One Giant Step For Man, One Small Leap For Jack Eichel

By: Dan Shulman

At four-years old, a young Jack Eichel sat at TD Garden as his Boston Bruins fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs via a Mats Sundin overtime winner.

A little over 15 years later, Eichel returned to the familiar setting of TD Garden, a place where he saw many classic games and played as a member of the Boston University Terriers hockey team. But this time, Eichel wouldn’t be wearing a hometown jersey.

For the first time in his young NHL career, Jack Eichel returned to Boston to play against his hometown team with Atlantic Division rival, the Buffalo Sabres.

“This is exciting for me,” said Eichel. “You always dream playing in the garden and now I’m going to get to do it for the first time against the Bruins and I’m just really excited about it.”

Jack Eichel hails from North Chelmsford, Massachusetts and grew up watching the Boston Bruins. His hockey roots are engrained in New England, and when it came time for college, Eichel remained close to home at Boston University.

In his lone season as a Terrier, Eichel racked up 71 points (26G, 45A) in just 40 games. He became the second freshman ever to win the Hobey Baker in April. In addition, he was named Hockey East Player of the Year, Hockey East Rookie of the Year, won the Tim Taylor Award for the nation’s most outstanding freshman, and was the only unanimous first-team Hockey East All-Star selection.

Eichel played at TD Garden six times last season with BU, including a 4-3 loss in the National Championship Game against Providence, the last time he set foot in TD Garden.

“I have a lot of good memories here,” said Eichel. “Last year I had some good ones, winning the Beanpot and the Hockey East Championship, so this building’s been pretty good to me.”

However, making the transition from college to professional hockey has definitely been difficult for Eichel.

“You’re playing a lot more every week,” said Eichel. “It’s a grind. There’s a lot more games. Back-to-backs, traveling. Mentally and physically, that’s the biggest difference between a college schedule and a pro schedule. I’m really enjoying playing in the NHL.”

Jack Eichel wasn’t the only young star in Hockey East who chose to make the early exit to the NHL. On the opposite side of the ice, as he was for Eichel’s first college shift, will be former UMass-Amherst and current Bruins player, Frank Vatrano.

“College really helped me transition into the NHL,” said Vatrano. “It’s scheduled a little bit differently though.”

Vatrano and UMass-Amherst had a tough time containing Jack Eichel in two commanding losses to BU last season, as Eichel led the way for the Terriers.

“Obviously, he’s a really good player,” said Vatrano. “He makes things happen when he’s on the ice; makes plays, scores goals. Definitely someone you got to notice.”

In his rookie campaign, Eichel has scored nine times through 34 games.

“You want to produce points,” said Eichel. “A lot of times there’s things you can build off in the game that don’t show up on the scoresheet. If you feel good about your game then you’re probably playing pretty well.

“I’m getting back to where I want to be. I think this year I haven’t really produced the points that I wanted to. There’s been a lot of good things I’ve done, and I kind of just want to build off the positive things. I’m starting to get to where I want to be.”

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Bruins, Boston Coach Claude Julien addressed the situation of facing Eichel for the first time.

“I’ve seen how good he was watching the World Juniors last year,” said Julien. “He’s a gifted player. He sees the ice well. He’s one of those guys that’s strong on the puck. For his age, I see his maturity level not just intellectually but physically.”

Helping him make the adjustment to the NHL is teammate Matt Moulson. The 32-year-old forward has taken Eichel under his wing, and invited the rookie to live in his house with his family.

“He’s a good kid,” said Moulson. “He’s fun to have around, good with the kids, my family loves him. It’s been a lot of fun to have him in the house.”

As for the time the two spend together on the ice, Moulson believes Eichel is really something special.

“He has phenomenal talent, skillset that only a few have,” said Moulson. “He’s a tremendous player. He can create stuff by himself because of his speed and the skills he has. He can turn a nothing opportunity into a grade-A scoring chance.”

Coming off a Christmas break, Eichel returned to his own home for the holidays for the first time in a few years to spend time with his family.

“It was great getting to go home, seeing a lot of family and friends. It was my first Christmas in Chelmsford in a few years so it’s nice to wake up in your own house on Christmas. I didn’t even have to fly in this morning, I just drove a half hour. It was nice.”

At the game on Saturday, many of Jack Eichel’s family and friends are expected to come out and support him as the Sabres take on the Bruins. Despite the special occasion, Eichel is approaching this game like usual.

“I imagine there will be some nerves but I usually get nerves before every game,” said Eichel. “There’s nothing different with what’s happening on the ice, just a lot of people supporting me in the stands.”