Exec to Dreger: MacKinnon could surpass Crosby

Darren Dreger was on TSN 1050 Thursday evening.

On Nathan MacKinnon, as part of a larger discussion on the early season struggles coming off such an impressive rookie campaign:

“From a physical standpoint, you know, you guys talk to a lot of people. Anybody who either trained with him or watched him train in the off-season was flat-out blown away.

“I’m not going to tell you which Eastern Conference executive told me this, but I will suggest it was at a Toronto Maple Leaf game just before the start of the regular season – wasn’t a Maple Leafs executive. Make that clear. But this guy said to me, ‘Lookit, I do think that Nathan MacKinnon one day is going to be better than Sidney Crosby.’ Just from a physical standpoint, all the attributes that he has, the game sense and all of those things.

“Too lofty praise for me to support that. I mean, that’s borderline crazy. But that’s how some hockey people look at this kid.”

Source: TSN 1050/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey