The Stanley Cup playoffs are under way and the most talked-about player hasn’t been Sidney Crosby or Henrik Lundqvist. It’s been Avalanche rookie Nathan MacKinnon, who has helped Colorado to a 2-0 first-round series lead over the Minnesota Wild with straight-out-of-a-video-game plays.
MacKinnon has racked up seven points in two playoff games, and the 18-year-old neophyte has played with the awareness of a 37-year-old veteran. Here’s some more info about MacKinnon:
• Selected No. 1 overall in the 2014 NHL entry draft by the Avalanche.
• Grew up in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, the same hometown as Crosby.
• Led rookies in scoring (24 goals, 63 points) while playing in all 82 regular season games.
• Was 9 months old when his current head coach, Patrick Roy, led Colorado to its first Stanley Cup in 1996.
• Had three assists in a Game 2 victory including this one:
• He also scores goals like this:
• Grew up an Avalanche fan.
“I really liked the skill team. I was only a kid, but I liked guys who were fast and would score goals,” MacKinnon told Puck Daddy. “That was kind of their identity. They were definitely a very cool team to watch. One of the best in that era.”
• Registered 110 points as a 12-year-old playing for the Cole Harbour Red Wings in Bantam AAA.
• Scored five goals in a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game in 2011 while Roy was coach of the other team.
• Broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for most consecutive games with a point as an 18-year-old with 13 earlier this season.
• Has an adorable 4-month-old puppy named Duke.
http://instagram.com/p/nBVCkIpa-l/
• Became third player to notch seven points in his first two NHL playoff games.
• MacKinnon’s Twitter followers rose over the weekend. He is now well over 88,000.