C Jack Eichel - Boston University, NCAA (2015, 2nd, BUF) III

[AD1066]

Eichel on/off comparison, from @twolinepass:

Eichel scored BU's first and last goals last night in a 6-1 win to clinch the Hockey East regular-season title. First one shorthanded on an end- to-end rush; second on a power play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWBc0T7XtjM

Finishes regular season with 55 points (18Gm 37A) and +36 in 32 games, both tops in NCAA D1.

BU's Eichel for Hobey campaign begins:

Previous Thread: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1768701

Click to read more...

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

He's not bad.

 

[Muston Atthews]

Damn... Eichel looks insanely good. Wish the Leafs had a shot at him

 

[Minty Cowboy]

I'd be thrilled if we could get this kid

 

[Damisoph]

Damn... Eichel looks insanely good. Wish the Leafs had a shot at him

They don't have a shot at the #2 pick?

 

[Howe Elbows 9]

They don't have a shot at the #2 pick?

Selecting second in the 2015 draft seems unlikely for the Leafs (unless they manage to trade for the pick). Unless the Leafs win the lottery I think they'll get the fourth, fifth or sixth pick.

 

[poeman]

What sort of potential does he have? Have been out of touch with prospects...Is he on Crosby level or more like a Kopitar?

I am assuming he is not McDavid level who is supposed to be drafted as a automatic Hall of Fame player?

 

[AD1066]

What sort of potential does he have? Have been out of touch with prospects...Is he on Crosby level or more like a Kopitar?

I am assuming he is not McDavid level who is supposed to be drafted as a automatic Hall of Fame player?

Complete package in terms of skillset: skating, hands, shot, size, etc. Producing at roughly a 70% higher rate than Toews at the same age, which is encouraging.

Has the potential to be one of the greatest American players of all time.

 

[canuck2010]

Complete package in terms of skillset: skating, hands, shot, size, etc. Producing at roughly a 70% higher rate than Toews at the same age, which is encouraging.

Has the potential to be one of the greatest American players of all time.

All these meaningless stats. Just sayin'. Eichel looks to have a lot on the ball though.

 

[AD1066]

All these meaningless stats. Just sayin'. Eichel looks to have a lot on the ball though.

Yeah, in no way do I think it translates to that kind of difference at the next level, but I do think it bodes well for a player to outproduce guys like Kessel, Vanek, Toews in college.

 

[leafsfuture]

Yeah, in no way do I think it translates to that kind of difference at the next level, but I do think it bodes well for a player to outproduce guys like Kessel, Vanek, Toews in college.

It shows he is worthy of being mentioned with Connor McDavid.

As good as Doughty has become, and as good as Hedman and Duchene have been, they were never truly in the same light as Stamkos or Tavares. Like those guys, Eichel isnt going 1st overall... Connor is.

However unlike those guys, Eichel isnt being mentioned to hype a draft, but because he is actually near that level. Certainly he is closer to McDavid than Hanafin, Strome and Marner are to him

 

[covfefe]

His release mid-stride/off the rush is already significantly better than a lot of NHLers'. I almost feel he will adjust to the NHL more quickly than McDavid, though it's tough to bet against McJesus right now

 

[Muston Atthews]

They don't have a shot at the #2 pick?

A very very slim chance. Leafs would need to overtake Buffalo for first and then have another team win the lottery. No way Toronto takes Eichel over McDavid if they win the lottery.

 

[613Leafer]

A very very slim chance. Leafs would need to overtake Buffalo for first and then have another team win the lottery. No way Toronto takes Eichel over McDavid if they win the lottery.

It's kind of funny that the Leafs have a better shot at McDavid than they do at the 2nd or 3rd OA picks. Their only chance at Hanifan would be if Arizona passes on him to take Marner or Strome.

After Arizona selling off Yandle/Michalek/Vermette, theres no way they pass the Leafs. Edmonton too, theyre 9 pts back with 19 games to go. Leafs were a crappy 3-6-1 in their past 10, and the Oilers only made up 2 points on them.

 

[leafsfuture]

It's kind of funny that the Leafs have a better shot at McDavid than they do at the 2nd or 3rd OA picks. Their only chance at Hanifan would be if Arizona passes on him to take Marner or Strome.

After Arizona selling off Yandle/Michalek/Vermette, theres no way they pass the Leafs. Edmonton too, theyre 9 pts back with 19 games to go. Leafs were a crappy 3-6-1 in their past 10, and the Oilers only made up 2 points on them.

We could trade up though.

I mean if Edmonton ends up with no 2 pick, do they really need Eichel? Perhaps, but Hanafin honestly might be the better pick for them. While Hanafin would be a perfect anchor along with Rielly on our back end, Eichel could be that 1C we desperately need.

We have assets to trade up too

 

[Roof Daddy]

What sort of potential does he have? Have been out of touch with prospects...Is he on Crosby level or more like a Kopitar?

I am assuming he is not McDavid level who is supposed to be drafted as a automatic Hall of Fame player?

Prior to watching him I'd heard a lot of Getzlaf comparisons (not same level of physicality), which I was skeptical about. Once I saw him at the WJC it made perfect sense. He uses his reach quite a bit and can slow down the play, yet make incredibly agile moves despite gliding/not going full throttle. In that sense I see a lot of Getzlaf, or to go back a bit, Doug Weight. On the PP he has a cannon from the high slot/point, and is deployed similarily to Getzlaf. What he possesses that Getzlaf lacks is that next gear. He has separation speed, but he doesn't fly around all the time like some guys (Hall, MacKinnon, McDavid). I'm not saying his wheels are as good as those 3, but not as far off as some might think.

He's really not behind McDavid by much. His game may actually transition to the NHL better than McDavid. He's a bit bigger and stronger and seems to rely on cycle plays, give and go plays, creating off his puck protection. McDavid is more electrifying, but I want to see him do some of these end to end rushes against Doughty/Weber before we anoint him "the next one." Both should be perennial top 10 scorers.

 

[Roof Daddy]

We could trade up though.

I mean if Edmonton ends up with no 2 pick, do they really need Eichel? Perhaps, but Hanafin honestly might be the better pick for them. While Hanafin would be a perfect anchor along with Rielly on our back end, Eichel could be that 1C we desperately need.

We have assets to trade up too

Do we really need a guy who'd be the best player on our team within a year or two? I hope it's a pretty obvious answer.

 

[Passchendaele]

His numbers are insane. Last 18-year old NCAA phenom I can recall was Phil Kessel.. who finished the year with 18 goals and 33 assists in 39 games. Eichel has outscored him already.

 

[Paxon]

What sort of potential does he have? Have been out of touch with prospects...Is he on Crosby level or more like a Kopitar?

I am assuming he is not McDavid level who is supposed to be drafted as a automatic Hall of Fame player?

He's an above-average 1st overall caliber guy. He's not Crosby, but of all the guys since Crosby I think only Tavares and McDavid would be safe bets to have gone ahead of him. I've seen arguments about everyone else (just as I've see arguments that he'd go over Tavares), but for my money I'd definitely take McDavid and Tavares over Eichel and would probably take Eichel over everyone else. All that really matters is that he projects to be a franchise centerman.

 

[Our Lady Peace]

He's quite the consolation prize, I'd say.

 

[613Leafer]

We could trade up though.

I mean if Edmonton ends up with no 2 pick, do they really need Eichel? Perhaps, but Hanafin honestly might be the better pick for them. While Hanafin would be a perfect anchor along with Rielly on our back end, Eichel could be that 1C we desperately need.

We have assets to trade up too

That's not at all realistic. How many top 2 picks have been traded in the lockout era? The Seguin pick is the ONLY one, and the Leafs traded that a year before they knew what it was, and didn't at all expect it to be that high.

And Edmonton could ABSOLUTELY use Eichel. Eichel would be by far their best young forward, he's a franchise defining calibre guy. If I'm Edmonton and I have the 2nd OA pick, I'd draft Eichel, and then work on trading 1 of the other young players (preferably one with a big caphit) + 2016 1st rounder + ??? to legitimately beef up the blueline and add a responsible veteran two-way forward under contract.

Leafs aren't getting Eichel. We're too far out of it to "lose" our way into that pick. We have an outside shot at McDavid via the lottery, and an even weaker outside shot at Hanifan in the very unique situation that we're drafting 4th OA, and Arizona is 3rd OA and decides they REALLY want a forward and take Marner (who plays with Domi/Dvorak, both Arizona prospects).

 

[nanzenkills]

Stamkos has overachieved for sure, but Tavares is only beginning to live up to his Crosby like pre draft hype

Tavares had insane hype, I don't think he has been better than expected. Stamkos has done better than most thought for sure though.

It depends on what kind of hype you are talking about. If you are talking about hype from fans and casual media, then yes, Tavares had tons of hype, especially with his exceptional player status in the CHL, even quite a bit more than Eichel does.

However, if you are referring to what the professional scouting community was saying about him, Tavares' high levels of hype ended roughly 2 years before his draft year. At that point in time, MacKenzie's panel of scouts went on record saying that between him and Stamkos, they felt that Stamkos was the better prospect of the two. And his hype went downhill from there, largely due to the fact that he was becoming over-scrutinized by the scouting community. People started to nitpick at his slow skating (at the time) and lack of defensive commitment (at the time).

By the time his draft rolled around, he wasn't even a unanimous #1 overall in the eyes of all of the major independent scouting services. At least one of them had him as low as #3 overall in their final ranking, and the consensus among the rest of them was that he wasn't much better than an average #1 overall pick. That is the basis of hype that I am comparing Eichel to, because in both players' draft years, the consensus among the professional scouting community seems to be that Eichel is a better prospect right now than Tavares was in his draft year.

Of course, Tavares became a perennial Hart Trophy candidate and is leading the resurgence of the Islanders, I personally am not sure that Eichel will reach Tavares' current level, but I certainly think that it's possible.

 

[Lisa Needs Braces]

That's not at all realistic. How many top 2 picks have been traded in the lockout era? The Seguin pick is the ONLY one, and the Leafs traded that a year before they knew what it was, and didn't at all expect it to be that high.

And Edmonton could ABSOLUTELY use Eichel. Eichel would be by far their best young forward, he's a franchise defining calibre guy. If I'm Edmonton and I have the 2nd OA pick, I'd draft Eichel, and then work on trading 1 of the other young players (preferably one with a big caphit) + 2016 1st rounder + ??? to legitimately beef up the blueline and add a responsible veteran two-way forward under contract.

Leafs aren't getting Eichel. We're too far out of it to "lose" our way into that pick. We have an outside shot at McDavid via the lottery, and an even weaker outside shot at Hanifan in the very unique situation that we're drafting 4th OA, and Arizona is 3rd OA and decides they REALLY want a forward and take Marner (who plays with Domi/Dvorak, both Arizona prospects).

If Edmonton end up #2, any chance they pass on Eichel to take Hanifan though? Normally, I'd say that of course, they'd draft Eichel and then trade from within to get that future #1 D, but if you think about it, who is out there and available that Edmonton could trade for within the same age range as their core?

That team has Hall, Drais, RNH, and Yak at forward already and Nurse at D...Hanifan would allow them to round out their young player/prospect pool without trades. They can then
focus on getting some decent veteran presence and a goalie.

I'd say its not totally a far out idea....teams passed on Seth Jones because they wanted forwards...and it's Edmonton...maybe their guy is Hanifan.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

If Edmonton end up #2, any chance they pass on Eichel to take Hanifan though? Normally, I'd say that of course, they'd draft Eichel and then trade from within to get that future #1 D, but if you think about it, who is out there and available that Edmonton could trade for within the same age range as their core?

That team has Hall, Drais, RNH, and Yak at forward already and Nurse at D...Hanifan would allow them to round out their young player/prospect pool without trades. They can then
focus on getting some decent veteran presence and a goalie.

I'd say its not totally a far out idea....teams passed on Seth Jones because they wanted forwards...and it's Edmonton...maybe their guy is Hanifan.

So long as Eichel has a heart beat and 4 limbs, there is literally no chance of that happening.

 

[nanzenkills]

If Edmonton end up #2, any chance they pass on Eichel to take Hanifan though? Normally, I'd say that of course, they'd draft Eichel and then trade from within to get that future #1 D, but if you think about it, who is out there and available that Edmonton could trade for within the same age range as their core?

That team has Hall, Drais, RNH, and Yak at forward already and Nurse at D...Hanifan would allow them to round out their young player/prospect pool without trades. They can then
focus on getting some decent veteran presence and a goalie.

I'd say its not totally a far out idea....teams passed on Seth Jones because they wanted forwards...and it's Edmonton...maybe their guy is Hanifan.

Seth Jones wasn't the consensus #1 overall, though, by the time draft day rolled around. Plus, Colorado and arguably Tampa both had a greater need on D at the time (Colorado still does, not sure about Tampa), and they both still passed on Jones for forwards.