Part of any successful young player’s transition to the NHL is having veterans around to help with the adjustment.
Many of the game’s young stars have lived with older players their first few years in the league to help adjust to life off the ice.
Sidney Crosby lived with Penguins legend, and part owner, Mario Lemieux for many years.
In Philadelphia Sean Couturier lived with then Flyers veteran Daniel Briere and in Montreal, Brendan Gallagher was the house guest of veteran defenseman Josh Gorges until his trade in the off-season.
In Colorado, Avalanche rookie Nathan MacKinnon lived with veteran goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere last season. The living arrangement helped the first overall selection from the 2013 NHL Draft score 24 goals and 63 points leading him to a Calder Trophy win as the league’s top rookie.
However, with Giguere retiring, MacKinnon had to make alternate arrangements for the 2014-15 season.
The 19-year-old tweeted he has moved into veteran forward Max Talbot’s place for the upcoming season:All moved in to @Max25talbot‘s house! #godfather
— Nathan Mackinnon (@Mackinnon9) September 6, 2014
For the sake of fans in Colorado, lets hope its a match made in heaven as the Avalanche look to replicate their impressive 112 point campaign from 2013-14.
Related: Look out: MacKinnon described as stronger, more explosive