When Nathan MacKinnon was drafted first overall in 2013, the expectations in him were high. NHL CSS only ranked him second behind defenseman Seth Jones (4th overall to Nashville), but after all, he was the guy who brought magic to Halifax with fellow forward Jonathan Drouin (3rd overall to Tampa Bay).
In the end, he even exceeded everybody’s expectations. The Canadian center won the Calder Trophy after recording 63 points in 82 regular season games and adding ten more in the seven-game playoffs. But here we have the problem. He is a Canadian center.