Cursed Lemon
Registered Bruiser
Not sure what people are talking about in this thread but I'd argue it's uncommon for true blue chip, high-impact players to have to warm up for several seasons first. The last players I can think of were the Sedins.
MacKinnon, how?
- Thread starter MacAngry 29
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TheGoldenJet
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Yeah I don’t consider Stamkos or Lecavalier normal first overalls. Tavares, sure. But the other two were both pretty special players, McKinnon has passed them both by now of course in terms of the prime part of his career.
DownIsTheNewUp
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Possibly, but not likely. He sat out 3 games and would've need 6 points to win the Ross (Kuch had the tiebreaker).
EXTRAS
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Dunno if he has. I think it just feels like he has because he's in a higher scoring era.
He had to learn how to use his speed and got tutored by Crosby in the offseason.
tabness
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I think aside from the chickpea paste and kale diet and those long sessions furiously studying the iPad, the league context just got favorable for him. Guy loves to carry the puck and it's less punishing than ever. He always had the wheels. He also simply got smarter and less individualistic (though he still plays with tunnel vision and tries to do too much himself too many times)
Lecavalier had 2 elite seasons. Mackinnon has lapped him.
Stammer was much closer and also a better goal scorer, but Mackinnon has also passed him. Especially in playoff performance
Our Lady Peace
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The dude was always a freak of nature. He was utterly dominant en route to the Mooseheads winning the QMJHL and Memorial Cup in 2013 and (rightfully, in hindsight) catapulted himself to 1st overall past a revered Seth Jones at the time
The sports psychology he underwent around 2017 was the best thing to ever happen to him. It cannot be understated what kind of effect flipping a mental switch can do to a human being, let alone an elite athlete. We are literally our own biggest critic, and hence, our worst enemy at the same time. Channel that the right way and you can achieve your greatest potentials
The sports psychology he underwent around 2017 was the best thing to ever happen to him. It cannot be understated what kind of effect flipping a mental switch can do to a human being, let alone an elite athlete. We are literally our own biggest critic, and hence, our worst enemy at the same time. Channel that the right way and you can achieve your greatest potentials
RevengeOfTheDrai
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After few years not living up to the expectations he lost hope and thought he’d merely be a 60 point player. Then his mentally flipped. It helps that he be some a much smarter player, he stopped shooting those low percentage blue line shots as soon as he entered the zone.
Oilers should have traded for him before his breakout… missed opportunity.
Oilers should have traded for him before his breakout… missed opportunity.
GeeoffBrown
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alko
Registered User
Because Mikko Rantanen
Im curious, how it will be next season.
Im curious, how it will be next season.
Kind of a short sighted take…he’s absolutely in the same tier as Draisaitl and Kuch
The Gr8 Dane
L'harceleur
It's only acceptable by tampa and edmonton standards if it's an INSULT MacKinnon thread. Anything positive and we will bitch!
Hockey2Hockey
Registered User
Maybe I'm misreading.
But he was definitely not a special 1st OA pick.
His career was kind of underwhelming.
TheGoldenJet
Registered User
I’d agree on the underwhelming career part. Before his injury in his last game of the season in April 2008, Lecavalier did look like a top 5 or so player in the league though. That’s a level that most “regular” first overalls don’t reach, even though he didn’t maintain it for more than maybe two years (and obviously had an underwhelming career as a result).
Holy, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while as someone who followed that era of Shattuck hockey closely
nowhereman
Registered User
That's because Crosby was injured. They were never, ever on the same tier. And he wasn't looking like he'd run away with the scoring title in 13-14, since he was tied with Crosby in points and tied with OV in goals the night he was injured.
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Yep. I remember vividly because Nate was already such a well known player in NS.
This was before youtube highlights mostly so nobody could watch the shattuck games .
Just going off the stats I thought Cammarata was going to be the next Crosby. I knew how good Nate was and if he was that much better he must be otherworldly.
Then a friend of mine went to watch a few games, when I asked him he told me while Cammarata was piling up the pts Mackinnon was actually a far better player. I was actually kind of hard to believe but he said "just trust me."
He was definitely right. The thing is - Mackinnon never really put up god tier pt totals anywhere. At SSM his totals were very good but not phenom level. In the Q it was the same thing.
I honestly expected him to cap out as an 75-80 pt player (this was a lower scoring era mind you) but still be an elite level 1C. I didn't envision him competing for hart trophies and scoring titles, I figured he would top out as maybe a top 10 pt producer in the regular season but would always be better in the playoffs.
I guess it goes to show that the numbers at lower levels can be misleading. I still remember one poster on here making fun of scoutman for saying MacKinnon could be the next big star. His reasoning was that be wasn't even the top scorer on his own team....lol
DownIsTheNewUp
Registered User
You are correct he wasn't running away with it like I thought. Kind of splitting hairs, but he had one less game played while tied with Crosby and then got injured early in the next game which tied the games played. Regardless, I've watched Stamkos' whole career and the start of that season was his absolute peak. He was all over the ice, playing great defensively, just a complete package. We could argue about tiers all day but for that 4 year stretch, Crosby was dealing with multiple years of serious injury, Ovy was on a multi year slump, Malkin was both inconsistent and often injured. Stamkos was the guy healthy and putting up more goals and points than anybody else.
There's one big difference from the first four years and what came after. No it isn't diet. He was a beast in those first four years too, the most incredible skater who could attack all night.
In those first four years defenders could read him. They knew where he was going and got in the way. He couldn't get to open ice and find open shot lanes. I don't know what he trained specifically before year 5, but his deception level went from low to very high. Now defenders just had to guess which way he was going.
I would not agree with those that say it was all just a normal trajectory for a young star or expected from a #1OA. It was not.
In those first four years defenders could read him. They knew where he was going and got in the way. He couldn't get to open ice and find open shot lanes. I don't know what he trained specifically before year 5, but his deception level went from low to very high. Now defenders just had to guess which way he was going.
I would not agree with those that say it was all just a normal trajectory for a young star or expected from a #1OA. It was not.
a player who was talented enough to be drafted 1st overall began training, eating, and preparing for his season in the same way Crosby does.
He is in absolute peak physical and mental form for his craft, relative to what his body is capable of. He is probably one of the most focused players in the NHL, and he already had a ridiculous set of skills that he has supplemented through a dedication to his craft. All of the extra work has just paid off for him in spades.
