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<\/p>\nMILAN \u2014 For any first-time Olympic athlete, there is a balance to strike between peak performance and appreciating the experience.<\/p>\n
Most athletes work from early childhood for the opportunity to compete on a stage that only comes once every four years. When that moment finally arrives, soaking it all in and enjoying the reward for all that work would be a natural counterpart to the competitive portion of the Olympic experience.<\/p>\n
It would only be human.<\/p>\n
Nathan MacKinnon is not a typical human.<\/p>\n
The Colorado Avalanche star centre, Canadian men\u2019s hockey alternate captain and 4 Nations Face-Off MVP is attending his first Olympics. He has worked nearly his entire life for this, and he is finally here at age 30.<\/p>\n
And his reaction to his first experience in an Olympic athletes\u2019 village, a highlight for almost anyone because they get to meet other athletes from other sports, summarized MacKinnon\u2019s skewed work-life balance perfectly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve talked to some other athletes,\u201d MacKinnon said after practice Monday. \u201cBut to be honest, I just want to win gold here. It\u2019s fun to get to know people, but at the end of the day, we\u2019re just trying to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
OK, so not a whole lot of mingling for MacKinnon, apparently. The Olympic experience to him, essentially, is all about the top step of the medal podium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to enjoy myself, but I\u2019m not here to enjoy myself,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m going to do everything I can to play well, and hopefully it\u2019s enough and hopefully I can contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you have to take this all in?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not that MacKinnon isn\u2019t enjoying himself; it\u2019s just that his version of fun is not the same as other people\u2019s version of fun. For him, an Olympic gold medal would be fun. Becoming a member of the triple gold club, reserved for players who have won the Stanley Cup, the World Championships and the Olympics, would be fun.<\/p>\n
Going to watch speed skating would not.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike, I\u2019m loving hanging out with the guys, I\u2019m loving talking, I\u2019m loving practising,\u201d MacKinnon said. \u201cBut in terms of going to 10 events a day and going for dinner in Milan, I don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s going to do that. That\u2019s what I mean in terms of enjoying myself. But I\u2019m loving being with the guys. This is a dream for me. I\u2019m sitting next to Sid in the dressing room. At 10 years old, how cool would that be?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSid,\u201d of course, is Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby, a fellow native of Cole Harbour, N.S., and MacKinnon\u2019s mentor, summer training partner and close friend. Just after MacKinnon\u2019s 10th birthday, Crosby began his rookie NHL season. And now, two decades later, they are sitting next to each other in Canada\u2019s locker room at the Olympics.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Nathan MacKinnon and his mentor and good friend Sidney Crosby share more than hockey talent in common. They both have an unrelenting desire to win. (Maddie Meyer \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n