Mincing words is not in Nathan MacKinnon's extraordinary skill set.

The Avalanche superstar center burns hot on the ice, and as a teammate, if your effort doesn't match his, the three-time Hart Trophy finalist will have something to say.

"Sometimes you gotta have some thick skin," young Avs defenseman Bo Byram said.

If a teammate in practice fails to handle a clean pass, he might hear from MacKinnon. If he puts a pass in MacK's skates or behind him more than once, he's bound to say something.

It's tough-love leadership, and the Avs say they fully embrace it.

"It's a feisty leadership style," coach Jared Bednar said of MacKinnon, who was placed on the COVID-19 protocol Tuesday and will not play in Wednesday's season opener. "I think there's a lot of positives to it because you make sure that your brain is turned on and that you're ready to compete when practice starts. I think he's got maybe too tough of standards at times, but he's pushing and driving the best out of our group. And I would say most of time when he's saying something — it may come off as abrasive sometimes but he's not wrong."

MacKinnon can draw a straight line to the moment everything changed for him.

It came five seasons ago, three years after he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. He was 21 years old and coming off a season that saw him log just 16 goals and 53 points in 82 games. Even worse, the Avs finished 22-56-4 — last in the league.

Feeling lousy about his play, MacKinnon devoted himself to training harder, eating better and raising the bar in everything he did. In the process, he became more vocal and more demanding of those around him.

"When I do that, I have to play well. I have to play hard, practice hard and work on things. I can't talk the talk and not walk the walk," MacKinnon told The Post. "I try to do everything I can to be prepared and be the best player I can be. I made that switch five years ago and it kind of changed my career. I guess I try to pass that along. But I'm not as serious as everyone thinks. I joke around a lot. I'm one of the boys. I just get fired up on the ice."

That intensity boiled over after the Avs' season-ending Game 6 playoff loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last June.

Fuming after the franchise's third consecutive second-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one that ended with four consecutive losses following a 6-0 start to the postseason, MacKinnon was asked about the team's future. And his frustration boiled over.

"There's always next year. It's all we talk about, I feel like," he said in a postgame conference call on June 10. "I'm going into my ninth year next year and I haven't won (expletive). Definitely motivated. Just sucks losing four in a row to a team."

Does that fact fuel his intensity?

"Obviously, I want to win. It was just a fact," MacKinnon said recently. "Wasn't a big secret. I'm not like going into the season with a huge chip on my shoulder. There's too many games for that. I just want to play with a good mindset, a good headspace, and being calm is the way to go for me."

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) ...
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) moves the puck around Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nick Holden (22) during the third period of Game 5 in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoff series at Ball Arena in Denver on June 8, 2021.

MacKinnon has always been highly competitive. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and played major-junior in his hometown for the Halifax Mooseheads. He got fired up on the ice back then, too. He also backed it up with big games at the highest levels.

MacKinnon had three goals and five points in his final junior game — a 6-4 win over the Portland Winterhawks in the Memorial Cup championship on May 26, 2013. He was the leading scorer in the tournament with seven goals and 13 points in just four games, including six goals and nine points in two games against Portland and defenseman Seth Jones, who was the No. 4 overall pick in the ensuing NHL draft.

His coach at the time was Dominique Ducharme, now the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

"He's one of the greatest competitors I've ever been around," Ducharme said of MacKinnon last week. "I could tell within two minutes what kind of game he was going to have. You put him in a big game, an important game, and there's no doubt he's going to show up and have a big performance. He's a hell of a competitor, so it's more that aspect of him that makes him so great."

A month after the Memorial Cup, the Avs backed off selecting Jones and chose MacKinnon with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft. Not long after, he was with the big club in Colorado.

Rookie Nathan MacKinnon puts on his ...
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post

Rookie Nathan MacKinnon puts on his jersey during a press conference in Denver to welcome the number one overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft, July 1, 2013.

Former Avalanche forward John Mitchell played with MacKinnon for four seasons through 2016-17. He witnessed MacKinnon enter the league at age 18 and help Patrick Roy's first team as a coach win 52 games and reach 112 points before losing in the first round of the playoffs.

The Avs slipped to just 39 wins in each of the next two seasons. Mitchell saw MacKinnon get ultra-competitive.

"His want to win is paramount, and sometimes that can rub certain individuals — whether it's players on your team, staff members, whoever — the wrong way," Mitchell said. "But I think Nate has nothing but good intentions. All he wants is the best for his teammates, management, staff, and himself, to eventually win the Stanley Cup.

"That's Nate's sole goal, sole focus right now. The Avs have a pretty decent window, a great core group of guys, and depth. Their time to win is now. Nate's no dummy. He knows that … you better believe he's going to take everything he has in him to get to that point."

Avalanche prospect Justin Barron is also from Halifax, and he skates with MacKinnon and others, including Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchan, in the summer. Barron was asked if MacKinnon ever turns that competitive switch off during the offseason.

"Not really," Barron said. "He brings that intensity every skate of the summer and I think it's great. Sometimes I think summer skates can get a little bit casual but I think having him out there, and guys like Sidney Crosby and Drake Batherson, it helps keep that intensity level high and it helps every one to get better."

That drive to improve next stops for MacKinnon, and it's evident to anyone who visits the team's training facility.

RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) practices during the final day of the Colorado Avalanche training camp at Family Sports Center in Englewood on Sept. 27, 2021.

MacKinnon was the first skater on the ice last Friday, 15 minutes before practice was scheduled to begin, and carrying a puck bag. He worked on his wrist shot from the right circle — aiming for the net inside the near post. After one of the few times he shot wide, MacKinnon dropped his arms, dropped what he was doing for a moment, and seemingly screamed at himself.

"Nate's ultra-competitive. We all know that. We've all seen that," said Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog, who is MacKinnon's left winger. "And he leads that way, kind of setting the bar very high. For him, it starts with him trying to be as good as he possibly can. He wants to be our best player. He wants to be the best player in the league. I think that's why he's out there early and why he stays on late to put in the extra work.

"Obviously, it's paid off and it sets the ball very high and shows the young guys they need to put the extra work in. Ideally, if everybody does a little bit extra, it's going to help the team."

MacKinnon is the NHL's fifth-leading scorer over the past five years. If you eliminate the disastrous 2016-17, he's the third-leading NHL scorer in the last four years behind Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

McDavid is the league's highest-paid player, with a $12.5 million cap hit. Draisaitl is tied for 31st at $8.5 million. But MacKinnon is the league's biggest bargain at $6.3 million, which ranks 93rd. He signed that seven-year, $44.1 million deal in 2016 when he wasn't the player he is now. The contract runs through next season, at which point MacKinnon could become the league's highest-paid player.

How much that fact drives him to push himself and his teammates is unclear. But MacKinnon said he doubts himself. On purpose.

"There's always good to have a little doubt. I think doubt can push you to new limits," he said. "If you think you have all the tools your career might end a little quicker than you think. So I'm always working on some stuff."

Jean-Francois Chaumont of the Journal de Montréal contributed to this story. 

NHL scoring leaders, 2016-21

Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is the fifth-leading NHL scorer over the last five seasons. But as the list of the league's top scorers during that period illustrates, having a superstar forward doesn't necessarily translate into deep playoff runs:

Player, pos., team GP Goals Assists Pts.
1. Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton 362 179 347 526
Comment: Oilers 190-148-24, made playoffs three times (2017, '20*, '21), reached second round once
2. Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton 369 178 268 446
Comment: Oilers 190-148-24, made playoffs three times (2017, '20*, '21), reached second round once
3. Brad Marchand, LW, Boston 350 166 260 426
Comment: Bruins 220-105-29, made playoffs all five years, reached one Stanley Cup final
4. Patrick Kane, RW, Chicago 371 153 272 425
Comment:  Blackhawks 175-151-36, made playoffs twice (2017, '20*), never advanced past first round
5. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado 355 151 256 407
Comment: Avalanche 184-149-32, made playoffs four times (2018, '19, '20*, '21), reached second round three times

* Playoffs featured 24 teams instead of 18