Buffalo Sabres Musings: Will The World Cup Of Hockey Help, or Hurt, Jack Eichel?
The Buffalo Sabres star-on-the-rise has a fantastic chance to use the tourney as a springboard for his sophomore season . . . or he could crash and burn. Hmmm.
If the Buffalo Sabres are going to establish themselves as a legitimate playoff-caliber team in 2016-17, they are going to need second-year center Jack Eichel to avoid the sophomore slump.
(Obviously, they need a lot of other players to avoid slumps, as well, but we’ll save those conversations for another day!)
Eichel is going to be the player who makes the Sabres’ second line go, and the fates of both Tyler Ennis (returning after missing 59 games in 2015-16) and Sam Reinhart (also trying to avoid the sophomore slump) rest in Eichel’s capable hands. An effort that produces 70+ points is entirely within Eichel’s grasp, and should he exceed 70 Ennis and Reinhart could be in in for career seasons, as well.
All of which is why the 2016 World Cup of Hockey should be on the radar of every Buffalo Sabres fan, even if y’all don’t end up watching one stinking minute of the tournament. (I can’t think of a good reason why you would want to miss every single game, but hey – your loss if you do!)
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It comes as no surprise that Team North America coach Todd McClellan thinks highly enough of Eichel that he paired him alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Connor McDavid for Sunday’s 7-4 win over Team Europe. After all, Eichel did finish the 2015-16 season second among all rookies in scoring, so the fact that Eichel is currently getting top 6 minutes on the squad is what you would expect. As long as he continues to play like the Jack Eichel we know and love – and so far he’s doing just that, with two assists and a team-high nine shots on goal – he should be able to pile up some points, especially if he spends significant time on the ice with Johnny Hockey and McJesus.
Aside from simply being proud to watch a Buffalo Sabres player represent his team well in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, fans should hope Eichel tears it up in the tournament for the simple reason that it could propel him to a monster NHL regular season. A solid World Cup of Hockey might springboard Eichel into the regular season, and Lord knows the Sabres could use a hot start from a player like Eichel, since the first month presents a challenge right out of the gate.
Of course, the complete opposite could happen: the World Cup could wind up being the reason Eichel actually falls into the sophomore slump. Eichel played in all but one of the Sabres’ 82 games in 2015-16, and as with any player transitioning from the NCAA to the pros, fatigue limited Eichel’s performance at times. With all of the practices and games that go into the WCH, Eichel does not get to enjoy a full offseason of rest. Will he hit a wall even harder during the 2016-17 season as a result?
An even worse-scenario involves the dread “I”-word, and since I don’t want to jinx Mr. Eichel, I won’t even dare type the word. I know a few of our readers are not fans of these tournaments for exactly this reason – you would hate to see a player miss games because of something that happens in a fairly meaningless international tournament.
Eichel looks like a tough, durable kid so let’s move on from this topic quickly – now, move it!
Negative consequences of the World Cup of Hockey be damned: here’s to hoping that the Buffalo Sabres get a season-for-the-ages out of Jack Eichel thanks to the WCH. The Sabres are still not built for postseason success, but a transcendent by the Eichel Tower could bring the playoffs back to the 716 earlier than expected.