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Nathan MacKinnon Announces That He Is Normal, Regular Guy

3:33 PM EDT on September 16, 2021

Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on May 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Avalanche defeated the Golden Knights 2-1.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

In a July interview with Russian hockey YouTuber Mikhail Cherkasov—translated and transcribed by one generous Calgary Flames forum user—Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov said his former Colorado Avalanche teammate Nathan MacKinnon "drinks only water," "got rid of all the pop/ice-cream/desserts...from the dressing room, and pre-game meals," "replaced the actual pasta itself with chickpea pasta," and told the team, "Guys, if you want to eat that crap, you have the off-season for that. When you come here, there will be none of that because we’re winning the Cup."

Zadorov seemed to feel that MacKinnon's, uh, single-mindedness, did help the Avs improve, and he spoke of MacKinnon in pretty admiring terms, but mostly the interview got MacKinnon and his tyrannical eating habits roasted a lot online. Today at the Avalanche's media day, MacKinnon responded to these accusations of being a diet-conscious killjoy:

See? He sometimes goes to In-N-Out (order unspecified). I am convinced! Nathan MacKinnon: regular guy. He is normal man.

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