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

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haayward said:
The only way Calgary is a lotto pick next year is if Kipper is traded or has a long term injury. And if Edmonton is picking first overall again next year.. their young guns aren't all everyone thinks they are.
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bad leadership+Very Bad defence+Questionable goaltending.


= Lottery team next year
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
No it is not, people say you can teach defense. Well there aren't too many poor defensive players coming out of JR that become elite defensive players at the next level. I want a forward who can play in high leverage situations, play against the opponents top lines and still put up points. Players like Monahan projects to do that.

MacKinnon, in my live viewings, was terrible defensively, gave the puck up ala Kovalchuk and failed to play a simple game. I know he is 16 and will improve with age but players don't flick on a switch to this sort of stuff. Not only is there offensive hockey sense but there is neutral zone hockey sense and defensive zone hockey sense...all these things are instincts that I feel won't change much. It's why talented players like Jeff Friesen hit a plateau.
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While I certainly agree with what you're saying in terms of MacKinnon cheating a fair bit in the neutral and defensive zones this year, he's also a 16 year old who was asked to carry his team offensively as a rookie. I definitely don't think he's any sort of "stone cold lock" to go 1st overall next year, but he's my early favourite. Next year I'm sure everyone will want to see progress in the neutral and defensive zones, but given his age, experience level, and the amount of offensive responsibility he has, I don't see it as a big concern just yet that his defensive play has been a bit lacking.
 
GM17 said:
Curious what the state of the game was like? Were they losing? because I saw game 3 vs Quebec live and it was BRUTAL. Tried to do farrrrrrrrrrrr too much and at one point just went end to end again and again only to try the same inside out move and get shutdown. Didn't use his wingers at all + looked completely frustrated. Where have you and I seen THAT before? lol

Still, I consider that to be more of an effect of the team losing an important game and him wanting or thinking he had to go it alone. I've also seen some excellent games out of him where he just can't seem to do wrong.
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All the games with Cape Breton were pretty close
 
Jason MacIsaac said:
No it is not, people say you can teach defense. Well there aren't too many poor defensive players coming out of JR that become elite defensive players at the next level. I want a forward who can play in high leverage situations, play against the opponents top lines and still put up points. Players like Monahan projects to do that.

MacKinnon, in my live viewings, was terrible defensively, gave the puck up ala Kovalchuk and failed to play a simple game. I know he is 16 and will improve with age but players don't flick on a switch to this sort of stuff. Not only is there offensive hockey sense but there is neutral zone hockey sense and defensive zone hockey sense...all these things are instincts that I feel won't change much. It's why talented players like Jeff Friesen hit a plateau.
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As others have indicated, Monahan didn't come into the year as a defensive force. He's came a long way from his Minor Midget year in that regard. As Ponder said, MacKinnon is asked to be the offensive force for Halifax. He's ask to create chances offensively as he is head and shoulders above everyone else on his team.

Whereas Monahan may have the OHL MVP on his line, in Toffoli, and another dangerous offensive player in Prince (most of the time). He's not ask to carry the team nearly as much offensively, which then makes it easier to focus on the defensive end. If he continues to progress offensively next year - where he loses Toffoli, Prince and MacFarland (even though he's out) - and still is a force defensively, then he'll no doubt go very early in next years draft. Next season is very important for Monahan.
 
bigdirty said:
The way things are going for the Oilers, they'll probably get him too.

MacKinnon - Christ - Eberle
Hall - RNH - Yakupov
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Didn't you know Jesus is a goalie?

Jesus%2BSaves%2B2.jpg
 
Nathan was at a plus 11 for the regular season and so far has followed up with a plus 11 in the playoffs. He may not be great defensively but he certainly isn't terrible defensively.
 
NovaScotia Habsfan31 said:
Nathan was at a plus 11 for the regular season and so far has followed up with a plus 11 in the playoffs. He may not be great defensively but he certainly isn't terrible defensively.
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Plus/minus is a terribly incomplete statistic to judge defensive play with.

Without context, what you provided means very little.
For example: as a team, the Mooseheads in the regular season were +12 (that is, they scored 12 more goals than they allowed). So far in the playoffs, the team is +15.
But in comparison, the team's best defensive player (in my opinion, Brent Andrews) was only +7 in the regular season and is -2 in the playoffs.
 
Just imagine being in his skates. Your whole Hockey playing life every season you average pretty much 3-4 pts per game , dominating each opposition with your offensive ability and never having to rely on defense, and now when you hit junior you still dominate offensively in your rookie year but get criticized for your defensive play. He's 16, he's still going to learn a lot about the other side of the puck especially at the next level and it's something which you can teach. There's not one player in the 2013 draft that can bring anything close offensively to what a Nathan Mackinnon can bring, so I mean who's going to teach those players that. With the intangibles he has being lackadaisical in the defensive zone shouldn't ruin his shot of being number one overall as proven in the past. With the natural skill that he has , he's able to try things other players would only dream of pulling off, while with him he has the possibility to pull those end to end rushes or other highlight reel plays off. You look at the top offensive players in the NHL and their defensive play is nothing to write home about also so I mean it's not going to take away from the fact that he's going to adapt to the pro game and should be able to contribute from season 1. As he learns to play all 3 zones and becomes a rounded player, he's only going to become even more effective just like a Tyler Seguin per say who learned the hard way his first year with Julien, and the team that drafts him shall be very very pleased they had a horrible 2012-2013 season.
 
As a Moose fan.

MacKinnon is not terrible defensively nor great. That being said, his compete level is off the charts so while it may not be natural for him what to do in the defensive zone; when the puck is on the boards, you can be sure he's coming out with it.
 
haayward said:
The only way Calgary is a lotto pick next year is if Kipper is traded or has a long term injury. And if Edmonton is picking first overall again next year.. their young guns aren't all everyone thinks they are.
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All but the stupidest Oilers fans realize this. It would help though if the NHL starts calling penalties again.
 
Follow up on the "Is MacKinnon physical" debate, he did more hitting then scoring tonight, and granted the Mooseheads lost, he had one highlight reel hit late in the game that I'll post when I get the video. Kid is sooo strong for 16.
 
His physical game is a very underrated part of his game, without a doubt. It'll make it that much easier for him to transition to the NHL in 18 months. It's not to often you see a 19-year-old line up a 16-year-old, only to get knocked (pretty hard) on his backside. His strength is very impressive.
 

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