Nathan MacKinnon living up to the hype with Avalanche

When you’re a highly-touted No. 1 overall draft pick drawing comparisons of Peter Forsberg and start playing in the NHL at 18 years old, you need to prove yourself early. That hasn’t been a problem for Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native, Nathan MacKinnon.

The Colorado Avalanche are off to a perfect 3-0 start, much to the surprise of many pundits. They are a young team with a rookie head coach in Hall of Famer Patrick Roy. They were terrible defensively last year and had questions about whether goalie Semyon Varlamov could bounce back after an equally terrible season. And then there was MacKinnon, who was picked first overall, ahead of hulking defenseman Seth Jones, who just happens to have grown up in Denver.

So that’s what MacKinnon was up against to start the year, but through three games, it’s easy to see he’s going to be something special. Roy has him playing on the third line for now between PA Parenteau and Jamie McGinn. He’s playing about 14 minutes a night, but is seeing time in lots of different situations and has rewarded the team with four assists in his first three games.

“It’s still early,” centre Matt Duchene said of MacKinnon. “He’s still making the transition. It takes a while. It takes a couple of years, I think. But he’s had a good start. We’re all pulling for him, for sure.”

And there will be growing pains. His turnover Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs ended up in the back of the Colorado net, but he rebounded to set up an Avalanche goal later in the game to help Colorado to a 2-1 win. MacKinnon sees the ice so well that he’s a constant threat on the ice and is backchecking hard consistently.

The exciting thing about this Colorado team is it has turned over a new leaf. Roy has all of these kids battling every night to prove the pundits wrong. Nobody thought this team would be 3-0 while outscoring their opposition 11-3 this year, but that’s where they are. Now the big question is whether they can keep it going after a quick start or if their youth and experience will get the better of them.

As MacKinnon gets more and more comfortable and starts earning a bigger role, I wouldn’t bet against him and the Avalanche contending for a playoff spot if they stay healthy and Varlamov keeps playing up to his potential.

Colorado visits the Boston Bruins Thursday night.