With over a decade in the league and hot off of winning the Hart Trophy for the NHL's most valuable player, Nathan Mackinnon understands how to handle the pressures of being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
Mackinnon, who is on a three-season 100-plus points streak, expressed to The Athletic that he was once afraid for his job, too.
In 2017, the Colorado Avalanche finished the season as the worst team in the NHL. Mackinnon had yet to eclipse 63 points—his rookie season total.
“I wasn’t a pro,” he said to The Athletic's Mark Lazerus. “I didn’t know how to treat my body, work on my game, do all the little things away from the rink to have success on the ice. I had a lot of figuring out to do. There were things you could do in junior that are much different in the NHL.”
Connor Bedard is leading the Chicago Blackhawks with 52 points as they rank last in the Central Division. The sophomore is having difficulties with making consistent impact while staying defensively responsible.
Chicago and hockey fans might be beginning to hold their breath, Mackinnon thinks Bedard is right on track.
“He’s a 19-year-old kid and he’s close to a point a game,” MacKinnon said. “I’d have killed for that when I was 19. I had like 30 points. He’s doing great.”
While Mackinnon ranks within the Mount Rushmore of the modern game now, he admits that when he was at Bedard's point in his career, he—unlike Bedard—wasn't "the guy" that was relied on from the get-go.
“I wasn’t the guy by any means,” MacKinnon said. “There was a lot of learning, a lot of difficulties, obviously. Everything was new and everything was different. It feels like another career, honestly, it’s a long time ago now. But I remember it really well. I had a lot of fun, but there were so many things that I did wrong. So many things.”
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