Nathan MacKinnon’s First Real NHL Fight
Colorado Avalanche wonderkid Nathan MacKinnon has been preparing to fight in the NHL. He’s never going to be an enforcer — he’s the type of skill player coaches send an enforcer in to protect. However, MacKinnon looks ready to defend himself when the need arises.
During the game against the Detroit Red Wings, Nathan MacKinnon got his chance to participate in his first real NHL fight. Just over 30 seconds into the game, MacKinnon took exception to a hit by Jonathan Ericsson. He gave the Red Win defenseman a good check to indicate his displeasure. They pushed each other back and forth. Finally, they both dropped the gloves, and the fight was on.
Now, the 30-year-old Ericsson is a veteran fighter. In his 10-year career, he’s dropped the gloves 17 times, not counting his tango with MacKinnon. Ericsson is also Erik Johnson size at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. He’s got reach. MacKinnon is a respectable forward size, 6-foot, 195 pounds.
MacKinnon has been learning from the pros, though. Early in the preseason, he was seen practicing his pugilist skills with Avalanche energy player Cody McLeod. Just a couple weeks ago, veteran power forward Jarome Iginla was giving him pointers.
So, MacKinnon finally got the chance to put his new skills to good use. Ericsson was clearly the more seasoned fighter, evident even from the initial stance. However, MacKinnon dove in first — he is known for his speed. He took a couple solid punches, but he got a few swings in there, too, including a roundhouse or two.
Make no mistake, Ericsson won the fight. However, MacKinnon ultimately wins the war. He’s a player with the utmost of elite skills, first-overall draft pick, Calder Trophy winner. However, now he’s sending a message to the hockey world that he’s not going to hide behind an enforcer. He’s willing and able to stand up for himself.
Of course, in the long run no one wants to see MacKinnon dropping the gloves very often. Guys like Ericsson can only dream about the kind of skills MacKinnon displays. Those need to be protected.
Indeed head coach Patrick Roy acknowledged that the choice is MacKinnon’s but it’s not his preference:
"“Obviously, I’m not in favor of Nathan fighting, but I guess he had his reasons. I’m certainly not going to encourage any players to fight, but at the same time, sometimes those things happen in a game. Was that a smart thing to do? I don’t think so. I mean, it’s an emotional game, I think you want to set the tone. I’ll respect what he did.”"
But now MacKinnon is showing he’ll do the protecting himself if need be. That’s probably the type of encouragement Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog is showing when he comments to MacKinnon just before the referee leads him away.
So, the bout with Ericsson is Nathan MacKinnon’s first real fight in the NHL. I’m not counting that time St. Louis Blues captain David Backes jumped on MacKinnon like he was the prize steer at the rodeo. That was just a gutless play, as head coach Patrick Roy pointed out.
Nathan MacKinnon’s fight with Jonathan Ericsson was the real deal.