Player Discussion Jack Eichel Part 1

[Jim Bob]

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Samsonite23]

Good for Jack.

 

[Gabrielor]

Eichel determined to lead Sabres to playoffs, Vesey says

 

[Gabrielor]

 

[Montag DP]

With the amount natural talent and strength he has, when he eventually puts it all together, the NHL better watch out. Fingers crossed that it happens this year.

 

[OkimLom]

With the amount natural talent and strength he has, when he eventually puts it all together, the NHL better watch out. Fingers crossed that it happens this year.

He's someone that could have a career as impactful as Mario. I think if the "chip on his shoulder" grew, he would be in that territory.

 

[Aladyyn]

For Jack it's all mental at this point. His body and skill are all there, he just needs his mind to catch up.

 

[Montag DP]

For Jack it's all mental at this point. His body and skill are all there, he just needs his mind to catch up.

I don't think it's a matter of his mind catching up per se. His "hockey IQ" is already very good. Maybe not elite like his other talents, but still very good. It's more a need to develop that consistent killer instinct.

 

[Aladyyn]

I don't think it's a matter of his mind catching up per se. His "hockey IQ" is already very good. Maybe not elite like his other talents, but still very good. It's more a need to develop that consistent killer instinct.

I disagree. He's awful without the puck on his stick, never knows where to be. It will hold him back from scoring 40, he'll never score enough easy goals. I think he's more likely to get 80 assists.

 

[BowieSabresFan]

I disagree. He's awful without the puck on his stick, never knows where to be. It will hold him back from scoring 40, he'll never score enough easy goals. I think he's more likely to get 80 assists.

Yeah, I disagree to your disagreeing. He’s actually very good without the puck on his stick, and getting better. His hockey iq may not be his best attribute, but it’s still pretty good.

He just needs to focus on maintaining his intensity on both sides of the ice.

 

[jc17]

I'm tired of sports media/coaches/former players watching a couple practices and making statements like that. Happens in every sport.

Player has some nice shots: "oh look out he's going to score a lot this year"
NFL QB threads the needle on a couple passes: "this guy's accuracy has really taken off"
Goalie has a couple highlight reel save: "He's had a strong off-season and will be a force next season"

Whether its Teddy Purcell or Wayne Gretzky it's hard to put a lot of stock into comments like those. I still think Eichel will have a great year, those types of comments are just a pet peeve.

 

[Aladyyn]

Yeah, I disagree to your disagreeing. He’s actually very good without the puck on his stick, and getting better. His hockey iq may not be his best attribute, but it’s still pretty good.

He just needs to focus on maintaining his intensity on both sides of the ice.

To clarify, I'm talking about offense. I'm fine with where he's at in terms of defense.

 

[Montag DP]

Yeah, I disagree to your disagreeing. He’s actually very good without the puck on his stick, and getting better. His hockey iq may not be his best attribute, but it’s still pretty good.

He just needs to focus on maintaining his intensity on both sides of the ice.

I agree with your disagreeing to disagreeing.

 

[jc17]

I disagree. He's awful without the puck on his stick, never knows where to be. It will hold him back from scoring 40, he'll never score enough easy goals. I think he's more likely to get 80 assists.

Here's the interesting thing.

Top 15 5v5 goal scorers average 196 Scoring chances in a season, and eichel only had 157 last year. Top 15 goal scorers average 80 High danger chances and Eichel had 78.

It definitely seems like he needs to get to the net more, but I was surprised to see his "chances on the doorstep" weren't that much lower than the top scorers, at least 5v5.

 

[Moskau]

His shot has never been the issue. It's getting into open areas on the ice that holds his goal totals back.

 

[darcyRegier]

I agree that Eichel needs to get better at finding open areas when his teammates have the puck. He needs to drive to the net to score more garbage goals and backdoor tap-ins. There's no reason why he shouldn't be scoring 40 every year.

 

[jc17]

I agree that Eichel needs to get better at finding open areas when his teammates have the puck. He needs to drive to the net to score more garbage goals and backdoor tap-ins. There's no reason why he shouldn't be scoring 40 every year.

Here's the interesting thing.

Top 15 5v5 goal scorers average 196 Scoring chances in a season, and eichel only had 157 last year. Top 15 goal scorers average 80 High danger chances and Eichel had 78.

It definitely seems like he needs to get to the net more, but I was surprised to see his "chances on the doorstep" weren't that much lower than the top scorers, at least 5v5.

 

[OkimLom]

His shot has never been the issue. It's getting into open areas on the ice that holds his goal totals back.

He has a ridiculous shot, but I think he needs to work on his accuracy and be smarter with his shot selection. Too many times we see him fire high and outside (just barely) and watch it . I would like to see him work on getting shots that target the space between blocker and arm. He has a shot that is powerful enough to get shots through if they get a piece, and also fast enough to beat goalies' reactions of closing the arm. I think he's trying to be too "precise" on his shots.

 

[Moskau]

He has a ridiculous shot, but I think he needs to work on his accuracy and be smarter with his shot selection. Too many times we see him fire high and outside (just barely) and watch it . I would like to see him work on getting shots that target the space between blocker and arm. He has a shot that is powerful enough to get shots through if they get a piece, and also fast enough to beat goalies' reactions of closing the arm. I think he's trying to be too "precise" on his shots.

He needs to shoot lower more often. Especially on a line with Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart, two guys that excel at putting in rebounds/tipping pucks.

 

[Fezzy126]

He needs to shoot lower more often. Especially on a line with Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart, two guys that excel at putting in rebounds/tipping pucks.

Opposing goalies: "What if he goes stick side?"

Opposing Coaches: "He's fancy. He'll go glove."

Sabres Lose... Again...
But Gunnar Stahl approves

 

[OkimLom]

He needs to shoot lower more often. Especially on a line with Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart, two guys that excel at putting in rebounds/tipping pucks.

Agree.

 

[darcyRegier]

He needs to shoot lower more often. Especially on a line with Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart, two guys that excel at putting in rebounds/tipping pucks.

At about the quarter-ish mark through last year he started shooting more low glove/blocker and was scoring consistently with it. I want to see him do that more often. Agreed that shooting low more will create more opportunities for Skinner.

 

[Aladyyn]

Another thing that should bump up his goal totals is having Dahlin on the PP1 instead of Ristolainen, who hasn't fed him a good one-timer pass in 2 years.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

I think we'll be happy with Eichel this year. I think being essentially a one line team where that line ran through him hurt his production- cover Eichel and you win the game. Adding some offense on the back end and a guy like Johansson could help keep teams honest. I'm excited to see what he brings, I think 30 goals and 80-100 points would be a nice little optimistic target.