Everyone knows that Nathan MacKinnon is the big dog in the Avalanche locker room, at least until Gabriel Landeskog returns full-time. In a new interview released on Thursday, Nikolai Kovalenko confirmed what everyone already knows.
Nate’s the boss.
Speaking to Responsible Gambling, Kovalenko spoke on a number of subjects, including his playing fearless, getting called up to play his first game in the playoffs, and what his goals are coming into training camp, but you can’t talk about the Avalanche without bringing up the reigning MVP. I would recommend reading the entire interview, but here’s a little bit of what he had to say.
“He’s just the team’s boss,” Kovalenko told Daria Tuboltseva. “For me, he’s the best hockey player in the league. Everything is on him. Although some will say he’s just one of the best, he’s the best for me. Everything is built around him, and that’s fine.”
Everyone knows how good MacKinnon is on the ice, but it was his off-ice demeanor that seemed to catch the Russian off-guard.
“He also surprised me in personal conversations,” the young winger said. “First, by encouraging me. We came to the locker room, and he told me: ‘You are the man.’ Everyone said that Nathan used to be much more aggressive and demanding on the guys. I think he also worked with a sports psychologist. He has a lot of assistants: a nutritionist, coaches, and many others.”
Kovalenko says his main goal is to make the team out of camp. He spent most of the summer training in Miami after finishing up some school work back in Russia, and returned to Denver after taking part in the NHLPA Rookie Showcase. In another interview with Tuboltseva, this one in Russian, he said that the difference between the NHL and KHL was noticeable.
“I’m not the smallest, but when I came out, I realized that it was a different level, KHL doesn’t even (compare) here. Everyone is very physically strong. Whatever the height and weight, everything is in incredible shape.”
Kovalenko and MacKinnon will hit the ice a week from today for the first day of training camp at Family Sports. As usual, all practices at Family Sports are free and open to the public.