Jack Eichel wins round one of the Jack Eichel vs. Connor McDavid rivalry. According to an article written on Yahoo.com, Eichel has signed a three-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres, making his appearance in the NHL before McDavid. The 18-year-old Center already has his spot on the Buffalo Sabres secured, but what kind of role will he have with the team?
Although he is only 18 years old, expectations will be high for Eichel. He is viewed as the future of the team and needs ice time in order to progress. The Sabres could have let him get this time at Boston College, but thought that he would be helpful enough this season to take up a roster spot.
They have good reasons for believing Eichel will be ready for the NHL. He was an important part to the 2015 US World Cup team, which won bronze. He was third on the team with seven points in ten games. He also picked up 5 assists, one behind team leader Trevor Lewis. His 16:25 in ice time was second best on the team. He proved that he was a dependable two way forward on the penalty kill and did not look out of place in any situation they put him in. He also managed to do all of this against NHL caliber players such as Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, Jaromir Jagr and Jason Spezza among other NHL stars.
He proved that he was far superior to his opponents in the NCAA. In his freshman year at Boston College, he put up 71 points in 40 games. He was the first freshman since Paul Kariya to win the Hobey Baker Award for best player in the NCAA. These were only a few reasons many predicted him to be the second pick in the draft.
One thing all of the stats cannot show you about Eichel is how tenacious of a player he is. He works at a pace that is uncommon even at the NHL level, which makes him useful even if he is not getting points right away. Normally, rookies struggle in the NHL to adjust to the speed of the NHL and do not produce as well. Eichel will not have that problem, in fact having teammates who play at his quick pace will help him because he does not have to slow down for his teammates to catch up. Also, even if he does not produce right off the bat, he will be useful on the penalty kill and fighting for pucks along the boards.
Despite all of the praise I have been giving him, don’t write him down as the Calder Memorial Trophy winner quite yet. There are still a few obstacles in his path.
Ryan O'Reilly is an established star in the NHL, and is likely the teams top line center. He has scored 50 or more points the last two seasons playing for the Colorado Avalanche before the Sabres traded for him. It is hard to imagine they would get him if they did not plan on putting him on that first line. He may not play into their future plans, however, as his contract expires next season. As far this season goes, he will likely get the top line role over Eichel.
Where Eichel could fit into the picture is as a second line center. Tyler Ennis is also a candidate for this role, but it is unclear is he is a center or a winger. He has never scored more than 50 points or logged 20 or more minutes a game. Perhaps making him Eichel’s winger will help take some pressure off of the Sabres leading point getter last year. That role could also go to All Star Zemgus Girgensons, who scored 30 points in 61 games last year.
Besides the problem of ice time, there is the fact that the move from NCAA to NHL is bigger than the jump from CHL to NHL. The last 10 Calder Trophy Memorial winners all came from the CHL except for the Russians Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. The last player to win the trophy coming out of the NCAA was German player Danny Heatley in 2001. Patrick Kane was the last American to win the award, but he played in the CHL.
To summarize, Eichel has the talent to win the Calder Trophy Memorial award. However, the transition from NCAA to NHL will be rough and we will have tough competition for ice time.