It was the summer of 2015, and all the hockey world was talking about the two players who could headline any draft class. Connor McDavid went No. 1 and Jack Eichel was selected right after him. Two franchise centers that would eventually change the fortunes of the Edmonton Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights.
McDavid has become the best offensive player in the world and has made the Oilers a perennial contender. Still no Stanley Cup for McDavid but he’s been to the final the last two seasons in a row.
Eichel was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres but it is in Vegas where he has made his mark indelible. Eichel led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup in 2022-23 and has his name inscribed on hockey’s most coveted trophy.
The 28-year-old is considered one of the most complete players in the world. He can score, create and defend. He’s a first-over-the-boards player in all situations. And most important to Eichel, he’s a champion with a thirst for more championships whether in the NHL or on the world stage for Team USA.
Eichel was critical for Team USA at the 4Nations Face-Off has already been named to his country’s squad for next winter’s Olympics in Italy.
It hasn’t been all easy for Eichel. He suffered a neck injury with the Sabres and when he differed with the team’s treatment plan the two sides decided it was best he move on.
Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon worked on the Sabres for months and eventually landed the franchise center the Golden Knights were missing.
It’s been 10 years since the Sabres called his name with the second overall pick. Eichel has amassed 608 points in 616 games and become one of the most dominant players in the NHL.
Here’s Jack looking back at his draft:
Gary Lawless: Let's take you back 10 years. You’re a young guy going to Boston University and you eventually were drafted second overall which is pretty amazing. Do you have any recollection of that time of your life?
Jack Eichel: Yeah. Actually, quite a bit. It was funny. I remember the season ending at BU, and it's springtime in Boston, and I'm contemplating whether or not I want to go over to the World Championships and I end up going. Then I come back, and it's the end of May, beginning of June. I have a couple of weeks until the Combine and a few weeks until the Draft. I remember living at BU, just trying to train for the Combine and do what I can to get back in shape. I just remember it being so, I don't want to say chaotic, but just busy. There were a lot of things going on, whether it was traveling to the Stanley Cup Final and having the opportunity to watch Tampa play Chicago. You’re in the locker room after the morning skate. You're meeting players that you've looked up to your whole life and you're trying to imagine yourself playing against these guys next season. So, everything just happened kind of quickly, and then all of a sudden, you're at the Combine, and then you're down at the Draft. I feel like as a player, it's a process that you always followed. As I got older and started to realize that it was something I was going to go through personally, I feel like I started to pay closer attention to it. The Combine results and that sort of process, and then the Draft itself and picture yourself being in that position. It was just a great experience. I mean, it's a dream come true to be able to go down to the Draft with your family and experience something you've dreamed of your whole life, which is an NHL team calling your name on Draft night. It was great. We were in Florida, which was beautiful. I remember, I think it was Draft night, I was riding around on a jet ski during the afternoon, and my dad came out to the beach. He said, “Hey, let’s go you gotta get dressed. We gotta get ready to go to the Draft.” I had buddies down there and a lot of family, a lot of friends, and Erin was down there. I remember it being such an exciting time. But you’re also a bit naive to the whole situation because you're young, and it's something you've dreamed of your whole life, but you really aren't processing it while it's going on because everything's going so fast. So, you hear your name called, and it's a dream come true and a whirlwind. Then all of a sudden, you're at Development Camp. I remember going to Development Camp in Buffalo two weeks after the Draft. I felt like I had a really poor showing, and when I went home after Development Camp, my dad, let's just say he was pretty critical of my Development Camp performance. He told me, “You're not going to make the NHL this year. You're not going to make the team.” Basically, saying you have to earn it. You’re not just going to make the team because you're drafted second overall. You have to work so hard this summer even to have a chance at making it. That was his way of pushing me and making sure I earned it. So, when I went back to Rookie Camp before the season, I was ready to go, and I think that just kind of carried over into Training Camp. I just remember it all happening so fast from May until the Draft itself, and then until the beginning of Rookie Camp at the beginning of September.
Gary Lawless: You are the hardest-working member of the Golden Knights when it comes to practice. You practice longer than everybody else day in and day out. Some days I think, “he should be off the ice. He needs to rest a bit.” But you really work hard at your craft. When did that start?
Jack Eichel: I feel like I always had a great work ethic, and I think I have my parents to credit for that. I feel like I've always carried the mindset that if you want to have success at something or if something's not going well, whatever it might be, then it's within your control. I've taken that mindset into my career as a pro of “okay, what are the things that I can control in my life?” And one of those is how hard I work and what my attitude's like every day. I mean I have the opportunity to work and get better every single day. I find a lot of joy and fun in that. At the same time, I think it allows me to develop and continue to get better and help my performance during games. So, there's always something that I'm thinking of that I want to work on or get better at. There are always ways that I'm trying to get an edge. If you want to have success at this level and in the NHL, where everyone's an exceptional hockey player, you have to be willing to work and do things that other guys aren't. For me, that's routines and habits, and being on the ice longer and putting work in. I think early in my career, I thought I was a hard worker. I always thought I was a hard worker, but everyone works hard in the NHL. People don't get here for no reason. What's the next level that I can take this to in terms of dedication and work? I feel like I really started understanding it after my first few years in Buffalo. “Okay, well, what's the next level look like?” and then even coming here [to Vegas], “What else can I do to try and make myself better?” and “Is there another level that I can get to in terms of my work and commitment?” I feel like you're always evolving as a person and a player, and I think I've continued to do that as well. If you want to succeed at this level, I think that's the way you have to do it.
Gary Lawless: I think it’s one of the special moments when a hockey player gets to hear his name at the NHL Draft, and if you’re lucky enough to go high and be able to get up on the stage and put on the jersey. What was it like when you heard your name called at the NHL draft?
Jack Eichel: It was incredible. My whole life, I never really thought about doing anything else. There was nothing else in my mind that I ever wanted to do. It was, “I'm going to make the NHL. I'm going to be a professional hockey player.” I think as you get older and it starts to become more of a reality, it then becomes, “Okay, I think I want to go in the first round and have an opportunity to go up on stage and take a photo with a jersey.” I think it's just such a special moment and something that I dreamed of my whole life. I think going into the Draft, I had a pretty good idea of where I was going to get selected, the team, and whatnot. But at the same time, when you go to the draft and you sit in your seat and you're sitting next to your parents and your sister, and you're waiting for that moment, there's still a lot of anxiety and nervous energy to it. And I felt that sitting down and you’re just waiting. When it actually happens, it's a culmination of so many things that you've been through in your life that have gotten you to that point, so many different people, and the sacrifices that they made for you. Obviously first thing I think of is my family and everything that they've done to get me to that point, and the sacrifices my mom and dad, and my sister made; the support they had for me because you can't do it by yourself. I feel so fortunate that I have them in my life, that they pushed me and supported me, and allowed me to pursue the dream that I wanted to do. I think sharing that moment with them and then having extended family and a lot of friends and other people who came down there to support me, I think it just made it that much more special. Some of my extended family members have been to games for me, and they’ve been to different events that I’ve played in. It’s something that they still talk about, being down at the Draft in Florida and how cool it was for them to experience that as well. It was a great moment and definitely one I’ll never forget.
Gary Lawless: Do you have a little bit of a bond with Connor McDavid because of that one and two situation from the NHL Draft?
Jack Eichel: I'm not sure. I don't know how to really describe the relationship. I feel like we've been connected because of the Draft, and it was a long process leading up to the draft. I think that there's always a lot of media hype between top prospects and where guys are going, and this and that. I think that American, Canadian, Junior, U.S., whatever, play against each other in the World Juniors. I think that there were a lot of ways that we were tied together, and now playing in the same division. I think we've always been kind of connected from the Draft. I think everyone's in their own situation and is their own player. That's kind of the way I view it. Connor is a special player in every sense of the word, and it's really hard to compare him to anyone from what he does on the ice and his ability and everything like that. I really never try and compare myself to him and his career and what he's accomplished because I think what he's done is really remarkable. I try and just focus on being the best Jack Eichel. With that being said, people are always going to tie us together because we got drafted in the same draft class. But I think after the Draft, you have your own path and you carve out your own career.
Gary Lawless: Will you guys be friends later on? Is it something that someday you guys will look back on all this, or do you not have that kind of relationship?
Jack Eichel: I don't know if you want to call it good, but we've spent enough time together and whatnot. We obviously played together at the World Cup in 2016. He’s a good guy and he's a great guy to be around. I have a ton of respect for him, not only as a hockey player, but as a person. I don't know if we'll be sitting around looking back on it, years and years down the line, obviously could definitely happen. Yeah, it's a cordial relationship. When we're around each other, the conversation is easy. I have nothing but great things to say about him.
Gary Lawless: When you realized that you were going to get drafted, did it sort of accelerate your desire to be the best?
Jack Eichel: Yeah, I think whenever you take a stride in your life, and I'm talking about going from playing Junior in Boston to the national program [USNTDP], then the national program to BU, and then college to professional. I think there's always some sort of extra motivation there to succeed at the next level. And with that, I think it just forces you to become even more dedicated to what you're doing, because as you climb the ladder, obviously, it gets more and more competitive. For me, when I started to realize I was going to have the opportunity to get drafted, and you really never know, but you start to get the feeling, whatever it is, you're 15 or 16 years old. You're looking around, and they start coming out with some of these rankings for the year that you might be going. And you're saying to yourself, “Okay. I'm going to have a chance to be drafted. Well, then, how high can I get drafted?” Because we're all competitors. I think that's just the natural instinct of who we are. I think when I realized that, I was like, “Okay. Well, now I'm really going to start to dedicate myself.” And then you get drafted. Now I want to succeed in the NHL. Well, now I'm going to add even more dedication to what I'm doing, and so on and so forth. It just continues to motivate you more and more to continue to have success. And, for me, I think that it was when you're in high school and you're at the national program and you're in a competitive environment and you're playing international tournaments, and you see the NTDP guys getting selected year after year in the first round and whatnot. I was like, “I want to try and be the best player on this team because I think that'll give me a great chance to get drafted.” Then, going to BU, I was like, “I want to best player on this team because it's my draft year.” That's just the competitiveness in me. When I was at BU, my focus was hockey. Unfortunately, I didn't put nearly as much time and effort into the academic world as I did into what I was trying to accomplish as a hockey player. That was just the situation I was in. I think if things were different and I didn't know how my next few years were going to look, I probably would have focused more on my degree and being a great student. I had feelings that I was going to be a professional hockey player, and with that, I said to myself, “I am going to do everything I can to be as good a hockey player as I can.
Gary Lawless: You can always go back to BU when you retire from hockey, Jack. It worked out.
Jack Eichel: Yeah, I know exactly. And I always said I’d love to go back and get my degree. I think it would be an awesome thing. It’s tough, obviously, when you’re playing. You hear about some of the guys who have done it, I give them so much credit because of the workload and what it takes to do that and at the same time my sole focus right now is being a hockey player and when I’m done doing this maybe at some point I’ll go back and study again.
