Former Av says people are taking MacKinnon's expectations of teammates the wrong way

Many started to see Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche in a different light recently. An interview with former teammate Nikita Zadorov in Russia painted MacKinnon, a star player, as a tyrant who demanded a lot of his teammates, including that they eat the same way he eats; all healthy all the time. However, Ryan Graves, another former teammate of MacKinnon's, recently appeared on the "Dropping the Gloves" podcast with John Scott and said people are taking things the wrong way.

"I hope people don't take it out of context, because Nate is one of the hardest-working and one of the most caring teammates that I've ever had," said Graves.

Graves added MacKinnon wants his teammates to succeed and he's definitely intense. However, he insisted MacKinnon isn't dictating what people should eat. Rather, Graves said MacKinnon has created a culture where his teammates WANT to do what's best for them.

"It's true how seriously he takes his craft and now hard he works. Honestly, it's more of a culture he's created there," said Graves. "It's not that guys want that stuff and he won't allow them, he changed the culture that nobody even wants that stuff. People are seeing how he performs and how much energy he has and everyone else has bought into it and it's something I'll bring with me. I'll continue to eat that way and I'll continue to treat my body that way."

Graves was traded to the New Jersey Devils just before the expansion draft as the Avalanche were concerned they'd lose him to Seattle for nothing.

As for Zadarov's comments that Graves believes people are taking the wrong way, you can read those in full here.

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