- Nathan MacKinnon
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Nathan MacKinnon Born September 1, 1995
Dartmouth, NS, CANHeight 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Weight 168 lb (76 kg; 12 st 0 lb) Position Forward Shoots Right QMJHL team Halifax Mooseheads NHL Draft Eligible 2013 Playing career –present Nathan MacKinnon (born September 1, 1995) is a Canadian major junior ice hockey forward who currently plays for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). MacKinnon has excelled in ice hockey throughout his career, drawing comparisons to National Hockey League player and fellow Nova Scotian, Sidney Crosby.[1]
Contents
Playing career
Early career
MacKinnon grew up playing in the minor ice hockey system of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.[1] As an atom aged player, MacKinnon recorded 200 points in 50 games.[2] When MacKinnon was twelve and thirteen, he played Bantam AAA for the Cole Harbour Red Wings, recording seasons of 110 and 145 points respectively.[2] After these two seasons, MacKinnon enrolled at Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota.[3] He chose to leave his hometown and attend the Minnesota boarding school because of the strength of its ice hockey program.[3] In his first season at Shattuck-Saint Mary's playing with the Bantam Tier I program, he scored 101 points in 58 games played to finish second in team scoring.[4] For the 2010–11 season, MacKinnon joined the under-16 program at the school. Despite being the team's second youngest player, MacKinnon was averaging more than two points a game and was second in team scoring at the midway point of the season.[2] During the season, MacKinnon was named to the team that represented Nova Scotia in the ice hockey tournament at the 2011 Canada Games.[5] MacKinnon finished his second season at Shattuck-Saint Mary's with 93 points in forty games played, and was second on the team with 45 goals scored.[6]
Junior career
Heading into the 2011 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Draft, MacKinnon was widely regarded as the favourite to be selected first overall and was ranked by QMJHL Central Scouting as the best available player.[7] Despite this, MacKinnon spent the day of the draft skating with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL), as he was considering playing either college ice hockey in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or major junior ice hockey in the QMJHL.[8] On June 4, 2011, MacKinnon was selected first overall by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the 2011 QMJHL Draft.[9] Because MacKinnon does not speak French, there was speculation that MacKinnon would follow through with his option to play in the USHL until he was eligible for the NCAA, unless his rights were traded to a different QMJHL team.[10] On July 13, 2011, MacKinnon's rights were traded to the Halifax Mooseheads for Carl Gélinas, Francis Turbide, the Mooseheads' first round draft picks in 2012 and 2013, and the Quebec Remparts' first round draft pick in 2013, previously acquired by Halifax.[11] The Mooseheads had been attempting to acquire MacKinnon since Baie-Comeau was awarded the first overall pick in the 2011 QMJHL Draft.[12]
International play
MacKinnon's first experience with Hockey Canada came when he was named to the Canada Atlantic team for the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[13] Despite being the second youngest player at the tournament, MacKinnon scored five goals and eight points in only five games to finish seventh in tournament scoring.[2][14] This included a game in which he scored two goals and two assists to be named player of the game as Canada Atlantic defeated Finland 4–3.[15] His impressive play helped Canada Atlantic to its best finish since the 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, defeating Canada West 2–1 in the fifth place game.[16]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2007–08[2] Cole Harbour Red Wings Bantam AAA 50 — — 110 — — — — — — 2008–09[2] Cole Harbour Red Wings Bantam AAA 35 — — 145 — — — — — — 2009–10[4] Shattuck-Saint Mary's Bantam Tier 1 USHS 58 54 47 101 56 — — — — — 2010–11[6] Shattuck-Saint Mary's U16 USHS 40 45 48 93 72 — — — — — International statistics
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 2011 Canada Atlantic U17 5 5 3 8 0 Totals 5 5 3 8 0 References
- ^ a b Joyce, Gare (2010-02-25). "Nate the kid". ESPN The Magazine. p. 52–53. http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/insider/news/story?id=4943564&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnhl%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d4943564. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ a b c d e f Penton, Kirk (2011-01-02). "The next Next One?". Toronto Sun. http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2011/01/02/16737616.html. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ a b McDonald, Alyssa (2011-01-02). "Crosby comparisons: MacKinnon brings offence to U17s". Hockey Canada. http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/16980/la_id/1/ss_id/74637/nr_id/156356.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ a b "2009-2010 Boys Bantam Tier I stats". Shattuck-Saint Mary's. http://hockey.s-sm.org/teams/2009-2010/boys/bantam-tier-i/boys-bantam-tier-i-stats. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ "Canada Winter Games". Hockey Nova Scotia. http://www.hockeynovascotia.ca/wintergames.php. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ a b "2010-2011 Boys U16 Stats". Shattuck-Saint Mary's. http://hockey.s-sm.org/teams/2010-2011/boys/u16/boys-u16-stats. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
- ^ Wuest, Matthew (2011-05-01). "MacKinnon tops QMJHL draft ranking". Metro Halifax. http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/blog/post/847646. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ Sager, Neate (2011-06-04). "QMJHL: Nathan MacKinnon skates in Omaha on draft day". Yahoo! Sports. http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/juniorhockey/blog/buzzing_the_net/post/QMJHL-Nathan-MacKinnon-skates-in-Omaha-on-draft?urn=juniorhockey-360208. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ "Baie-Comeau takes Cole Harbour's Nathan MacKinnon first in QMJHL draft". National Hockey League. 2011-06-04. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=564819. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ Walling, Alex (2011-07-23). "Walling: MacKinnon the second coming of Sid the Kid?". The Sports Network. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=372355. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ "Mooseheads acquire top draft pick MacKinnon from Drakkar". The Sports Network. 2011-07-19. http://www.tsn.ca/chl/story/?id=371647. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ Wuest, Matthew (2011-04-07). "Russell quick to contact Drakkar after coin flip". Metro Halifax. http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/blog/post/826438. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ "Team Atlantic Announced for 2011 World Under 17 Challenge". Hockey Nova Scotia. 2010-11-24. http://hnsdevelopment.ca/news2.php?news_id=339986. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ "Statistics/standings - 2011 World Under-17 Challenge - Individual player stats". Hockey Canada. http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/154659/la_id/1.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ Nicholson, Matthew (2010-12-31). "MacKinnon's four points lead Atlantic to first win". Hockey Canada. http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/75138/la_id/1/game_id/146759/season_id/146657/ss_id/74637/. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ^ Nicholson, Matthew (2011-01-03). "Atlantic earns best finish since '05 with win over West". Hockey Canada. http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/75138/la_id/1/game_id/146802/season_id/146657/ss_id/74637/. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
External links
Categories:- 1995 births
- Canadian ice hockey forwards
- Halifax Mooseheads alumni
- Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia
- Living people
- People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
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