Hobey's Youngest Winner
April 10, 2015 | Men's Ice Hockey
BOSTON - Today Jack Eichel became the youngest player to ever win the Hobey Baker Award -- by all of four days.
Maine freshman and future NHL star Paul Kariya won the award back on April 2, 1993, several months after turning 18 back on October 16. Eichel's award arrived eight days later on April 10 of this year, but his 18th birthday was 12 days later than Kariya's. Eichel became eligible to vote back on October 28.
With the exception of days like today, though, it's easy to forget that Eichel is only 18 years old, but once in a great while you get a reminder.
During an interview outside the Boston University locker room after practice last Saturday, Eichel's broad ears perked up when he heard a burst of hip-hop music emanating from the locker room. He excused himself and dashed inside, and two reporters looked at each other quizzically as a loud, seemingly panicked conversation ensued.
Minutes later, the soundtrack had changed, and Eichel emerged, sheepishly explaining that there were little kids hanging around practice that day and coach David Quinn had vowed to smash anyone's phone if it was the source of profanity-laden rap music. This was clearly not an idle threat. "It was my phone, and I really didn't want it to get smashed," Eichel said.
For a moment, it seemed like one of those classic parent/teenager moments: "Would you turn down that infernal racket?!" More than anything, though, it was a reminder of how easy it is to forget that there are only a handful of college hockey players younger than Jack Eichel. Yet the ceremony at Northeastern's Matthews Arena confirmed what we already knew: He's the best player in the collegiate ranks today.
You've probably heard about a lot of the gaudy statistics. He's not only the nation's leading scorer with one game to left to play (teammate Evan Rodrigues may be second in the nation, but he would have to outscore his centerman by ten points in the championship game to claim the scoring title). He's a plus-51 this season. His competitive streak shows up in the fact that he scored three overtime game winners this year against Maine, UMass Lowell and Vermont while assisting on two other overtime game winners in high-stakes games - the Beanpot championship and the Northeast Regional semifinal.
Asked about what makes Eichel the best player in college hockey, BU associate head coach Steve Greeley just about ran out of fingers while making a list. "His compete level is through the roof," Greeley said. "His physical attributes, his skate, his speed -- I don't think they're matched in college hockey. And when you take his physical skills and pair it with his compete level, his separation from the rest of the pack is great."
If you've had a chance to watch him play this season, you've probably marveled at how easy he makes so much of it look. With a long, strong skating stride, he often appears to be coasting, only to change gears and blow by a defender. One of his trademark moves has been to burst down the right wing to go by a defender, only to veer sharply to his left to make a scoring chance materialize through the smallest of windows.
Then there's his unpredictabiity. Just when you think he's going to pass on a two-on-one, he shoots or vice-versa. On the power play, you'll often see him use his exceptional vision to forego the obvious pass and thread the puck to a teammate across the zone for an opportunity that surprises everyone, especially the goalie.
"There's a lot of good players, but if you watch Jack every single night, he's the best player out there," Greeley said. "Third period, overtime, Jack's going to try to win every single game he plays, and I that's why he led the country in scoring."
With all of that going for him, it's no wonder that he's the presumed second-overall pick in June's NHL Draft, almost sure to be picked right after Canadian star Connor McDavid. The only real question going into today's Hobey Baker ceremony was not so much whether he's the best player in college hockey, it was whether the committee would give it to a freshman, something that hasn't happened since Kariya notched an ungodly 100 points back in 1992-93.
While no player in any class year will ever hit the century mark in points in today's era of college hockey, Kariya and Eichel do have something else in common besides being the best player in their respective years: Both were presumed to be one-and-done when it comes to playing a single year before going pro.
If the Hobey race is close, it's human nature for the committee to give it to a senior over an underclassmen who is likely to get another shot the following year. But Eichel was decisively the best player this year, and at least one of the other finalists -- Harvard's Jimmy Vesey, the nation's leading goal scorer -- has announced he will be returning for his senior year.
Of course, it's hard to say whether any of that played a role in how the committee voted. Most believe that the Hobey should go to the best player in the collegiate ranks, and that was affirmed today.
Naturally, his Terrier teammates saw it as a no-brainer. As an exclusive for GoTerriers.com, we asked three teammates to offer three different perspectives on why Eichel is such a deserving honoree.
Junior winger Danny O'Regan has been Eichel's only constant linemate all season. "Just the fact that he can create offense out of nothing," O'Regan said. "He's getting the puck behind his own net and going coast to coast he can just dominate guys physically. His size and speed to go with his talent level, which is just world class. I've never seen anyone like him. He makes it easier for other guys out there on the team."
Both last year on the U.S. National Under-18 team and this year as a BU freshman, Brandon Fortunato knows all too well what it's like for a defenseman to try to contain Eichel. He has to try to do it in practice all the time.
"I think his ability to change speeds on you is the hardest thing for me at least," Fortunato said. "He can look like he's going slow, but he's really going full speed. That's where he separates himself from other guys. He's so strong on his skates, and his reach is unbelievable as well. So when you add all of those together, it's scary for any defenseman."
Likewise, junior goaltender Matt O'Connor had some astute observations about how Eichel puts pressure on the guy between the pipes.
"I think what goes unnoticed is his ability to read what he sees from the goalie and then make a very smart hockey decision," O'Connor said. "It might look like he's forcing some plays sometimes -- trying to draw players to him, trying to create opportunities, create holes, and get our offense rolling. Having him on our team is a huge offensive asset, not just for his goals, but for his `assistability' and his vision."
For all of the attributes that his players and coaches have cited, perhaps O'Connor puts his finger on the most compelling reason Eichel deserved to win today. "I think the Hobey Baker is an award for an athlete who can not only perform well throughout the season but in very high-pressure moments," O'Connor said. "Having Jack Eichel on my team, I think he's earned the right to win the Hobey because of his performance in high-pressure situations.
"I think being a freshman adds a bit more pressure to him coming into this league," O'Connor added. "With him putting up 70 points or something like that, I think it's unbelievable for a player to do that. It definitely merits an award like the Hobey Baker."
After winning the award today, Eichel used some of his time on the podium to return the compliment to his teammates. "You've made this season the most memorable of my life," Eichel said. He went on to praise BU coach David Quinn for making him a better player and person all season.
While winning the Hobey Baker is a great honor, today's ceremony proved to be a pleasant intermission in the middle of the Terriers' attempt to bring a national championship trophy back to campus.
Eichel has made clear that he would trade any and all of his individual hardware this year for the one trophy that matters most. That's to be determined soon enough tomorrow night at the TD Garden.
"I'm really excited," Eichel told today's event moderator, Bernie Corbett, who interviewed the winner after the announcement. "It's extra special that it's in Boston.... We have one game left. We didn't dream of coming to the Frozen Four; we dreamed of winning it. So we're really excited to have that opportunity tomorrow."
The last Hobey Baker winner from BU was Matt Gilroy, who pulled off the twin feat of a Hobey and a national championship in 2009.
However, there is one remarkable difference between Gilroy and Eichel. Gilroy was a late bloomer and won the award when he was a few months shy of his 25th birthday.
Given the age difference, Gilroy probably never gave legendary coach Jack Parker a reason to threaten to smash his cellphone. Ah, teenagers!
