Eichel. Eichel. Eichel.
He’s all you’ve hearing about, and all you will hear about through October and far beyond that. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be under the biggest spotlight in Buffalo.
It’s easy to forget that the Sabres have another player who was a 2nd overall pick just a year ago. Sam Reinhart has, and still is, somewhat slipping under the radar and is a guy who has the potential to surprise many this season.
Calling it “a surprise” may be overdoing it, but the NHL only saw him for nine games last season, and since then it’s been a lot of Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel talk, for good reason.
The thing is Reinhart may be getting just as much attention as Eichel if he can produce early on this season. He showed some strong signs during the prospect scrimmage on Friday, but do keep in mind that it was just that – a scrimmage.
However, also keep in mind what Reinhart went through over the last year, and what he has to prove this season. It’s not so much of an Eichel vs. Reinhart thing at all, but more of the motivation to avoid the same thing that happened last year.
Reinhart had nine games last season to prove that he could play at the NHL level. Well, the forward put up one assist playing for a team that would finish 30th, and was then sent down. That news hit him hard, and he showed it.
“That was probably the hardest part about going back to juniors,” Reinhart said. “When I got sent down after my nine games, Murray was aware that if I want to be in this position this year that I am in now, I would have to take some of my game away off the ice. But to be able to get in the gym and to be where I was at the end of the year, both on and off the ice, I think was essential for me.”
Sabres general manager Tim Murray knew it was the right move to send Reinhart down, although he said he was rooting for him.
“I can’t keep him here and say, ‘Hey, hey, look what we did here. Our first-round pick played 82 games in his first year eligible.’ That’s craziness to me. It’s about doing what’s right for him and what’s right for the organization.”
Reinhart went back to the Kootenay Ice of the WHL and put up 65 points (19 goals, 46 assists) in 47 games. He also helped Team Canada 11 points in seven games. He had put up 105 points in 60 games for the Kootenay Ice the season before, so the numbers weren’t an improvement, but the time he put in off the ice was the focus.
“I think that’s the biggest thing is his strength factor that kept him away,” Ted Nolan said at the time. “Is he good enough to play? He probably is, but banging off the puck, I don’t think, in the long run, it would be good for your confidence.”
Regardless, Reinhart became emotional after learning the news that he was being sent down.
“I guess when he left me he was emotional, disappointed,” Murray said. “He should be disappointed. I told him that, ‘Be disappointed. You’re allowed to be disappointed.’ I guess he was emotional walking out of the rink. He’s been here since rookie camp” in July. “He’s been coming in and out of the door every day. He’s been part of the team, and then all of a sudden I tell him he’s not part of the team.”
A year later and Reinhart has another opportunity, and a good one at that, to make the team. It won’t be long before we see him score his first NHL goal.
Fans got to seem him put in a couple during the prospect scrimmage, and that could be a sign of what to come. Those two goals, along with an assist, earned him the Craig Ramsay Trophy, an award presented to the hardest working player at Development Camp.
“I expected him to come in here and say – without saying it – to us, to [the media], to the fans, ‘Don’t forget about me. I’m a big part of this organization going forward.’ And I think that’s what he did.” – Tim Murray
As the season approaches, you can keep one eye on Eichel, but I recommend keeping the other on Reinhart.