MacKinnon had like 10 shifts all tournament. I've probably seen MacKinnon play close to 50 games in Major Junior and he definitely doesn't play small.
choose him then in your opinion.
PS Players earn their ice time. Mackinon showed nothing in his limited minutes and got exactly what he deserved. There are few players who earned their roles during that wjhc. B. Gaudreau and V. Nichushkin for example.
If you had to pick of the following players going forward, who would you pick?
Mackinnon, Jones, Yakupov, Galchenyuk.
My gut feeling is Mackinnon and Jones, but can you pass up on a potential 50 goal scorer in Yakupov or a dynamic offensive center in Gally?
What do you guys think?
^people say that all the time for the simple reason that Yak and Gally haven't set the world on fire this year, while MacKinnon and Drouin have had great junior careers and are the unknown. i think by this time in 2014, we'll be saying "would you rather have Mac and Drouin or _____ and _____"....but to answer the question, i'll take Nail and Gally all day long.
Definitely Jones, and probably Mackinnon over the others, but some consideration of Galchenyuk, too. I'm not sure how big (if any) the gap between Mackinnon and Galchenyuk will end up being...will be interesting to find out. Jones is a beast, though.
Yakupov and Jones. Also a homer. Not to say Yakupov will be Stamkos, but their development paths so far are eerily similar as well as the style of play.
PS Players earn their ice time. Mackinon showed nothing in his limited minutes and got exactly what he deserved. There are few players who earned their roles during that wjhc. B. Gaudreau and V. Nichushkin for example.
I can't formulate a valid opinion because I've only viewed Jones once or twice. My post was only to inform you that judging MacKinnon as a 17 year old, 13th forward, at the world juniors is hardly a fair representation of MacKinnon.
The kid plays big, drives to the net, isn't afraid of the corners/boards, and can throw a big hit when he needs to. Saying he plays small is uninformed and just plain wrong.
Even in the WJC semi final, the only time Canada really looked good was in the 3rd period when they put MacKinnon between Huberdeau and Drouin.
Yakupov and Jones. Also a homer. Not to say Yakupov will be Stamkos, but their development paths so far are eerily similar as well as the style of play.
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Exhibit A as to how hockey doesn't matter on ESPN:
Last night an ESPN program was discussing how the Detroit Pistons needed a hero citing the heroes on the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions and no mention of the Detroit Red Wings. All this despite the Red Wings probably being the most succesful team in Detroit right now.
