In a lot of professional sports, players seem to not necessarily like to cry on television, nor show that something “broke” them. In the recent case of Nathan MacKinnon, that seemed to be pretty difficult for the Colorado Avalanche star center iceman, and it is for good reason, too.
Video appeared on X Wednesday, ahead of the start of the 4 Nations Faceoff of Nathan MacKinnon opening a video on some sort of tablet. When he opened the video, it was his sister Sarah. In the video, Sarah starts off by acknowledging how proud she and his family is of him, particularly for making it to this new tournament, but also just in general.
Cue the water works. 🥹
— NHL (@NHL) February 12, 2025
Nathan MacKinnon got a special message from his sister, Sarah, leading up his #4Nations Face-Off debut. ❤️
📺: Canada vs. Sweden TONIGHT at 8p ET on @NHL_On_TNT, @SportsonMax, @Sportsnet, and @TVASports pic.twitter.com/QB6JaT17BG
Sarah MacKinnon also points out that Nathan works harder than anyone, which is no surprise to anyone, if you’ve watched him play.
The amazing thing about this is that it also shows how MacKinnon has come full circle. Sidney Crosby entered the NHL in 2005 as the first overall pick, eight years before MacKinnon. However, they were childhood friend and that bond has continued throughout the years. They get to play on the same team now, though it isn’t with an actual NHL team. It is full of NHL players, though.
MacKinnon isn’t one to let on how good he is. He’s always been a team-first player, so his reaction to the video was very refreshing to see, especially since it consisted of someone who he is very close to. You can tell any time that he is interviewed after being named the first star of a home game that he doesn’t really want any of that spotlight on him, which I completely understand. His vision is that he’s there to do a job and help the Avalanche come away with as many victories as possible.
Honestly, I would love to see more videos like this spread across the league and shown on social media because it really just makes one feel good. It’s the type of positivity that needs to be spread in the world and what better way than social media? Maybe we will get to see more of those videos as the years go on and the Colorado Avalanche are in the Stanley Cup Final.
Who knows? Maybe we’ll get to see a certain No. 87 in burgundy and blue sometime in the near future and perhaps get to see that dream come true as Crosby gets set to conclude his Hall of Fame career. What better way than to finish it by hoisting the Stanley Cup alongside a childhood friend?
Hopefully, this tournament sticks around for years to come and we will get to see some younger stars on the Colorado Avalanche take part in it. One of those names that comes to mind is Calum Ritchie, who there has been quite a lot of hype around since he was drafted in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft. It would also be a lot of fun to eventually see one of the team’s newly drafted goaltenders take part, as well.