Nathan MacKinnon: Cory Sandhagen credits NHL star Nathan MacKinnon for igniting his hockey passion

Cory Sandhagen recently opened up about his growing appreciation for hockey, crediting NHL star Nathan MacKinnon for sparking his interest. Sandhagen admitted to not being too familiar with all the rules and specifics of the game, but has become most interested.

Sandhagen trains and resides in Colorado, which is home to the Colorado Avalanche. The team has been a successful NHL franchise and has MacKinnon, regarded by many as one of the top players in the world, on its roster. They have been successful in recent years, winning the 2022 Stanley Cup, and are viewed as a contending team each season.

In his latest appearance on JRE MMA Show, Sandhagen revealed that MacKinnon has spent some time training at his gym, and the two discussed their respective sports. 'The Sandman' mentioned that he appreciates hockey culture and praised the players' character traits compared to athletes in other sports. He said:

"Hockey's pretty cool. I like hockey culture... I recently started watching it because a dude from the [Avalanche]... He's been training at the gym, a guy named Nathan MacKinnon, who's like one of the better guys in the league right now. I've kind of been paying a little bit of attention because me and him will chat sometimes. But, dude, hockey culture is cool. Like, when they score, they smile and cheer for half of a second and then they're all just like, stone cold killers back again."

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Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments below (1:38:44):

Cory Sandhagen and Joe Rogan share a mutual interest in hockey

Joe Rogan also revealed that, like Cory Sanhagen, he enjoys watching hockey. In the aforementioned episode, Rogan mentioned that hockey not being at the same level of popularity as football has made the players more humble and dedicated. He said:

"[Hockey] has never been as popular as football... You have a few [Wayne] Gretzky, Bobby Orr, you have a few guys that become national celebrities but for the most part, there's not a whole ton of them that everybody in the general public knows about. So because of that, they're probably a little more dedicated, a little more humble, a little more on the grind." [1:39:30]

Check out Cory Sandhagen's post following his appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast below:

About the author

Giancarlo Aulino is an MMA news writer and interviewer at Sportskeeda. Having been onboard since 2021, Aulino has written list articles, before transitioning to MMA news writing.

In addition to writing at Sportskeeda, Aulino can be heard on VIBE 105.5FM in Toronto, Canada, where he conducts interviews called 'VIBEtalks.' Aulino's segments have featured many respected athletes, broadcasters, and celebrities. In 2024, Aulino, along with his VIBE 105 Sports team members, rebranded their content to The Game Plan 'TGP'.

In addition to MMA, Aulino was previously a pro wrestling writer and soccer (Football) reporter and covered Toronto FC (Major League Soccer) and York United FC (Canadian Premier League).

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Edited by Subham