Sabres star Jack Eichel on his new coach, working out with Brad Marchand and when he last cried
Emily Kaplan
ESPN
He's in the best shape of his life. His goal is to win the Stanley Cup. He has a sour taste in his mouth about how last season ended.
It's easy to find hockey players spitting these cliches on the brink of a new season. Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel was a bit more candid and descriptive about both his summer and his path to the NHL in an interview with ESPN.com during the league's media tour in New York last week. Eichel, who is entering the final season of his three-year rookie contract, missed the first 21 games of the 2016-17 season with a sprained ankle but still led the Sabres with 57 points.
Behind the scenes, Eichel's reps and Sabres management are negotiating a long-term deal to keep the 20-year-old Boston University product in Buffalo. During his conversation with ESPN.com, Eichel discussed how he likes to be coached, how he hopes offseason workouts with Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand will help him in the defensive zone and the school pride he feels for his two "alma maters" -- Boston University and the Online School of Missouri.
ESPN.com: Your nonhockey buddies must always ask what it's like to play in the NHL. What do you tell them that might surprise them?
Eichel: Guys always want to know about your lifestyle, what your day-to-day [schedule] is. I don't know if they're surprised or not, but if you wake up at 8:30, go to the rink, practice at 11, maybe work out, maybe you don't, more times than not you're back on your couch watching TV at 1:30 or 2 o'clock.
ESPN.com: Do you train in Boston in the offseason?
Eichel: Yeah. A lot of guys will go back and train, even if they're not from Boston, because there are a lot of workout guys or skill guys or skating coaches. This summer I switched it up a little bit. I got a new, one-on-one trainer. In the past years, I trained with a lot of NHL guys: the Hayes brothers, Keith Yandle, [Noah] Hanifin. There's a big group of guys who work out in Foxborough [Massachusetts]. I worked out with them and skated with them. But I switched up my routine a little bit this summer, went with something new and worked out with a new trainer. I got to skate with [Brad] Marchand and [Patrice] Bergeron at the Warrior practice facility, where the Bruins practice. [After] having to chase Marchand every day, hopefully I'll do better in the D-zone and do better on that plus/minus.