Forgotten Phenom Nathan MacKinnon Trying to Regain Golden-Boy Status

DENVER — Remember Nathan MacKinnon? The next great prodigy of the NHL, the kid from the same hometown as Sidney Crosby who would soon make No. 87 and others seem as outdated in the ranks of NHL superstars as that America Online CD-ROM still in the bottom of your desk drawer?

Everything went as scheduled in MacKinnon's rookie year with the Colorado Avalanche after the franchise took him with the top overall pick in the 2013 draft.

He won the Calder Trophy after a stellar 2013-14 season, helped lead the Avs to a Central Division title and posted seven points in his first two playoff games against Minnesota, which had everyone scurrying to look up the all-time playoff single-season scoring title.

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The Avs blew the series after taking a 2-0 lead, but what a treat the next year would be with a stud like MacKinnon only bound to get better.

He came into the next training camp about 12 pounds heavier, but it was all muscle. In his first couple of practices, defenders trying to take the puck away bounced off him like pinballs off a juiced-up bumper. He looked quicker, too.

Some believed MacKinnon might challenge for the Art Ross Trophy in his second season as a 19-year-old. No sophomore jinx for this kid.

As if to spite all those who dared to question its power, the sophomore jinx indeed made MacKinnon another of its sporting victims. After playing all 82 games as a rookie and scoring 63 points (24 goals), MacKinnon played only 64 games in 2014-15 and posted 14 goals and 38 points.

In every major statistic, MacKinnon regressed, ranging from plus/minus (plus-20 to minus-7) to power-play goals (from eight to three).

Season	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG
2013-14	82	24	39	63	20	26	8
2014-15	64	14	24	38	-7	34	3

In a season in which the team's point total also regressed from 112 to 90, MacKinnon and the Avs weren't on the A-list anymore.

With the arrival this year of super-hyped rookies Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, and with Auston Matthews primed to dominate the next-big-thing headlines at next year's NHL draft, MacKinnon entered this season as something of a forgotten man.

"I'm not happy at how last year went, but I don't mind so much not getting all the publicity as the new face of the league," MacKinnon said recently after an Avs practice at the Pepsi Center. "Those guys [McDavid and Eichel] can get all the questions from you guys, that's fine."

Get ready to hear more about MacKinnon again. Now 20 and in his third NHL season, his Avalanche have stumbled out of the gate, but it hasn't been the fault of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia's other star hockey product.

MacKinnon enters Tuesday's game against the Calgary Flames with 10 points in his first 11 games, and he would have a few more if not for a few posts and miracle saves.

On previous Avs teams that had Paul Stastny and Ryan O'Reilly as frequent top-two centers, along with Matt Duchene, head coach Patrick Roy elected to play MacKinnon mainly at right wing in his first two years. It made sense in a lot of ways, but center was always his position coming up as a junior phenom with the Halifax Mooseheads.

This year, Roy moved him to center and said it would stay that way. 

"His energy is phenomenal right now," Roy said. "He's intense, he works hard, he's asking a lot of questions. I'm very happy to put him back as a center. His speed is such an advantage for us. Without a doubt, he's been one of our better forwards offensively."

The freedom to skate to more areas on the ice, take more faceoffs and generally be more involved in every play has MacKinnon looking and feeling more relaxed as a player again.

"Just with everything, I feel more comfortable, more dialed in," said MacKinnon. "As a wing, when there's a switch at the center you're playing with, it can be more challenging. As a center, you maybe can play the same kind of game a little easier. You probably have a little more open ice. You know you'll have to win an important draw six or seven times a game, on the [penalty kill] or power play. I'm still working on my [defensive-]zone play, and I know that's really important as a centerman, but I really want to be known as a good two-way centerman."

MacKinnon started the season centering Gabriel Landeskog and Alex Tanguay, but lately he has played with Jarome Iginla on his right side and Tanguay on the left. He's had success with both units, including a 2-1 win last week in Tampa Bay when the line combined for all six Colorado player points.

"I don't think he ever 'lost' anything last year. To me, he was still dangerous most every time he stepped on the ice and he was starting to really get it going again, and then he got hurt," said Iginla, Colorado's 38-year-old winger who is seven goals away from 600 in his career.

"But I think he naturally feels more comfortable in the center role. He's so fast and can beat you with any direction he turns, so it's good for him to have that few extra feet of open ice that you don't always get as a winger. At center, you get to look even faster because you've always got to keep moving. It's nice as a winger to play with him because he kind of backs the 'D' off with his speed."

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Minnesota Wild veteran Zach Parise said MacKinnon's first step remains as explosive as anyone's in the league.

"You really can't give him any open space or he'll be by you," Parise said. "He's already proven he's a great young player. We've certainly seen that as a team. It takes time to develop that everyday consistency in this league sometimes, but he's on his way."

He may not be the new face of the league anymore, but MacKinnon did put on a new personal face entering the season. He changed his hairstyle from a flowing, wavy look to a sawed-off-at-one-side, shorter look and added an Amish-style beard. His look went from GQ to Farmer Ted.

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But maybe that's the right look for a guy who wants to be known as a gritty—not just pretty—player.

"He's got so much skill, but he can play a real heavy game now too," Iginla said. "He's tough to move in front. He doesn't shy away from anything. The more he keeps learning and keeps maturing in all areas, physically and mentally, he's going to be a real handful for teams. He is already, but it's going to come even more."

MacKinnon has matured enough to live on his own for the first time as a player. During his first two years, he lived in veteran Max Talbot's basement, though he did live mostly alone for a month or so after Talbot was traded to Boston last spring. Now, MacKinnon has his own place.

"I can put my feet up and do whatever I want now. Not that it was walking on eggshells, but when you're in someone else's home, you're always trying to be as respectful as you can," MacKinnon said.

As for what's in the fridge? Not much that can't be instantly microwaved or a doggy bag from a restaurant. 

"My mum will cook for me when she's here, but that's about all the home cooking you see in my place still," he said.

The only recipe MacKinnon cares about right now: finding renewed success.

Adrian Dater covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. Follow him @Adater.