Eichel Hammy Interview 8/22

[pi2000]

* duration: 6:21

* Published: 8/22/18 9:15:00 AM

* Episode Download Link (3 MB): https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/wgr550.hosted.cx/hosting/media/wgr550/1642018/123470681.mp3

* Show Notes: https://wgr550.radio.com/media/podcast/sabres-hockey

* Episode feed: Sabres Hockey - https://wgr550.radio.com/podcast/906/rss.xml

[sabills]

I heard a bit of Hammer on with Schopp and the Bulldog later in the day, most interesting thing he said was that he never got a feeling that Eichel had a problem with ROR, but that ROR did NOT like Jack and it was causing issues. If that's the case it makes more sense why the felt the need to ship him out. Sorry Ryan, Jack's the face of the franchise.

That said, my biggest complaint about P-Ham is that he always likes to be "in the know" with this stuff, so I take it all with a grain of salt.

[woods-racer]

One things for sure from that audio interview, Jack wasn't heartbroken over ROR getting traded.

There was no  *he was a great leader, it will be a hard time filling his role, where going to really miss him....*

We sucked, he's gone, time to move on and there is a new positive attitude in the locker room ... that's what i got out of it.

[WildCard]

Where are they doing this? I keep hearing kids in the background

[woods-racer]

3 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Where are they doing this? I keep hearing kids in the background

An ice cream truck outside UB?

[jsb]

26 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

An ice cream truck outside UB?

Mr. Softee?? Are they still around, I used to love that truck with the jingle?

[sabills]

15 minutes ago, jsb said:

Mr. Softee?? Are they still around, I used to love that truck with the jingle?

No I'm pretty sure he plays for the Ducks now

[nfreeman]

3 hours ago, woods-racer said:

One things for sure from that audio interview, Jack wasn't heartbroken over ROR getting traded.

There was no  *he was a great leader, it will be a hard time filling his role, where going to really miss him....*

We sucked, he's gone, time to move on and there is a new positive attitude in the locker room ... that's what i got out of it.

Well, I thought Jackie boy spoke pretty positively about ROR.  He said a couple of times that they were good friends.  There was no throwing ROR under the bus.

[erickompositör72]

15 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Well, I thought Jackie boy spoke pretty positively about ROR.  He said a couple of times that they were good friends.  There was no throwing ROR under the bus.

I hope he's lying, because

a) that's our narrative

and

b) it shows Jacks' become a true professional

[North Buffalo]

4 hours ago, jsb said:

Mr. Softee?? Are they still around, I used to love that truck with the jingle?

Yeh they are at least in Westchester they are.

[woods-racer]

19 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Well, I thought Jackie boy spoke pretty positively about ROR.  He said a couple of times that they were good friends.  There was no throwing ROR under the bus.

I don't know about that. The comment about a positive attitude in the locker room I thought was a good barb to ROR.

 

[dudacek]

Some good stuff where Jack and Kyle talk to Wawrow about Jack’s maturity.

https://apnews.com/e9db90e04dc0444ca5e29e40709f66ad/Sabres'-Eichel-focuses-on-keeping-fiery-emotions-in-check

Edited August 24, 2018 by dudacek

[Randall Flagg]

I know it's fun to move onto Dahlin, but on an individual player level I don't think I could enjoy anything more than I've enjoyed watching Jack mature as a person and get better as a player over the last year. I think he's always going to be my favorite. 

I don't think we're going to get 177 points from an ELC again for a long time. (It would have been ~210 without the injuries)

[pi2000]

5 hours ago, dudacek said:

Some good stuff where Jack and Kyle talk to Wawrow about Jack’s maturity.

https://apnews.com/e9db90e04dc0444ca5e29e40709f66ad/Sabres'-Eichel-focuses-on-keeping-fiery-emotions-in-check

It sounds Okposo feels he still has some growing up to do.

“He’s a very special talent. I’d just like to see him put his head down and work,” Okposo said. “You’ve got to let those emotions out sometimes, but I think his work ethic comes first.”

[That Aud Smell]

On 8/23/2018 at 10:14 AM, WildCard said:

Where are they doing this? I keep hearing kids in the background

When I heard Hamilton interviewed by WGR hosts after he spoke with Eichel, Hamilton said there were a bunch of kids at HarborCenter looking for Eichel and that, after the interview, Eichel obliged and was visiting, talking with them.

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, pi2000 said:

It sounds Okposo feels he still has some growing up to do.

“He’s a very special talent. I’d just like to see him put his head down and work,” Okposo said. “You’ve got to let those emotions out sometimes, but I think his work ethic comes first.”

I don't disagree. Btw, this sort of response is consistent with what had elsewhere been reported (forget by whom (it was a national reporter and in connection with the ROR trade)) that the veterans on the Sabres had a bit of an eye-rolling-heavy-sigh-get-a-load-of-this-effing-kid reaction to Eichel when he first came into the league.

 

By way of context, the full passage re Okposo:

 

Veteran forward Kyle Okposo paused when asked by The AP what he would like to see out of Eichel this year. Okposo then proceeded to discuss how Eichel can be better by keeping his emotions in check.

“He’s an extremely, extremely passionate guy. I just want to see him maybe not internalize his emotions, because I think that does help him in his play, but ...” Okposo said, pausing once again in search for the right words to say.

He agreed when asked if he wanted Eichel to harness his emotions.

“Yeah, that’s a good word, harness, maybe harness it a little bit and just try and not have them be so prevalent,” Okposo said.

“He takes this franchise on his back, and he puts a lot of pressure on himself,” he added, hoping the new additions will relieve some of that pressure.

“He’s a very special talent. I’d just like to see him put his head down and work,” Okposo said. “You’ve got to let those emotions out sometimes, but I think his work ethic comes first.”

[darksabre]

13 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I don't disagree. Btw, this sort of response is consistent with what had elsewhere been reported (forget by whom (it was a national reporter and in connection with the ROR trade)) that the veterans on the Sabres had a bit of an eye-rolling-heavy-sigh-get-a-load-of-this-effing-kid reaction to Eichel when he first came into the league.

 

By way of context, the full passage re Okposo:

 

Veteran forward Kyle Okposo paused when asked by The AP what he would like to see out of Eichel this year. Okposo then proceeded to discuss how Eichel can be better by keeping his emotions in check.

“He’s an extremely, extremely passionate guy. I just want to see him maybe not internalize his emotions, because I think that does help him in his play, but ...” Okposo said, pausing once again in search for the right words to say.

He agreed when asked if he wanted Eichel to harness his emotions.

“Yeah, that’s a good word, harness, maybe harness it a little bit and just try and not have them be so prevalent,” Okposo said.

“He takes this franchise on his back, and he puts a lot of pressure on himself,” he added, hoping the new additions will relieve some of that pressure.

“He’s a very special talent. I’d just like to see him put his head down and work,” Okposo said. “You’ve got to let those emotions out sometimes, but I think his work ethic comes first.”

All I'm picturing is those plays where Jack misses on an opportunity and is skating back to the bench staring up at the rafters in disbelief. That kind of display has to stop because other players see it. No one wants to see their captain looking to the hockey gods for answers. 

[dudacek]

31 minutes ago, darksabre said:

All I'm picturing is those plays where Jack misses on an opportunity and is skating back to the bench staring up at the rafters in disbelief. That kind of display has to stop because other players see it. No one wants to see their captain looking to the hockey gods for answers. 

Everybody sees it. Fortunately, I think “everybody” now includes Jack.

Edited August 24, 2018 by dudacek

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, darksabre said:

All I'm picturing is those plays where Jack misses on an opportunity and is skating back to the bench staring up at the rafters in disbelief. That kind of display has to stop because other players see it. No one wants to see their captain looking to the hockey gods for answers. 

It's not even skating to the bench. It's beside the net with his missed shot in the corner. Eichel has always come off to me as someone who is in disbelief that NHL goalies can stop his shot. I mean, it worked everywhere else. Year 4 is critical now. #39 in scoring again (ppg) and we're getting into disappointment territory.

[Thorner]

44 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

It's not even skating to the bench. It's beside the net with his missed shot in the corner. Eichel has always come off to me as someone who is in disbelief that NHL goalies can stop his shot. I mean, it worked everywhere else. Year 4 is critical now. #39 in scoring again (ppg) and we're getting into disappointment territory.

Most of those times, they aren't. He's shooting it wide. 

[Doohicksie]

6 hours ago, darksabre said:

All I'm picturing is those plays where Jack misses on an opportunity and is skating back to the bench staring up at the rafters in disbelief. That kind of display has to stop because other players see it. No one wants to see their captain looking to the hockey gods for answers. 

So which is worse?  Eichel Face or Vanek Face?

[7+6=13]

On 8/24/2018 at 6:20 PM, PASabreFan said:

It's not even skating to the bench. It's beside the net with his missed shot in the corner. Eichel has always come off to me as someone who is in disbelief that NHL goalies can stop his shot. I mean, it worked everywhere else. Year 4 is critical now. #39 in scoring again (ppg) and we're getting into disappointment territory.

This is a pretty crazy post.  It's amazing how some fans don't appreciate the talent, work ethic and production of Eichel.  Yes, he needs to work on understanding what effect his expression has on his teammates.  He's one of the premier players in the NHL and he needs to  give them the feeling they can get on his back and he'll carry them.  Especially when things aren't going perfect in a given period, game or stretch of games.  Well that's not all his fault either - he's had laughable line mates.  Seems to me it's critical fans appreciate the difficulty a 19, 20 and 21 year old great player would have with an organization that screwed up his first 3 years.    It's as much or more the organizations fault. 

He just needs to have a healthy season and he'll get the recognition of being the super star he is.  Couple that with some maturity and look out.  

Edited August 26, 2018 by 7+6=13

[Weave]

9 hours ago, 7+6=13 said:

This is a pretty crazy post.  It's amazing how some fans don't appreciate the talent, work ethic and production of Eichel.  Yes, he needs to work on understanding what effect his expression has on his teammates.  He's one of the premier players in the NHL and he needs to  give them the feeling they can get on his back and he'll carry them.  Especially when things aren't going perfect in a given period, game or stretch of games.  Well that's not all his fault either - he's had laughable line mates.  Seems to me it's critical fans appreciate the difficulty a 19, 20 and 21 year old great player would have with an organization that screwed up his first 3 years.    It's as much or more the organizations fault. 

He just needs to have a healthy season and he'll get the recognition of being the super star he is.  Couple that with some maturity and look out.  

It's not a crazy post.  You can appreciate the talent and lament the woe is me attitude that is on display.  It is valid criticism. Vanek was saddled with it after Drury and Briere left, and deservedly so.  In some part it speaks to the lack of maturity that you mention in your last sentence.  But it is also a function of personality.  Vanek was plenty mature and continued to have that reaction.  I'm hoping that is a part of Jack's personality that changes.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Weave

[Stoner]

9 hours ago, 7+6=13 said:

This is a pretty crazy post.  It's amazing how some fans don't appreciate the talent, work ethic and production of Eichel.  Yes, he needs to work on understanding what effect his expression has on his teammates.  He's one of the premier players in the NHL and he needs to  give them the feeling they can get on his back and he'll carry them.  Especially when things aren't going perfect in a given period, game or stretch of games.  Well that's not all his fault either - he's had laughable line mates.  Seems to me it's critical fans appreciate the difficulty a 19, 20 and 21 year old great player would have with an organization that screwed up his first 3 years.    It's as much or more the organizations fault. 

He just needs to have a healthy season and he'll get the recognition of being the super star he is.  Couple that with some maturity and look out.  

He's not premier or great. But... semantics. At least you didn't claim "elite."

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

He's not premier or great. But... semantics. At least you didn't claim "elite."

As a talent, he may be top 10 in the league. As a player, he’s not even a shoo-in for top 50.

Performance needs to match ability and it has to happen now.