SM-liiga (FEL)

(Swedish: FM-ligan)

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)

(French: la Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec)

Ontario Hockey League (OHL)

Western Hockey League (WHL)

Nathan MacKinnon is a Canadian major junior ice hockey forward who currently plays for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Last season on the Halifax Mooseheads he had 32 goals, 43 assists, and 75 total points in 44 games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1axx9Zio3uA

To ease MacKinnon’s transition into the NHL, new Colorado coach Patrick Roy has already decided he’s going to pair the rookie on the third line with Jamie McGinn and Steve Downie. That way, MacKinnon can be mentored by the veteran players

Yes, this draft class has been seen by some as one of the greatest. Some compare this class to the class of 2003.

The 2013 NHL Draft is seen by some as the strongest since the famed 2003 class.

This is what The National Post had to say.

As if we needed any more reasons, the 2003 NHL Entry Draft — widely regarded as the all-time best — keeps getting better.

This is a draft that gave us potential Hall of Famers in Marc-Andre Fleury (1st overall), Eric Staal, (second), Thomas Vanek (fifth), Dion Phaneuf (ninth), Jeff Carter (11th), Brent Seabrook (14th), Zach Parise (17th), Ryan Getzlaf (19th), Ryan Kesler (23rd), Mike Richards (24th), Corey Perry (28th), Loui Eriksson (33rd), Patrice Bergeron (45th), Shea Weber (49th), David Backes (62nd), Dustin Byfuglien (24th) and Jaroslav Halak (271st).

Patrick Roy is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender who split his professional career between the Montreal Canadiens, whom he played with for 10 years, and the Colorado Avalanche, whom he played with for 8 years.

Roy won two Stanley Cups with each franchise. In 2004, Roy was selected as the greatest goaltender in NHL history by a panel of 41 writers, coupled with a simultaneous fan poll. On November 13, 2006, Roy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is the only player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (the award given to the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs) three times, in different decades, and for two different teams.

Both of the Sunshine state’s teams hold the 2nd and 3rd overall selection at the 2013 NHL Draft. With MacKinnon possibly getting selected with the 1st pick, the Florida Panthers could wind up with Seth Jones while the Tampa Bay Lighting could select Center Alexsander Barkov after buying out their franchise Center Vincent Lecavalier. If they choose not to go that route, the Lightning could select Nathan MacKinnon’s linemate from Halifax, Jonathan Drouin, who put up a whopping 105 points in just 49 games (41 goals, 64 assists).

The Avalanche are deep at the Center position, with names such as Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny and Ryan O'Reilly, it wouldn’t make some sense to take MacKinnon. It’s also good to mention that their Defense aren’t the best either and having a town favorite in Seth Jones could help (His dad is Nets assistant coach Popeye Jones who played for Denver and has met Joe Sakic a while back).

“I was playing for the Nuggets and I was working out at the Pepsi Center and I saw Joe Sakic. I said, ‘Hey Joe,’ and he had no idea who I was,” Jones said of the Colorado Avalanche star. “I just said, ‘My kids want to play hockey.’ He turned and looked at me and said, ‘From the look of you, your kids are going to be huge. They need skating lessons.’”

Seth Jones is an American junior ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. He is considered one of the top prospects for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, and one of the highest touted defenseman since Chris Pronger, A first-ballot hockey hall of famer.