Nathan MacKinnon

MacKinnon has quickly established himself as one of the truly dominant players in the NHL, and the 2021-22 campaign was no exception. His 1.35 points per game (32 goals, 88 points in 65 games) tied him with Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov for seventh in the NHL. MacKinnon was even better in the postseason, posting 13 goals and 11 assists in Colorado's quest to the Stanley Cup. MacKinnon has also posted no fewer than 25 power-play points each of the past five seasons. He shoots the puck a ton (299 shots on goal last season) and will play this entire season at age 27, for arguably the best team in the league. MacKinnon is well worth the early first-round pick it will cost you in fantasy pools this coming fall.

If the Oilers' Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are off the board, MacKinnon represents a solid centerpiece for virtual squads. The Halifax native was excellent in 2020-21 with 20 goals, 45 assists and 206 shots on net in just 48 contests. He's topped a point-per-game pace in each of the last four campaigns, and if he can play the full 82 in 2021-22, he has a legitimate chance to reach the century mark for the first time. MacKinnon is also one of the best volume shooters in the league -- he's never finished with less than 192 shots in a campaign, and he topped 300 shots in the two years before last season's shortened schedule. He'll be 26 years old when the season gets going, so he's very much in his prime, and fantasy managers should feel comfortable investing a top-three pick to acquire his services.

Mackinnon had yet another spectacular season in 2019-20, totaling 35 goals, 58 assists and 31 power-play points while leading the league with an astounding 318 shots on goal in just 69 contests. He's cemented himself as one of the NHL's premiere talents over the past three campaigns, and at just 25 years old, it's quite possible he has yet to hit his peak. Thanks to his monumental shot totals and comparable scoring ability, there's an argument to be made that MacKinnon should go first overall over the likes of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in this year's fantasy drafts. Either way, MacKinnon will be an elite centerpiece for every virtual manager that's lucky enough to have him in their lineups in 2020-21.

MacKinnon has mastered the art of weaving through traffic to fill the cage with pucks. Last year, Colorado's show-stopping pivot fired a franchise-best 365 shots, culminating in 41 goals to complement 58 assists en route to becoming just the second player in team history to reach the 90-plus-point plateau in back-to-back seasons. Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg is the charter member of that exclusive club, which is a true testament to MacKinnon's elite status. The speedster, who's in the thick of his prime, reached new heights offensively in the 2018-19 campaign. Since then, more than 35 percent of his points have come via the power play, where the Nova Scotian has formed an unbreakable bond with Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog. A shoulder injury MacKinnon sustained in the 2019 postseason did not require surgery, so he'll remain a can't-miss fantasy pick once the perennial league-leaders are chosen.

While MacKinnon posted promising showings in his first four campaigns, he truly cashed in on the talent that made him the No.1 overall pick in 2013 for the first time last season, racking up 39 goals and 58 assists. Still just 22 years old and on a team-friendly deal through 2022-23, MacKinnon has all of the tools and the talent surrounding him on the Avalanche's top line to rank among the league's elite again in 2018-19. Considering he dressed for just 74 games last season, topping 100 points for the first time in his career isn't out of the question skating beside Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog.

It’s easy to overlook him after Colorado's dreadful season, but MacKinnon is still one of the game’s most exciting young players. The 2013 first overall pick earned the second best point total of his career (53) last year despite scoring on a career-low 6.4 percent of his shots, and he’s already racked up 206 points in four seasons before his 22nd birthday. MacKinnon also thrived in the 2017 IIHF World Championship, leading Team Canada to a silver medal finish with six goals and nine assists in 10 games. The talent is undoubtedly there, but taking the next step into elite territory will be difficult without better play from his teammates.

MacKinnon may very well have hit 60 points for the second time in his early career, but a MCL sprain cut his season short and left him at 21 tallies and 31 assists to go along with 245 shots on goal. Colorado had seen enough from the 2013-14 Calder Trophy winner to deem him worth retaining for the long haul, as he was signed to a seven-year contract worth $44.1 million in the offseason. The 20-year-old has his best hockey ahead of him and he could blossom into one of the most potent power-play attackers in the NHL (seven goals and nine helpers this past campaign). The first overall pick of 2013 is licking his chops for the upcoming year next to Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, and the Avs offense is not to be overlooked. It wouldn’t be surprising to see MacKinnon flirt with 60-plus again. The extension – and rising draft stock – is warranted and could reward owners who pounce.

MacKinnon had a season to forget in 2014-15, managing just 14 goals and 38 points in 64 games. Call it the dreaded sophomore slump or whatever fits your fancy, but MacKinnon just couldn’t find consistency last year, going through frequent scoring slumps and flat-out disappearing some nights. We wouldn’t be too worried, however, as MacKinnon was still scoring at a more than half-point-per-game clip as a 19-year-old. In fact, he looked on track to dig himself out of last season's rut after tallying five goals in his final five games, before suffering a season-ending foot injury in March. Now back to 100 percent in advance of 2015-16, the youngster is locked into a top-six role in Colorado and will continue to see plenty of power-play time to aid his bounce-back effort. The former Calder Trophy winner has just 146 career NHL games under his belt, so it's likely we're still a few years away from even seeing his peak. Have him on your radar, as the memory of last season's disappointing numbers will likely reduce his draft stock in the minds of less savvy fantasy owners and create a nice buy-low window.

The "Other Kid from Cole Harbour" dazzled in 2013-14, breaking camp with the Avs as an 18-year-old and leading all rookies in goals (24), assists (39), points (63), power-play goals (eight), game-winning goals (five) and shots-on-goal (241). It comes as no surprise, then, that he took home the Calder Trophy by a landslide over Tampa Bay's Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson. MacKinnon also skated to a terrific plus-20 rating, which is particularly impressive considering he often lined up against the opposition's top defenders in the ultra-competitive Central Division. In addition to the exclamation mark that was the Calder Trophy on an already special season, MacK broke Wayne Gretzky's record for the longest consecutive point streak by an 18-year-old with a 13-game, 18-point run in February and March. A natural center, the 2013 No. 1 overall pick spent much of the season on the wing, but that could change come October. Veteran star center Paul Stastny (who racked up 60 points of his own last year) signed a four-year deal with the Blues, leaving a void at the pivot for someone like MacKinnon or Ryan O'Reilly to move back to the middle. With that being said, there's no doubt MacKinnon will have a permanent home in Colorado's top-six, but where and with whom he'll line up with remains unclear, especially with power forward Jarome Iginla entering the mix. Nonetheless, with a strong supporting cast around him, there’s no reason to believe MacKinnon will succumb to the dreaded sophomore slump. Flirting with 70 points is a definite possibility for the teenager.

MacKinnon looks like a sexy draft pick, but his fantasy effectiveness this season will be tied to how quickly his ability adjusts to the NHL level. The lightning-fast center can both score and set up his teammates as he showed last season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL ... to the tune of 32 goals and 43 assists in only 44 games. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft will center Jamie McGinn and Steve Downie on the Avalanche's third line, a place where he can be eased into potential stardom.