When the Colorado Avalanche selected me No. 1 overall … it was pure joy for sure.

When my name was announced ... I turned to my dad [Graham] and hugged him a few times. It was an unbelievable time and it's still surreal. I've worked my whole life to get drafted and it crept up pretty quick. It's a very proud moment.

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 32 goals, 75 points and a plus-40 rating in 44 regular-season games for the Mooseheads in 2012-13. In 17 playoff games, MacKinnon finished with 11 goals and 33 points to help lead his team to the QMJHL championship. He was then awarded with the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP after finishing with tournament highs of seven goals and 13 points in four games as Halifax won its first Cup crown. MacKinnon, who served as captain for Team Cherry at the 2013 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and represented Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Russia, has offered to provide NHL.com with a monthly blog leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J.

Hi everyone. I just finished up the clinic at AmeriHealth Pavilion at Prudential Center and had a blast.

It was a lot of fun getting to do some of the stuff on the ice with the young kids. I like seeing the smiles on their faces and it was great to be out there with the Devils Stanley Cup alumni. They've played for so long in the NHL so it was pretty special. It was good to talk to those guys and hang with the kids.

Some of those kids were good too. They're all pretty young and nobody is a natural yet, but some kids were more skilled than others. They all did a great job and it was fun to be a part of it all.

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 32 goals, 75 points and a plus-40 rating in 44 regular-season games for the Mooseheads in 2012-13. In 17 playoff games, MacKinnon finished with 11 goals and 33 points to help lead his team to the QMJHL championship. He was then awarded with the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP after finishing with tournament highs of seven goals and 13 points in four games as Halifax won its first Cup crown. MacKinnon, who served as captain for Team Cherry at the 2013 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and represented Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Russia, has offered to provide NHL.com with a monthly blog leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J.

NEW YORK -- I arrived in New York and checked into my hotel in Times Square Wednesday afternoon. I'm rooming with Seth Jones and he got in Wednesday night. Jonathan, Seth, and Darnell Nurse and I have been hanging out together since then. We're all good buddies, and so far we've seen a good chunk of the city.

This morning we were fortune enough to go to the Yankee game and watch six innings. It was my first time going to a Major League Baseball game and we had great seats right behind first base. They recognized us and put us on the Jumbotron, which was very cool. I was pretty pumped to be a part of that.

After the game we had a long drive over to the Empire State Building. I'm pretty scared of heights and I thought we were going to be inside a room, but it turned out we were outside with only a few metal bars separating us from the edge. That took some getting used to.

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 32 goals, 75 points and a plus-40 rating in 44 regular-season games for the Mooseheads in 2012-13. In 17 playoff games, MacKinnon finished with 11 goals and 33 points to help lead his team to the QMJHL championship. He was then awarded with the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP after finishing with tournament highs of seven goals and 13 points in four games as Halifax won its first Cup crown. MacKinnon, who served as captain for Team Cherry at the 2013 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and represented Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Russia, has offered to provide NHL.com with a monthly blog leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J.

Since attending the Combine, I've kind of just been kicking my feet up after a long season. We went to Europe a couple of times and back over the past few months. It's been a pretty busy season with the Memorial Cup and a lot of games have been played. So it's nice just to get home and rest a little bit.

I found out last week about attending the Stanley Cup Final in Boston. I was actually a little surprised. It wasn't a thing I had been waiting for, it kind of just happened quickly. I heard about it happening in the past, but I wasn't sure if it was going to happen this year. But I'm really glad it did. It's been fun.

We went to see the morning skates early today for both Boston and Chicago. Afterward, we got to go into the dressing room to meet some players. It was cool to see the guys you've been watching every year. Some of them since we were little kids, some of them more recently. I skate with Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins during the offseason, so I talked with him a little bit. Nothing serious, just some small talk.

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 32 goals, 75 points and a plus-40 rating in 44 regular-season games for the Mooseheads in 2012-13. In 17 playoff games, MacKinnon finished with 11 goals and 33 points to help lead his team to the QMJHL championship. He was then awarded with the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP after finishing with tournament highs of seven goals and 13 points in four games as Halifax won its first Cup crown. MacKinnon, who served as captain for Team Cherry at the 2013 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and represented Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Russia, 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, I must say there was a little anxiety when I got to this stage but for me it's been great. It was a great experience and a lot of fun at the NHL Combine. I really didn't know what to expect since different teams have different approaches and ask different questions, but it was certainly a great experience.

I didn't go through the fitness portion of the testing [on Friday]. I did the medical examinations and the basic stuff, but that was it. Obviously it's tough to miss out on something like [the fitness tests] because you want to see what you have, but at the same time it's been a great experience and I'm looking forward to the Draft.

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 32 goals, 75 points and a plus-40 rating in 44 regular-season games for the Mooseheads in 2012-13. In 17 playoff games, MacKinnon finished with 11 goals and 33 points to help lead his team to the QMJHL championship. He was then awarded with the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Memorial Cup MVP after finishing with tournament highs of seven goals and 13 points in four games as Halifax won its first Cup crown. MacKinnon, who served as captain for Team Cherry at the 2013 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and represented Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Russia, has offered to provide NHL.com with a monthly blog leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, N.J.

Hi everyone!

First of all, I want to say it was an honor to be named Memorial Cup most valuable player. It was a very special feeling. I know there have been some very special players who have won that over the years and I'm just so proud to be a part of those names. It's really cool.

It was a long couple of days, but a lot of fun at the same time. We had a parade in Halifax on Tuesday and that was something else. We flew in to Toronto on Wednesday morning, so it was an awesome experience and I'm really happy to be here [at the Combine] … it's been a lot of fun.

One of the most common questions asked in the interviews was what I felt was the biggest thing I needed to do to remain at the next level. I thought about each answer and gave an honest response. Everybody asked some similar stuff, but with a different approach, and I thought it went really well.

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.