As Nathan MacKinnon ascended the youth hockey ranks and rose up NHL draft projections, ESPN the Magazine ran a story titled “Nate the kid” — a nod to both his enormous potential and parallels with fellow Nova Scotian Sidney Crosby, known as “Sid the Kid.” It announced to the world that he was coming.

More than 15 years after that article, MacKinnon isn’t a kid anymore. Now 30 and in his 13th NHL season, he is one of the faces of the league: everything the Colorado Avalanche could have dreamed of when they picked him No. 1 in 2013. He’s a Stanley Cup champion. He’s a Hart Trophy winner. He’s blown past the 1,000-point mark and is nearing 400 goals. If he retired tomorrow, he’d be a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Yet, somehow, with a resume so complete, he is still ascending.

“Obviously I’m 30, but I just feel like I’m kind of getting started, to be honest,” he said in a recent interview with The Athletic.

MacKinnon points to Crosby, his idol growing up, who is also from the Halifax area. The 38-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins captain, now a friend of MacKinnon, is among the league leaders in goals. Meanwhile, Alex Ovechkin is still a standout scorer in his 40s. Neither player is at his peak, but neither has had a precipitous fall-off, either.

“I think your hockey prime is a lot longer these days,” MacKinnon said. “Just stacking good habits over 10 years versus bad habits over 10 years, maybe it’s not so much your age, it’s just doing things badly for a long period of time (that causes decline). … That’s just going to accumulate no matter how old you are.”

That philosophy is quintessential MacKinnon. He’s consumed with maximizing his potential. That’s why he has a personal trainer whom he hired to move to Denver and why he’s gained a reputation around the league for his intense — and at times perhaps excessive — nutrition and fitness routines. The start to his 2025-26 season is the product of his blend of talent, drive and relentless focus. He has a league-leading 58 points, a league-leading 28 goals, and his Avalanche have a league-leading 24-2-7 record. There might not be anyone in the world playing better.

NHL points leaders

PlayerTeamGamesPoints

Avalanche

33

58

Oilers

34

56

Sharks

34

51

Oilers

34

47

Avalanche

33

45

(Source: NHL.com; stats through Tuesday’s games)

Though MacKinnon is set on extending his prime, he knows time exists. Players get older, and he won’t be able to sustain this forever. The Avalanche have won one Stanley Cup with MacKinnon, but a second isn’t guaranteed.

“When you’re young, there’s always next year,” he said. “Now there’s a lot on us this year. … It’s not like we have seven more tries at this thing.”

MacKinnon said making the most of Colorado’s chances this season is “all I’m thinking about.” Jared Bednar, who has coached the Avalanche since 2016, sees that manifest through his preparation and consistency. It doesn’t matter if it’s the start of the offseason or a practice in February, MacKinnon is taking the steps to maintain his superstar level, or maybe even find a way to improve. Rangers coach Mike Sullivan, who coached Crosby for a decade in Pittsburgh, said MacKinnon reminds him of his former star.

“Players like that, they’re generational talents, but then they add a certain work ethic to their daily process that is admirable,” Sullivan said Dec. 6. “It’s not by accident that these guys are as great as they are.”

A few hours after Sullivan’s comments, MacKinnon dazzled on the Madison Square Garden ice. He whacked a puck out of midair for a goal in front of the net. Then, in overtime, he toe-dragged around defenseman Will Borgen and backhanded a shot past star goalie Igor Shesterkin. In the wake of the goal, he lowered his right knee to the ice, glided along the boards, punched the air and let out a scream of excitement — as demonstrative a celebration as you’ll see him make. It was as if he knew he’d just done something barely anyone else in the league could do.

MacKinnon’s performance that day was both dominant and, by his standards, normal. He has more multiple-point games this season (19) than he does games with one or zero points (14). His goal scoring in particular has taken a leap this season. Aided by a career-best 18.1 percent shooting percentage, which could regress as the season goes on, he is on pace for 69 goals. His current career high is 51 from 2023-24, the year he won the Hart Trophy.

“It’s not just off the rush, it’s not just on the power play, not from one spot,” said Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, one of MacKinnon’s close friends. “It’s all over the place. Yeah, he’s got strengths just like anybody else, but when some of those things aren’t working, he’s going to find other ways to score.”

Colorado has yet to find consistent success on its power play, so most of MacKinnon’s production has come at even strength. His underlying numbers are as impressive as his counting stats. He and fellow superstar Cale Makar have been dominant together: Through their first 32 games, the Avalanche led 26-6 when Makar and MacKinnon were on the ice at the same time and had a 59.5 percent expected goal share, according to Evolving-Hockey. Without Makar, MacKinnon’s numbers were only marginally worse. Colorado led 20-6 in those minutes and had a 56 percent expected goal share.

MacKinnon benefits from playing with elite teammates, but he’s often the driver.

“It’s incredible,” Makar said. “He’s doing such a great job creating chances and finding those areas where the puck keeps finding him.”

Aside from the power play, pretty much every part of the Avalanche has seemed formidable. MacKinnon likes the group’s continuity from the end of 2024-25. Lineup regulars Brock Nelson, Mackenzie Blackwood, Scott Wedgewood, Jack Drury and Martin Nečas — who tried to mold his game after MacKinnon while playing for the Carolina Hurricanes — were all midseason additions last season. Now, they’ve had a full summer of stability.

The group has added motivation after a devastating series loss to Dallas in the spring. Colorado blew a 2-0 lead in Game 7 when former Avalanche-turned-Stars forward Mikko Rantanen delivered a four-point third period.

“Sometimes, a tough defeat can kind of bring guys together more,” MacKinnon said. “Even if it wasn’t good, you still experience a lot of emotion together. I think that can really bond you if it’s used in the right way.”

The Avalanche did that after blowing a 2-0 series lead to Vegas in 2021, going on to win the Stanley Cup in 2022. MacKinnon sees some similarities between that response and what the Avalanche are showing now.

“Hopefully it leads to the same result this year,” he said.

MacKinnon is part of a group of star forwards all in their late 20s and early 30s. He, Connor McDavid (28), Leon Draisaitl (30) and Auston Matthews (28) — all of whom have at least one Hart Trophy win — fit the mold. Since those players emerged, there was a bit of a wait for the next young forward to truly establish himself as a superstar.

That time has appeared to come. The No. 1 picks in 2023 and 2024, Chicago’s Connor Bedard and San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini, respectively, have had elite starts to the season. MacKinnon has loved watching it — and he loves that they’re both from Canada.

“You never know, maybe we’ll play together in February,” he said, referring to the 2026 Olympics. “It’s motivating, inspiring that they’re that good at that young of an age because I was nowhere near that.”

The respect, unsurprisingly, is mutual.

“It seems like he gets faster every year somehow,” said Bedard, whose Olympic roster spot is up in the air after a recent injury. “Every part of his game kind of seems to keep getting better.”

That’s not by accident. MacKinnon’s stick selection is a perfect microcosm of his general approach. Over the summer, he experimented with different brands before returning to his trusty Bauer model, which he’s used every game this season. If there’s a possible edge, he’s going to be looking for it.

“I have a hard time keeping the same thing,” he said. “I always think there could be something better.”