Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is still a kid by life’s standards — he’s just 20 years old, technically not even old enough to drink or rent a car.
By NHL standards, he’s young but not a kid. Players get drafted at 17 or 18 years old. The vast majority of them don’t start playing in the NHL right away (if at all), but top-three picks generally do. MacKinnon, of course, was the Avalanche’s first-overall selection in 2013.
Nathan MacKinnon transitioned into the NHL right away. Going into the 2016-17 season, then, he’ll be entering his fourth full year.