MacKinnon now prepares for NHL 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.

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.

I must say, the ride this season was simply amazing. It started playing in August for Team Canada at the Under-18's and fortunately I got another experience playing at the World Junior Championship and had a great second half of the season in Halifax, including playoffs and then President Cup and Memorial Cup … it's been an amazing year and I wouldn't trade it for anything and I have no regrets.

It's amazing that I'll have a large group of people coming to the draft to support me, not just my family but some of my friends and one of my favorite coaches growing up [Pee Wee coach Jon Greenwood of the Cole Harbour Wings]. It's so great that I have this type of support and people want to be there for me and experience these things alongside with me so it's special.

We'll see what happens now. I might have some meetings with NHL teams now and that will be neat. It'll definitely be a lot of fun and I'll be looking forward to it.

Thanks for reading everyone. Enjoy the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Follow Nathan MacKinnon on Twitter at: @MacKinnon9