Nikita Zadorov revealed the true nature of Nathan MacKinnon...
Nikita Zadorov, a giant-sized defenseman, was Nathan MacKinnon's teammate for five seasons in Colorado. In a recent interview, the Russian defenseman revealed some information about the type of person, or even the athlete that is Nathan MacKinnon.
If anyone was wondering why MacKinnon is such a good hockey player, maybe even the best according to many, Zadorov just revealed the why of it all. Number 29 always does everything in his power to be the best on the ice. He puts a lot of money into his nutrition, which obviously makes him a better player and helps him be at the top of his game on a consistent basis.
"I've seen the progression in Nate's game, he's a true professional. He has a nutritionist that he pays $50,000 a year. He has a doctor at his house that he pays $1,000 a day. Plus, he rents an apartment from her. He has his own chef that he pays $100,000 a year too. He just invests in himself and his body, which helps him play at the highest level."
MacKinnon is so concerned with performing well and winning, he is the most reasonable person on earth.
"He's crazy like that, he eats well. He doesn't drink either. He only drinks water. Two years ago in Colorado, he got rid of all the desserts he could. He also removed them from the locker room and pre-game meals. He had carbonara sauce removed from the menu when eating pasta. He even replaced regular pasta with chickpea pasta so we would eat more protein. He made us all true professionals on the team. That's why the Avalanche have gotten so much better in the last two years. He would say, "Guys, if you want to eat this sh*t, you have the off-season to do it. When you step in here, there won't be any more of that, because we're winning the Cup this year." All the kids on the team see him do it, look up to him and want to do their part."
Zadorov even took the liberty of comparing MacKinnon with the "GOAT" himself, namely Michael Jordan, a great basketball legend.
"Nate is like Michael Jordan, not to make a direct comparison, but their ways of thinking are similar. He can be a real asshole to his teammates. You have to accept that, because it might make you grow as a hockey player to compensate. If you don't accept that, you're not on the team anymore," he added.
Even though MacKinnon is considered the best player in the world by many, that's no reason to slow down the pace. He's still the guy who works the hardest in practice.
"He's the hardest working guy, he always gets to practice 30 minutes early to work on his hands. The kids see that he's the best player in the NHL, but he's always looking to improve. That motivates them to work even harder."
Zadorov also revealed that MacKinnon is really demanding of his teammates, especially in terms of execution.
"If you miss a pass, he'll skate up to you and yell at you. You can't pass him the puck without it hitting his pad. We had some young guys coming into the team during the playoffs. There was no way the puck was going to land in his skates or even miss his stick, even by six inches. He doesn't move his pad to receive passes. He stops everything he's doing, turns around and throws the puck back to you. He won't try to catch any pass he doesn't like during practice. Just to show you that you made a lousy pass. He's a person who demands that every player give everything they have every time they are on the ice to maximize everyone's potential."
With this statement from Nikita Zadorov, it's easy to see that MacKinnon is not kidding. He absolutely wants to win the Stanley Cup and he's willing to do anything to get there. Even though these are unorthodox methods on MacKinnon's part, at no point do we feel that Zadorov is criticizing his way of doing things.
Nathan MacKinnon is literally the undisputed leader of this team, even if it is Gabriel Landeskog who wears the famous "C" on his jersey.
