Little Miss One Big Mess

He's said in interviews that he watches & tries to emulate players that he likes, which basically means he's studying them to figure out what makes them tick & mapping out their patterns. So when he first moved to wing at Worlds last year to play with Crosby, he already had a strong understanding of Crosby's play. (It also helps that they have such a similar style.) It took Mack a bit to adjust though. He passed too much, should have taken more shots on net instead of trying to get the puck back to Crosby.

I think he learned a lot from that experience when he played on McDavid's wing at the Olympics. You could see the increased confidence, like he absolutely did not shy away from taking shots himself. And I'm sure Mack has also watched McDavid for years, knows his style of play & had the ability to adapt to what McDavid needed.

Mack's hockey sense is incredible, he understands pace of play & has the ability to speed up or slow down the game as needed. He's wildly adaptable. As a kid he played defense before he moved to center, and I think that helped him see the game from a different perspective & gain a broader sense of how to play.

I also think moving around from team to team through his youth forced him to quickly analyze his teammates & learn the best way to play with them. A lot of kids stay on the same team with the same teammates for years and years. Mack went from Vancouver to San Jose to Shattuck to Chicago to BU to the Sharks. 6 different teams in 6 years. Each time, he needed to learn how to work with a whole new set of people.

(I know you didn't ask, but again I'd like to point out that Will played with the same line during his most critical developmental years, and how that has been a detriment to his NHL development.)

One last thing with Mack. Everyone says how humble he is. There are guys who would refuse to move from center to wing, because they see themselves as centers and that's that. Mack doesn't appear to have an ego. He goes where he's asked & does what's best for the team. That attitude is honestly part of what makes him such a great player.