fun seeing MacKinnon play in the tournament, gets lots of minutes and make an impact. Obviously as an Avs fan only I want to see him try to win games for this team. But as just a MacKinnon fan I don't want to give hockey Canada the satisfaction of having him on the team after how they treated him last year. Too bad. He wasn't good enough for you last year so make due without him this year.
 

UsernameWasTaken

Let's Go Hawks!
Feb 11, 2012
26,148
217
Toronto
I understand for the fans of Canada hockey it would be fun seeing MacKinnon play in the tournament, gets lots of minutes and make an impact. Obviously as an Avs fan only I want to see him try to win games for this team. But as just a MacKinnon fan I don't want to give hockey Canada the satisfaction of having him on the team after how they treated him last year. Too bad. He wasn't good enough for you last year so make due without him this year.

It's hard...I want the Canadians to win so bad, but I also know where you're coming from. Hockey Canada is notorious for that kind of stupidity (or cutting people from the team for not being "good enough" but low and behold those players are in the NHL the next year right after being drafted - RNH, Skinner, Seguin, Monahan :shakehead)
 

jaems

Registered User
Apr 16, 2006
5,576
314
But as just a MacKinnon fan I don't want to give hockey Canada the satisfaction of having him on the team after how they treated him last year. Too bad. He wasn't good enough for you last year so make due without him this year.

What happened last year?
 

Oan

Registered User
Jan 31, 2011
1,478
426
If he was on Florida right now he would have double the points playing on the first line with first line minutes without any restrictions. Probably a lot of defensive gaffs though. Roy is easing him in and he is learning slowly. The key is anticipating the play properly.

No, just no. Barkov is atm effectively the nr. 1 center in Florida, and it is because of his complete game already as a 18-year old, he wouldn't be given those minutes if his defensive game was unreliable, as MacKinnons is atm.

MacKinnon will be great player too, but don't kid yourself thinking that he would be just given free reigns in Florida by default at this point. Barkov just has proven that he can be relied on both ends of the ice, and atm(!) is more complete player than MacKinnon is.
 

tigervixxxen

Optimism=Delusional
Jul 7, 2013
53,056
6,154
Denver
burgundy-review.com
Reduced? Didn't he play on the 4th line and got like 6 minutes of icetime in the tournament? It would have been better if he hadn't played at all.

Seriously Florida fans...come on. Worry about your own team.
 

1Gold Standard

Registered User
Jun 13, 2012
7,897
188
I understand for the fans of Canada hockey it would be fun seeing MacKinnon play in the tournament, gets lots of minutes and make an impact. Obviously as an Avs fan only I want to see him try to win games for this team. But as just a MacKinnon fan I don't want to give hockey Canada the satisfaction of having him on the team after how they treated him last year. Too bad. He wasn't good enough for you last year so make due without him this year.

I've always thought Hockey Canada and specifically some Hockey Canada personnel who have since been **** canned have never really been Mackinnon supporters...
I still chuckle every time I see the video of the Hockey Canada Chief Scout who suggested in an interview maybe, maybe Nate is a Top 10 pick in the NHL. Make no mistake about it, Nate was never HC's fair haired boy, for whatever reason, some flashy individual play in some meaningless U17 tournament with Team Atlantic when he was 15, his refusal to report to the Q team that drafted him and then forcing a trade to Halifax. Make no mistake about it, Hockey Canada is in bed with the CHL and they'll do their bidding if you mess with the system. I do believe that Nate has plenty to be pissed about when it comes to Hockey Canada and I hope someday he dishes out some payback, but I like to see that payback come when they come calling for players to play in the men's world championship and not the juniors. It's not going to happen, I realize that the Avs are not going to release him, but as a fan and a fan of the U20 tournament in particular, I'd like to see Nate get another shot at it and dish out the payback to Hockey Canada another time.
 

tucker3434

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Apr 7, 2007
19,792
10,543
Atlanta, GA
Very skilled, but he hasn't figured out the NHL game yet. Shows flashes of brilliance, but generally is pretty average. Needs some serious improvement defensively. I guess he's about where I expected for a guy that turned 18 only a couple months ago.

He doesn't need more time in Juniors. If we sent him back he'd just keep using his physical gifts to skate over and around his opponents. He needs to round out his game. Might as well do it now.
 

jaems

Registered User
Apr 16, 2006
5,576
314
I still have to remind myself that he's only 18 years old and learning the facets of the game the right way is more important than whether he wins the Calder or scores a bunch of points. A lot of quality centers have had quiet first years. Datsyuk, Seguin, Henrik Sedin come to mind.
 

Cats2TheCup

Registered User
Oct 27, 2011
2,585
1,626
Miami, Fl
No, just no. Barkov is atm effectively the nr. 1 center in Florida, and it is because of his complete game already as a 18-year old, he wouldn't be given those minutes if his defensive game was unreliable, as MacKinnons is atm.

MacKinnon will be great player too, but don't kid yourself thinking that he would be just given free reigns in Florida by default at this point. Barkov just has proven that he can be relied on both ends of the ice, and atm(!) is more complete player than MacKinnon is.

They are both completely different, but both going to be great. I've been lucky to see both play in the NHL level this year and even though I come from FL, I come in peace. :yo:

Mackinnon is a guy that I would have LOVED to have in Florida. He's exciting to watch, incredibly fast, he's hungry to score goals, and has a tremendous desire to will his team to win. The guy's a winner and he's probably gonna be the leading goal scorer in the NHL in a few years. But he needs to work on his defense.

Barkov is big, poised, and positionally sound already. He's almost always in the right place at the right time, and the puck seems to want to make him happy. He's great with his stick, especially against the boards and in tight spaces. There's been a few nights where he's been the best player on our team. Everyone knows how good he is defensively too, but he needs to work on shooting the puck more. He relies too heavily on his beautiful passes.

I know that the AVS took a very serious look at Barkov, but I think they recognized that they needed a high scoring forward like MacKinnon that could put the puck in the net and push the offense more than they needed a big defensive playmaking center, and I think both teams won.

Either way, I can't wait to see the new thread of how Mackinnon looks at the 25 game mark, because i'm sure he's going to start racking up the points very soon.

I dont know about you guys, but I'm really excited to see the number 1 and number 2 picks overall play on the same ice this year to help us get a real evaluation of what each organization missed out on, and what they gained.

PS You guys look great this year. Glad to see you guys are back!!
 

cgf

FireBednarsSuccessor
Oct 15, 2010
59,988
19,060
w/ Renly's Peach
Looks like we're going to see Mack play on Stastny's wing for a bit, at least next game and possibly until Tanguay is back. He quickly picked up another goal at the outset of the Mack on the wing experiment... if he thrives on the wing could it be a potential solution to the center logjam if Stastny and O'Reilly end up sticking around?

Nah. Once Tanguay's back he'll go back to centering the third line so he can keep growing at C. If it ever gets to the point that he surpasses Staz and we don't have enough wingers for all 3 of them to have quality partners, Staz can move to the wing like O'Reilly has. Until then the Avs should roll 3 quality lines whenever possible.
 

LazRNN

Registered User
Dec 17, 2003
5,059
29
Nah. Once Tanguay's back he'll go back to centering the third line so he can keep growing at C. If it ever gets to the point that he surpasses Staz and we don't have enough wingers for all 3 of them to have quality partners, Staz can move to the wing like O'Reilly has. Until then the Avs should roll 3 quality lines whenever possible.

I'm not sure it'll be that simple a "nah" to move Mack off the line if he starts lighting it up skating with Stastny and Landeskog, both of whom are hot right now...
 

Avs_19

Registered User
Jun 28, 2007
84,521
32,105
That experiment ended quickly, similar to when Duchene was moved to wing. Hope that'll quiet the "move him to wing" crowd for a bit.
 

Foppa2118

Registered User
Oct 3, 2003
52,152
31,161
I think one of the biggest things he's struggling with so far is how to support his linemates offensively.

He flies around the ice, gets himself open, but none of his teammates can get the puck to him because he's either too far away, and/or the passing lanes are clogged. He's got to learn where to get on the ice to receive a pass, and how to support his linemates so they can get him the puck when they're in trouble.

He's also got to move the puck a little quicker. He's a great passer, but he waits a split second too long sometimes, and turns the puck over. There needs to be more give and go in his game. All he's got to do is watch how Duchene works with O'Reilly, or with PAP, and how he gets close to them to support them most of the time, and then uses his speed to break free. That's what he's got to learn how to do.

Right now he's trying to do everything at full speed. Duchene had the same problem early on, and didn't fully figure it out until last year.

These are very natural mistakes for a rookie 18 year old to make. He should be playing with more talented wingers though so he can start to learn this. He's not going to figure it out playing with grinders.
 

Avsboy

Registered User
Dec 12, 2006
32,242
16,656
I think one of the biggest things he's struggling with so far is how to support his linemates offensively.

He flies around the ice, gets himself open, but none of his teammates can get the puck to him because he's either too far away, and/or the passing lanes are clogged. He's got to learn where to get on the ice to receive a pass, and how to support his linemates so they can get him the puck when they're in trouble.

He's also got to move the puck a little quicker. He's a great passer, but he waits a split second too long sometimes, and turns the puck over. There needs to be more give and go in his game. All he's got to do is watch how Duchene works with O'Reilly, or with PAP, and how he gets close to them to support them most of the time, and then uses his speed to break free. That's what he's got to learn how to do.

Right now he's trying to do everything at full speed. Duchene had the same problem early on, and didn't fully figure it out until last year.

These are very natural mistakes for a rookie 18 year old to make. He should be playing with more talented wingers though so he can start to learn this. He's not going to figure it out playing with grinders.

I agree with this. His positioning is not up to snuff for an NHL player.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->