2. Nathan Mackinnon — Colorado Avalanche
The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs showed the hockey world just how much better Nathan MacKinnon is than his peers. While his team was eliminated after a Game 7 loss to the Dallas Stars in the second round, it does not alter the fact that he not only led the playoffs in points (scoring 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 15 games played), but he also tied the fifth-longest playoff point streak in history with 14 games.
What separates MacKinnon from the rest of the pack is not just his unmatched competitiveness in his game, but he is better than his peers in almost every single category ranging from shooting, passing, puck skills, hockey IQ, skating, and this list can go on forever.
Every time MacKinnon steps on the ice, he makes sure, not only the other team, but the entire NHL knows he’s one of the best players on the face of the earth.
Many will drop their jaws when watching the Colorado Avalanche center turn his opponents inside out with mind-blowing puck skills, but the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal is his skating. He has a gift of being able to turn on a dime, move laterally and turn on a dime again, and leaving his defender laying on the ice with broken ankles, a headache, and eating ice shavings while hearing Colorado’s goal horn sound off.
Were it not for the guy who is listed at No. 1, MacKinnon would be the greatest player in the NHL by a mile. The 6’0″, 200 pound forward is not only possessed with incredible finesse skills, but he can play the physical game as well, with the ability to knock down anyone on the ice at any given time due to his immeasurable strength.
The hockey world had been waiting for Nathan MacKinnon to make the surge to superstar status after being drafted 1st overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, as he would produce a career-high of just 63 points in his rookie year. From 2013-2017, he would never surpass the 60 point marker as Colorado struggled significantly in the Western Conference.
His breakthrough season would finally come during the 2017-18 regular season, as he would score 39 goals and 59 assists in 74 games played. MacKinnon would follow this up with a total of 99 points in the next season, and another 93 this past year, despite only playing 69 games due to the league’s shutdown following the pandemic.
After these performances, in addition to his recent playoff outing, Nathan MacKinnon has solidified himself as the second-best player in the NHL today, but he remains a distant second to the No. 1 player in the world.