Another run for Nieto with Avalanche
Mackinnon gets favorite Fortnite partner back after trade with Sharks
One of the top priorities when Matt Nieto returned to Denver was returning to the simulation.
At least one of his former Fortnite companions on the Avalanche roster had hung up the cleats, but Nieto never stopped playing. He and Nathan Mackinnon were especially dynamic at the popular online video game.
“I was really tight with him,” Mackinnon said. “We’re good buddies.”
“Me and Nate are going to get it dialed in,” Nieto said. “Become the best duo we can again.”
Just like old times.
That’s the feeling around the Avalanche locker room with an old pal back like he never left. Colorado general manager Chris Macfarland traded for Nieto the week before the NHL All-star break, bringing back the 31-yearold winger after 2 1/2 seasons apart. His 10-year career now consists of two stints with the San Jose Sharks and two stints with the Avalanche.
After his first practice at Colorado’s rink in Centennial, he sat in the dressing room and reflected on the last time he was there: “I was all the way in that back corner,” he said, pointing diagonally across the square space. “Locker room’s completely different over (at Ball Arena). … Walked in there and was completely lost. But got a tour right when I got in there.”
The Avalanche’s new digs at the arena might feel foreign to Nieto, but that’s about all that’s changed. After receiving the call that he had been traded while eating dinner in Raleigh, N.C., he packed a bag and was meeting with Avalanche coach Jared Bednar by the next morning. Same bench general, same systems, many of the same teammates.
“It’s a fun system to play,” said Nieto, who knew a trade was possible but didn’t think it would happen so soon with more than a month until the deadline. “When we’re playing well here, it’s an aggressive team, and usually when we’re playing good, it’s dictating the pace.”
The familiar faces start with 10 former Avalanche teammates from the 2019-20 season. Nieto was thrown on a line that first night back with Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Compher. He was always close with those two and Mackinnon, all of whom played Fortnite together. The online survival game pits 99 players against each other in a simulated space, competing to be the last person or team standing.
“He and Nate used to play
a lot, and they were really good together,” Rantanen remembers. “Me and Compher were like the East Coast Hockey League level, and they were like the NHL.”
Nieto recalls playing in a tournament that Compher organized. The jury’s out on whether Nieto or Mackinnon is better, but they went far as a team. “I’m sure we’ll start that back up again,” Nieto said eagerly.
Compher, however, downplayed it.
“I think that I’m done,” he said. “I don’t know if he’s still playing or not, but yeah, I’ve been off that for a while now.”
Nieto was the star Fortnite player and a model hockey teammate. He was known as the latter not just in the first Colorado stage of his career, but before and after.
When news reached Evan Rodrigues about the trade, he texted to ask if he needed anything to help with the move. They were college linemates at Boston University a decade ago, and they played against Josh Manson’s Northeastern teams in the local Beanpot series. Rodrigues and Nieto lost touch over the years aside from hellos when they crossed paths, but now they’re sharing ice time again and sharing memories.
“You’re getting breakfast, lunch, dinner together, going out together,” Rodrigues said. “College lifestyle’s not the pros, where people have families and stuff. You’re pretty much together 24/7.”
Then there’s Andrew Cogliano, who was also Nieto’s linemate — as recently as one year ago when both were in San Jose.
“C-mac did a good job. It was a great trade for our team. Bring in a guy that we know what he’s going to bring every night,” Cogliano said. “Great guy to be around. Great personality. He’s from California, so he’s pretty chill.”
That’s the consensus adjective to describe Nieto: “Doesn’t talk too much, and just very chill,” as Rantanen put it.
Yet for someone so accustomed to the climate discrepancies between California and Colorado, he was ill-prepared for the chill when he hurried to his new (and old) home after the trade.
“I’m in a hotel right now. … All my winter stuff is out (in San Jose),” Nieto said, laughing. “Going to have to get that.”