Avs For Life
#92 #9 #29
BTW we could probably just make this the Official Mackinnon thread and get rid of the first 10 games part =P since we are at game 21 lol
MacKinnon is doing fine and as TMV said his overall play has stepped up so the points will follow.
But just looking at the numbers, MacKinnon leads rookies with 65 SOG, is tied in rookie lead with 10 assists and tied for 4th in rookie points with 13. He's 3rd on the Avs in SOG only 5 behind the leader O'Reilly, tied for the lead in assists and is 6th in scoring. So maybe it seems like he's not putting up any points but he actually is.
I know the point is MacKinnon should be scoring more goals and he will. He can't stay shooting 4% forever. He's getting his chances and SOG, so I'm not worried.
If the discussion is MacKinnon and the shots he takes, it would help to look at the heat map of the shots he's taken.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nhl/i...eventType='SHOT',+'GOAL'&r1type=1&r1strength=
Doesn't look like all low percentage shots to me. And sort by power play to get an idea of how effective at getting good shots he has been there. You can also compare MacKinnon to any other player you want at that site.
If the discussion is MacKinnon and the shots he takes, it would help to look at the heat map of the shots he's taken.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nhl/i...eventType='SHOT',+'GOAL'&r1type=1&r1strength=
Doesn't look like all low percentage shots to me. And sort by power play to get an idea of how effective at getting good shots he has been there. You can also compare MacKinnon to any other player you want at that site.
Cool chart. I stand corrected. I do still notice that he often gets to the zone well before his linemates.
Cool chart. I stand corrected. I do still notice that he often gets to the zone well before his linemates.
I know we never want to root for a shoot out and we want wins in regulation... but I want to see Mack in the shootout. He has awesome hands.
The Colorado Avalanche drafted Nathan MacKinnon with the No. 1 pick because they were confident he'd be an impact player right away. They were accurate.
MacKinnon has 19 points in 33 games. He is averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time per game and leads all rookies with 96 shots on goal. He recently moved up to the top line to play right wing alongside Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly.
Joe Sakic, Colorado's executive vice president of hockey operations, told NHL.com the best thing he's seen from MacKinnon so far is his fearlessness.
"He competes. He wants it," Sakic said. "He doesn't back down. He's not scared of anybody. He goes to the hard areas. Obviously you want to bring him along slowly, but he's forcing it. He's done just a tremendous job, and he's willing to learn and do what it takes to be a complete player."
When asked if any of that surprises Sakic, he quickly said no.
"Well you were expecting a yes, but I wouldn't say it is surprising," Sakic said. "That's what we were expecting. We knew he was a competitive guy. It doesn't always happen with everybody when they do make the jump, but we expected it to happen [with MacKinnon].
"You can see he's much more comfortable now, but that comes from actually being out there and playing," he continued. "You just have to get used to the pace. For a guy like him it's realizing these guys are fast, but I'm still faster than them. He takes off. He flies."
Thought these comments from Sakic on MacKinnon were interesting
I still think he'll win the Calder with a dominant 2nd half of the season if he stays healthy. He's simply amazing.
He been consistently moving up and catching Hertl. I have no doubt he'll win the scoring race for rookies, whether that guarantees him the Calder or not who knows.
On a seperate not, does anyone know what's happened to Jones?
Since their game on December 5th, he's averaged less than 14 minutes a game (9:29 on the 10th) after averaging monster minutes the majority of the beginning of the season. Is this a reflection of his play or are they starting to just lighten his load as a rookie?