Nathan MacKinnon is in his second season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this year. The 6-foot, 182-pound forward has 23 goals, 55 points and a plus-29 rating in 32 games for the Mooseheads in 2012-13. As a rookie, MacKinnon finished second to 2012 first-round draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko (Buffalo Sabres) in voting for the QMJHL Rookie of the Year award. MacKinnon, who served as captain for Team Cherry at the 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Halifax on Wednesday, recently represented Team Canada at the World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia. He has offered to provide NHL.com with a monthly blog leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J.

Hello, hockey fans.

Well, Team Cherry lost to Team Orr, 3-0, on Wednesday in the Top Prospects Game at the Metro Centre.

I thought we generated a lot of offense and I would have liked to get those chances back, but I thought it was a real up-tempo game. Coming out, I thought it would be a little more scrambled, but both sides played hard and it could have gone either way. I really thought we had some chances, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.

The goalies played really well. We knew the goalies would be very strong, and I thought our goalies [Tristan Jarry of Edmonton and Zachary Fucale of Halifax] played really well. It could have gone either way, and hats off to the goalies.

While the goalies for Team Orr played well, I thought I could have been a little more accurate with my shots. On my first shift, I missed, and on the second shift, Jo [Drouin] gave me a pass and I hit the goalie's blocker. There were a few other opportunities to bury and I didn't, so it was tough.

Overall, it was a special experience. We have a great fan base, as you saw, and it's definitely tough not to get the win for them or a couple of goals. But, like I said, it was a great experience. I thought it was really cool to play for Don Cherry.

As far as my linemates [Jonathan Drouin and Ryan Hartman], we had chemistry. I thought [Hartman] played well; he's a smart and heads-up player. I'm definitely looking forward to playing with Jonathan [in Halifax] in the second half of the season, and I'm sure Ryan will have a great second half as well [in Plymouth].

I'm looking forward to the second half of the season in Halifax. We have a tough three games in three days stretch coming up, and I think I speak for everyone that we're looking forward to it.

Follow Nathan MacKinnon on Twitter at: @Mackinnon9

Nathan MacKinnon is in his second season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this year. The 6-foot, 182-pound forward has 23 goals, 55 points and a plus-29 rating in 32 games for the Mooseheads in 2012-13. As a rookie, MacKinnon finished second to 2012 first-round draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko (Buffalo Sabres) in voting for the QMJHL Rookie of the Year award. MacKinnon, who will serve as captain for Team Cherry at the 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Halifax on Wednesday, recently represented Team Canada at the World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia. He has offered to provide NHL.com with a monthly blog leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J.

Hi everyone!

It's been pretty exciting here in Halifax while we're getting set for the Top Prospects Game.

On Monday night we actually got back to our hotel at 9:30 p.m., ate dinner and then got back to the room. It's funny because [Halifax linemate] Jonathan Drouin is my roommate. I was pretty happy that he didn't snore, too. I don't room with him on the road and he's a good roommate. I usually room with Ryan Falkenham when with Halifax.

Jo did ask me if I snored but I told him I didn't, so we were all good. Jo is quiet and good. We kind of watched television and talked hockey all night but we shut it down early.

This morning I participated in the on- and off-ice testing. I came in not knowing much about it. It's pretty game-similar for the most part but there were some things that you wouldn't do. But they test on-ice ability and it's a good way for scouts to see what kind of intangibles you possess.

Nathan Mackinnon is in his second season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The 6-foot, 182-pound forward has 23 goals, 55 points and a plus-29 rating in 32 games for the Mooseheads in 2012-13. As a rookie, MacKinnon finished second to 2012 first-round draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko (Buffalo Sabres) in voting for the QMJHL Rookie of the Year award. MacKinnon, who will serve as captain for Team Cherry at the 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Halifax on Wednesday, recently represented Team Canada at the World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia. He has offered to provide NHL.com with a monthly blog leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J.

Hi everybody!

I would just like to start off by talking about how exciting my past month has been.

I was very fortunate to be invited to the Team Canada World Junior try-out camp and later managed to earn a roster spot on the team. The experience was amazing playing on a stage like that. Obviously, the result isn't what we expected out of ourselves but you can't take that experience away from us. For me, it was an adjustment coming into a checking role. [Canada coach] Steve Spott asked me to provide energy and physicality for the team and I was ready to do that. I wanted to help the boys in that aspect because that was my role.

It was cool to see certain guys step up. One of those players happened to be my close friend, Jonathan Drouin. I have been asked many times if Jonathan elevated his game for the World Juniors, but to me he just continued his dominating play from Halifax and carried it over to the big stage at World Juniors. He really made the difference in some games and helped the team get some wins.

Nathan MacKinnon is in his second season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this year. The 6-foot, 182-pound forward had 31 goals, 78 points and a plus-11 rating as a rookie last season. His 47 assists led all first-year players in the league, and he finished second to 2012 first-round draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko in voting for the QMJHL Rookie of the Year award. He's currently on a seven-game goal-scoring streak (11 goals) and nine-game point-scoring streak (18 points) for the Mooseheads and is tied for fourth in the QMJHL with 24 points in 13 games. MacKinnon, who is projected to be a high draft pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, has 15 goals and a plus-17 rating for the season.

Hello everybody!

The season, so far, has been awesome. The boys have been very consistent and are improving each day, which is very important for us moving forward, as we are aware each game will become more and more difficult. However, each team has obstacles to overcome and ours happened to be fighting the flu. Around half the team caught the sickness. Guys were playing sick and became very run down. Myself, along with others, laid in bed for four-to-five days. Personally, I couldn't eat my normal amounts so I drank lots of ginger ale and took vitamins. Thankfully I was back to normal and kicked off the season as healthy as before.

The season has been solid up to now. Obviously, a season comes with its ups and downs and I am prepared for that this year. I find coming back for a second season is a much easier adjustment. Over the summer, you have the opportunity to study your game and analyze what makes you successful and what needs work.

Nathan MacKinnon will enter his second season in the QMJHL in 2012-13. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward had 31 goals, 78 points and a plus-11 rating as a rookie last season. His 47 assists led all first-year players in the league, and he finished second to 2012 first-round draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko in voting for the QMJHL Rookie of the Year award. MacKinnon hails from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, the same hometown as Pittsburgh Penguins star center Sidney Crosby. He recently helped lead Team Canada to a gold medal after scoring a hat trick in the championship match against Finland at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial in Slovakia in August. He finished the Hlinka with five goals and six assists in five games. MacKinnon will be maintaining a blog on NHL.com all season leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J.

Hello everybody! My name is Nathan MacKinnon, and I am going into my second season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

I gained lots of experience from my first year and am excited to get back at it in a few short weeks when the season opens.

I was born in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, to two awesome parents and a sister. Luckily for me, my parents were very athletic. My mother, Kathy, competed as the youngest swimmer in the Canada games. My father, Graham, was a marathon runner. Growing up, I enjoyed many other sports besides hockey, such as soccer, basketball, paddling and tennis. When it was time to give them up and focus on hockey, it was definitely difficult. I was also a fairly athletic kid and picked up sports easier than others.

Playing minor hockey for the Cole Harbour Red Wings was an amazing experience. You're playing with the same group of guys for nine or 10 years and create a special bond. Cole Harbour was a great spot for development. Lucky enough for me, I always had a good coach and really have to credit my success now to all those hours put in and the help I received growing up.