Nathan MacKinnon is about to embark on the least-surprising breakout season in recent memory.
The sophomore center, who just turned 19 on Monday, had a very impressive rookie season for the Colorado Avalanche, posting 24 goals and 63 points on his way to winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
And so far this offseason? Oh, he’s only be praised as being stronger and more explosive than he was a year ago. Yeah, more explosive than this:
MacKinnon, who started the year on the third line in an effort to be eased into the lineup, eventually wound up skating with Gabriel Landeskog and the departed Paul Stastny for a good chunk of the year. With Stastny gone, he’ll slide back into his natural position at center and will more than likely center his captain and the newest acquisition to the Avs’ forward ranks in Jarome Iginla.
Let’s look at this for a minute. He’s in better shape for his second season, one where he was already one of the most explosive skaters in the league and showed a skill set that most don’t have in their entire careers, let alone as a rookie. On top of that, he will be skating with a familiar face in Landeskog, who just happens to be coming off his best season (26 goals, 65 points) and is one of the best young power forwards in the game. Couple that with the addition of a 560-goal scorer, coming off his 12th consecutive 30-goal season (if you ignore the lockout-shortened season) and MacKinnon is already more dangerous just by proxy.
MacKinnon is clearly a naturally gifted goal-scorer, but look for him to take a huge leap forward this year in terms of his playmaking. Playing with those kinds of linemates, the ones who can’t help but find the back of the net with regularity, makes you a better playmaker without even having to try. But when you’re as talented as Nathan MacKinnon is, it’s clear that the two sides will be making each other better.
And that means a lot of red light- burned goalies in MacKinnon’s future.
The Avalanche may have lost a big piece of the puzzle in Stastny, but with a year of success under his belt, MacKinnon is ready for the primetime in year two. It might be a little too early to talk about a scoring title, but MacKinnon is going to do enough insanely spectacular things this season that it won’t be difficult to picture one in the near future.
Looks like there’s another “Kid” from Halifax, NS looking to dominate the NHL.
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