A lot of teenagers face a lot of pressure in sports, but not like Nathan McKinnon.
The 15-year-old forward is from Nova Scotia, plays for Shattucks-St. Mary's in Minnesota, puts up points at an unfathomable rate and is expected to be the top pick in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft. Given that he seems to be following the same path as the most talented player in the world, the comparisons to Sidney Crosby are unavoidable for McKinnon.
"It's never fun to be compared to the best player in the world, but I guess I take it as a compliment," McKinnon told The Globe and Mail. "I know I'll never be Sidney Crosby. I just want to play my own game and not his. I don't like to compare myself to him too much, because you can't. He's too good."
McKinnon has racked up 34 goals and 43 assists for Shattucks-St. Mary's under-16 team, but the school's director of hockey, Tom Ward, isn't ready to send him to Toronto for a Hall of Fame induction.
"He needs to go sweat a few more buckets of sweat," Ward told the newspaper. "As long as he stays hardworking and humble and keeps his nose in the dirt and doesn't read the paper, he can be a good player."
At his current pace, ignoring the newspaper won't be enough for McKinnon to escape the hype and pressure that comes with being compared to Crosby.
