MacKinnon and the Mooseheads are 12-0 in the post-season (Getty Images)
As if anyone needs a reminder of Nathan MacKinnon's history with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar franchise.
Too many players to mention in major junior hockey have worked various back channels to arrive at their preferred destination. In fact, there's a more than 50/50 shots that all three league champions in the Canadian Hockey League will boast a potential top-10 pick in the NHL draft who has thrived with a big-market junior team which traded for his rights. Max Domi and Seth Jones also were not originally drafted into their leagues by the London Knights and Portland Winterhawks. That is just the way it goes. It's not a reflection on anyone's integrity. Fans still take it personally, though, so the QMJHL's President's Cup final could have a sideshow when MacKinnon and the Mooseheads arrive in Baie-Comeau, where the 17-year-old phenom has been given a rough reception in the past.
The Drakkar reaching the final likely will not temper emotions. Baie-Comeau GM Steve Ahern converted MacKinnon's rights into two players, including overage Carl Gélinas, who is tied for second in team playoff scoring, along with three first-round picks. Meantime, MacKinnon seems to understand the newsworthiness.
From Willy Palov (@CH_willypalov):
MacKinnon’s decision not to report to Baie-Comeau did not go over well with fans in the town of roughly 22,000. They showed up for his first-ever game there with derogatory signs and plenty of venom. Some spectators even dressed up in oversized diapers with signs calling him a baby and “MacChicken.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m sure they’re going to have a few more jokes like that,” MacKinnon said. “But I’m sure their team is just worried about what’s going on in the game. We all know it’s going to be a tough series. I’m sure their fans are going to have fun with it and that’s fine. They have emotional fans and they’re into their hockey and there’s nothing wrong with that.” (Halifax Chronicle-Herald)
Knowing where to place the happy medium on the spectrum between a potential NHL franchise player and a teen who still has to complete secondary school is very daunting. Plus major junior teams have to make their organization an attractive one to prospects, although there are always going to be factors that are out of their hands, like the size or location of their city. MacKinnon's mother, Kathy MacKinnon, told Halifax weekly The Coast recently that they were wary of the educational opportunities in Baie-Comeau.
From Stephen Kimber (@skimber)
Making Baie Comeau less appealing — from Kathy’s perspective — the team didn’t send its kids to local schools, preferring instead to arrange for them to take correspondence courses and attend team tutoring sessions. “I worried Nathan could end up the only English kid in a room taking correspondence courses,” she explains. “After Shattuck, we weren’t willing to take that chance.”
That was one reason they’d skipped the QMJHL draft. “If he’d gone there that day,” his mother says, “it might have seemed like we were committed—and we weren’t ready to commit.” (The Coast, Apr. 4)
It adds to the drama, definitely. It's probably glib to say the end justified the means when it comes to how it worked out for MacKinnon, Halifax and Baie-Comeau, but all one knows is all involved get a lot of publicity and both arenas will be full.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.