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C Nathan MacKinnon - Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL (2013 draft) II

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Hard to believe this kid is 16.

EDIT: and he's a YOUNG 16... I never noticed that!!!! WOW.
 
That LA scout had him as a "top 10, maybe a top 5, possibly a top 1".

Precaution or ignorance?
 
Were people really comparing his size to Spezza's? Are they that mental that he JUST turned 16 and they're worried about his "size issues"??? I didn't hit my growth spurt until I was 18 hahaha
 
MacKinnon looked awesome in the Q vs Russia last night, I only saw the 3rd period but he was something else. Always seems to be in a scoring position similar to Tavares but he has much better skating. Excited to see this guy at Team Canadas Dec camp just to see how he compares.
 
His skating is just so impressive, gets up to top speed ridiculous fast, and he really flies at top speed too. Has a weird, chaotic looking skating style, reminds me of guys like Ovechkin and Hall with the way he skates, limbs flying all over the place but very effective regardless. Agreed with other posters in the previous thread who said that puck handling is probably his biggest weakness, he's a good but not great puck handler, but he's very young, just turned 16 in September, so I expect it to come around. His hockey sense also seems good but not elite, but again, he's so young that I expect that to come around too, especially as he gets more and more comfortable in the Q. He's gonna be a beast.

Granlund2Pulkkinen said:
That LA scout had him as a "top 10, maybe a top 5, possibly a top 1".

Precaution or ignorance?
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Very overly cautious IMO, bordering on ignorance. The 2013 draft is quite a ways away, who knows what happens between now and then, but I'd think he's the strong favourite to go 1st overall in 2013 at the moment, and it's pretty hard to imagine him falling out of the top 3, nevermind the top 5. Even this early I feel pretty confident saying that MacKinnon is top 5 lock as long as he stays healthy.

bsmith14 said:
MacKinnon looked awesome in the Q vs Russia last night, I only saw the 3rd period but he was something else. Always seems to be in a scoring position similar to Tavares but he has much better skating. Excited to see this guy at Team Canadas Dec camp just to see how he compares.
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Was cooking dinner and doing some homework while watching the game, so not fully tuned in, but to me he was definitely one of the more dangerous looking players on the ice for either team, still raw and sometimes trying to do to much, but very impressive for a kid who just turned 16 a couple months ago. Can't believe the QMJHL team lost that game, they had the puck pretty much the entire time but just could not score.
 
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ponder said:
Was cooking dinner and doing some homework while watching the game, so not fully tuned in, but to me he was definitely one of the more dangerous looking players on the ice for either team, still raw and sometimes trying to do to much, but very impressive for a kid who just turned 16 a couple months ago. Can't believe the QMJHL team lost that game, they had the puck pretty much the entire time but just could not score.
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with that said Kucherov could have had a hat trick...
 
Renegade Stylings said:
Was very impressed with him last night.
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I think he looked average at best compared to what I've seen from him in the past. He didn't bring the physical aspect of his game or get off half the shots I would normally expect. I'm hoping for a better effort on Wednesday.
 
Jason MacIsaac: You said you weren't even sure he is the best 95 in Canada. I would assume you meant now.

19 games 30 points
19 games 14 points
17 games 12 points

I know points aren't everything and I don't scout WHL prospects but do you really believe they are close to MacKinnon at the moment. This sounds like the same stuff I heard about Brule vs Crosby as 16 year olds.
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Believe me Mackinnon is no Crosby, the gap between these 3 aren't the far apart and I believe other Canadian prospects will jump into the race as well, also its very difficult for a 16year old to produce in the Dub, watch defensively the differences between the top defensive players in the Q v.s the Dub when the Super Series moves to Western Canada you will see. As far as the 2012 draft goes its too early to tell who will go first.
 
ponder said:
His skating is just so impressive, gets up to top speed ridiculous fast, and he really flies at top speed too. Has a weird, chaotic looking skating style, reminds me of guys like Ovechkin and Hall with the way he skates, limbs flying all over the place but very effective regardless. Agreed with other posters in the previous thread who said that puck handling is probably his biggest weakness, he's a good but not great puck handler, but he's very young, just turned 16 in September, so I expect it to come around. His hockey sense also seems good but not elite, but again, he's so young that I expect that to come around too, especially as he gets more and more comfortable in the Q. He's gonna be a beast.
Click to expand...

Hit the nail on the head with these three comments. Puck handling and using his creativity better are two things he definitely needs to work on. That being said, he'll be a great player, I've always believed this. If he can improve on those two things, I don't see why he can't be in the top echelon of players in the league.
 
For anyone else who has watched him play live a few times, do you ever notice that when he doesn't have the puck he's usually not in good position to receive a pass? It seems to me like the angle he creates when looking for a pass on the rush is too small, and that if he went a bit wider he could successfully receive a lot more open passes.
 
johnman10 said:
For anyone else who has watched him play live a few times, do you ever notice that when he doesn't have the puck he's usually not in good position to receive a pass? It seems to me like the angle he creates when looking for a pass on the rush is too small, and that if he went a bit wider he could successfully receive a lot more open passes.
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I've been to every Moose home game this season and that hasn't jumped out at me at all. I'm not a scout by any means, but given my hockey experience I feel like that's something I would have picked up on.

I do find that his wingers try and force him the puck in the neutral zone sometimes, though.
 
johnman10 said:
For anyone else who has watched him play live a few times, do you ever notice that when he doesn't have the puck he's usually not in good position to receive a pass? It seems to me like the angle he creates when looking for a pass on the rush is too small, and that if he went a bit wider he could successfully receive a lot more open passes.
Click to expand...

I think his team mates pass into space like they would for a guy with Q level skating. I notice he has to break stride a lot to take his passes, but when gets a well timed pass that he can skate into he's gone and no one is catching him. When I was growing up I played a few games with a guy that ended up making the NHL. Getting timing right passing to him was very hard because you not only had to read the play (ie F3 is coming late), but you had to see he was the guy you were passing to because the timing was so much different that with any other player.

It reminds me a bit of when Crosby first came into the league and guys would flub open nets because they weren't ready to take a pass that literally no one else in that age group could make.
 
wings5 said:
Believe me Mackinnon is no Crosby, the gap between these 3 aren't the far apart and I believe other Canadian prospects will jump into the race as well, also its very difficult for a 16year old to produce in the Dub, watch defensively the differences between the top defensive players in the Q v.s the Dub when the Super Series moves to Western Canada you will see. As far as the 2012 draft goes its too early to tell who will go first.
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You're basing this off one TV viewing where no players had chemistry? I'm not convinced. I'm certainly not saying he is the next Crosby but at the moment he is probably the best 16 year old skater Canada has to offer.
 
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Kevin Forbes said:
To be fair, that's what the Peter Loubardias article a few threads down seems to be about as well.
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Peter mentions that his viewing was by TV. I would take any viewing by video with a grain a salt. The only thing I take from video is skating stride, possession and results.

Like I said above, he isn't Crosby. Crosby had generational vision and playmaking. He does have a skillset that is a few years ahead of his age. Not to mention above average hockey sense.
 
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