Halifax wins Memorial Cup - MacKinnon shows why he's #1

[flyercanuck]

Halifax Mooseheads won the Memorial Cup yesterday 6-4 over the Portland Winterhawks. Halifax came out guns ablazing and took a 3-0 first period lead. Portland cut the lead to 3-2 in the second before Halifax ran it up to 5-2. The Winterhawks again came back to cut it to a one goal lead 5-4 before the Mooseheads finished them off 6-4.

Nathan MacKinnon may have put some doubt in the eyes of the scouts who have Seth Jones as the consensus #1 draft pick. MacKinnon was easily the best player in the tournament from start to finish putting up 13 points in 4 games. In two head to head matches against Jones MacKinnon really made a statement with 2 hattricks, and 9 points total. He must have stripped the puck from Jones 5 or 6 times yesterday with a few of those resulting in goals. Take into account he is almost an entire year younger than Jones...well whoever gets stuck with either should end up with a great player. But if one of these two becomes a generational talent, my money is on MacKinnon.

Why couldn't the Flyers be picking 2nd overall this year?

[Podein25]

Why couldn't the Flyers be picking 2nd overall this year?

Because we don't like any pick associated with the word "2nd" and are cursed?

[flyercanuck]

@Podein25

Haha! I take it you watched the game Pods? Man there was a lot of really good players on both teams...but halifax had FOUR 17 year olds that were key players!

[Podein25]

I did indeed watch it. Looks like I'm working with the folks at the city to plan the parade, so that's kinda cool.

MacKinnon may have vaulted himself into first. Do you think?

How could Colorado not consider that? Between him and Landeskog, you'd have two of the hardest centres in the game to play against every night....

Plus I own Drouin in my keeper, as I have no doubt told you a million times, so it was a real pleasure to watch him pass a puck. I was talking to a scout the other day, who started off as a non-fan of Drouin (mostly 'cause he chose to stay in Midget at first after being drafted), and he said: "the best hands he's ever seen."

[VanIsleFlyer]

@flyercanuck I watched parts of the game flipping back and forth between it and the Kings/Sharks game. What a game! Like you said Halifax game out flying but Portland battled back to make it interesting. MacKinnon definitely is going to put some doubts in the minds of the scouts, but because Colorado has 1st pick, and the history of Jones in Denver, they will probably still take Jones #1.

[flyercanuck]

@Podein25

I think MacKinnon has definately made the choice a lot tougher. When you consider how dominant he was, AND that he's 11 months younger, (that's a huge difference in development). Jones having a Denver connection will help him, as well as his size and the lack of top end defencemen. But I'd say MacKinnon really threw a spanner into the gears of there being a consensus pick.

[Podein25]

@flyercanuck

Agreed.

The Denver angle will be important so I would still predict COL taking Jones. But it's a tough decision to be sure. Like you said, that nearly full year of development is not insignificant.

[Polaris922]

Not to mention that was MacKinnon was doing was AGAINST Jones... If I were making that call, that would definitely factor in.

[flyercanuck]

Because of the position, MacKinnon should give you a bigger bang for your buck right out of the gate. Then you factor in that he really should get another year to develop to even up the age difference. Of course that development will likely take place in the NHL, probably Florida.

I don't think you could go wrong with either, meaning neither will likely bust. But MacKinnons motor is pretty high performance, and so is his drive. And so is his skill level. This is one of those drafts where it might be a tougher call to pick first overall than second.

[Claude Monet]

@flyercanuck

I agree about Makinnons. By far the best player on the ice, even while playing against Jones.

on a side note: why was the goal that involved Rattie disallowed? Rattie dropped the puck in the crease but it was the Moosehead goalie that was responsible for kicking it into the net.

[TimKerrFan12]

@flyercanuck

I agree about Makinnons. By far the best player on the ice, even while playing against Jones.

on a side note: why was the goal that involved Rattie disallowed? Rattie dropped the puck in the crease but it was the Moosehead goalie that was responsible for kicking it into the net.

They talked about the disallowed goal which was reviewed by the NHL reviewer in Toronto that does all the NHL goal reviews. They said that the rule was that a puck directed into the net by a hand even it goes off of another player or goalie and into the net will be disallowed. I am not sure how the rule is exactly worded. So it doesn't matter if it went of Fucale's leg it hit his leg directly after Rattie drop it down into the crease towards the open net. He didn't get his stick on it. Thank God that one didn't count. MacKinnon was ridiculous in that Tournament. I am a Moosehead's Season Ticket holder and waiting 19 years for this. Still soaking it in. I made a point of watching Jones when he played against the Mooseheads, and he was a giveaway machine...couldn't clear the puck out of his own end. I am biased, but you don't have to be a fan of either team to see how these top 3 guys were playing. Even Drouin.....5 assists in the Final....crazy. Detroit stole Frk in the 2nd round of the draft last year. Don't know how Detroit always seem to get a great guy with their late picks.

[Claude Monet]

@TimKerrFan12

Hey the best team won and congrats.! Still not convinced about the Rattie goal but sh ite happens . Enjoy the moment and hopefully we will feel the same as Flyers fans!!

[jammer2]

@Claude Monet I thought it was super cool that we had posters who regularly watched the WHL and QHL champs. Was it just me or did Leier seem to disappear a bit in that tourny? The best team won...really liked the play of Frk also, he just might be the rare kid that cracks the Wings right out his first training camp. Really smart kid with a nice skill set. Agree with what everyone else stated, McKinnon was the best player by far, not even close. Jones did flash some brillance, like roofing that second Portland goal from in close, but he really got showed up by the elite skill level of the Mooseheads and I really think they would have done it to any junior d-man, so no real shame there.

I think Druion and Nate have almost evolved into the type of skaters they will be in their primes, while Jones is still growing into his frame, and the end result looks a lot more polished for the 2 forwards. I believe we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to Seth's skating.....he's going to be dominate once he develops fully....ALTHOUGH, I must admit, I had read about his mean streak in a few different articles and I saw very little of that, kinda dissapointing.

Carruth did not have a great final game, but considering the talent level he was facing, you can't really fault him to much. Druion and Nate, even as 18 year old kids they are more skilled than 90% of the NHL. Fucale showed some nice poise in the face of adversity and displayed some wonderful athleticism in net. He's a fine prospect with a lot of upside.

I stand by what I a few months ago, all 3 top picks this year will be generational talents who will dominate the league.

Edited May 30, 2013 by jammer2

[Claude Monet]

I was only able to watch one of the Hawks first round games(when they beat London) so I can't comment on Leier too much. The one thing that I would say about him is he does a lot of things that do not show up on the score sheet. He is a great 2 way player that breaks up a lot of plays and is always on the ice in key defensive situations. I was bummed that he got knocked out. The Hawks missed him.

I agree that Druion and Mackinnon are more polished. You make great points about Jones still needed to develop more. He needs more consistency in game to live up to the hype. Over the course of the season at times he would look awesome and at other times average. Just compare how he played in the semi's of the world juniors against Canada and then the Cup Final. About the mean streak.....I am not so sure. I have never really seen it.

Yeah Mac did not have the tournament I expected. I have seen him play a lot better. The kid on the Mooseheads was better a huge reason the won. He made a great save that kept it 4-2 and 10 seconds later it was 5-2. that was a massive moment in the game.

Honestly....I think the Hawks, as a team, were tired. They fought hard but looked a little sluggish. Not as crisp as normal.

[flyercanuck]

@Claude Monet

From what i saw of him it looks like the Flyers have a player in Leier. I love his all around game.

One of the reasons I have MacKinnon rated slightly higher than Jones is his game looks more consistant, and he's a year younger. Add that development on to Mac and who knows what you've got. A year usually makes a big difference at 17-18 years old.

Everyones tired by the Memorial Cup (except the host team sometimes). You go through training camp, the entire regular season, then 4 rounds of playoff best of 7s and then the Memorial Cup!!! Being somewhat healthy is usually a huge factor.

[Claude Monet]

@flyercanuck

right on FC. I remember you talking about MacKinnon a couple months ago and basically what you said came to fruition. Jones, as a Dman needs more seasoning but from that Final.....Mac is ready NOW.

I love Leier's game. I have never been able to watch a Flyer prospect at the local level before. I am eager to see how he progresses towards the Flyers...just to see how my scouting ability is hahaha

[flyercanuck]

@Claude Monet

That's why i hate trading 1st round picks away for anyone over 30. You either get a few years watching a guy who used to be greats' game unravel, or you get to watch young prospects develop into something exciting over years and years and years. And if your team sucks, at least you have potential future to look forward to.

[OccamsRazor]

One of the reasons I have MacKinnon rated slightly higher than Jones is his game looks more consistant

Trying to find the article that said Florida may be interested in trading Huberdeau for whomever i forget holds the 3rd pick(Winny) for a chance to draft both MacKinnon #2 and Drouin #3 to keep them together....not a bad choice.