Jack Eichel: Eliteness

[LGR4GM]

3 hours ago, Taro T said:

(Realizing this triggers one of your hot buttons; apologies for that.) 

But looking at those names, wouldn't it have been nice to have an extra pick or 2 in that draft?  Darn shame there was no way to make that happen. ?

[Thorner]

 

[Randall Flagg]

7 minutes ago, Thorny said:

 

And he's doing it against goalies that don't look like it's the first time they've ever experienced ice before, too :) 

[Thorner]

We aren’t talking enough about how good Jack is in the defensive end. He’s also improved at face offs. 

He’s not just an elite offensive player, he’s an elite all-around player. 

Edited December 13, 2019 by Thorny

[Brawndo]

 

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

 

In case you still haven't figured it out, THIS is why we tanked.

[Doohicksie]

Nope.  Not elite.  Not at all...

 

[SDS]

37 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

In case you still haven't figured it out, THIS is why we tanked.

I think a lot of fans had a hard time being patient enough to see what Jack would develop into. He certainly didn’t have the polished talent of McDavid right out of the gate. Personally, I find it much less stressing to just watch the game and let these kids grow into whomever they’re going to be.

[bunomatic]

Jack ain’t done growing yet. He’s only going to get better.

[Eleven]

20 minutes ago, SDS said:

I think a lot of fans had a hard time being patient enough to see what Jack would develop into. He certainly didn’t have the polish talent of McDavid right out of the gate. Personally, I find it much less stressing to just watch the game and let these kids grow into whomever they’re going to be.

I don't think either of them are Polish.

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I don't think either of them are Polish.

Ha. Stupid speech to text. 

[Taro T]

3 hours ago, Thorny said:

We aren’t talking enough about how good Jack is in the defensive end. He’s also improved at face offs. 

He’s not just an elite offensive player, he’s an elite all-around player. 

No, he is only elite offensively.  But, he's very good back checking through the neutral zone and when he can figured out who his responsibility is to cover, he is good in his own end.  His only real weakness is when the other team is cycling hard and he has to try to cover space.  But, the coaches have been going with coverages that don't leave him trying to figure out who to cover as much as in past seasons.

And right now, the way he's playing in the other guy's end has him believing he'll get it right in his own end as well.  Success begets success just like failure becomes contagious.

He's fun to watch right now.  As is Olofsson.  And tonight, Reinhart seemed to have his game back too for the 1st time in a while.  (Though he had point in the past few games, they seemed to be coming despite his overall game, not because of it.)

And let's hope MacKinnon keeps excelling.  Jack continues to echo (and slightly amplify) his game. ?

[Thorner]

16 minutes ago, Taro T said:

No, he is only elite offensively.  But, he's very good back checking through the neutral zone and when he can figured out who his responsibility is to cover, he is good in his own end.  His only real weakness is when the other team is cycling hard and he has to try to cover space.  But, the coaches have been going with coverages that don't leave him trying to figure out who to cover as much as in past seasons.

And right now, the way he's playing in the other guy's end has him believing he'll get it right in his own end as well.  Success begets success just like failure becomes contagious.

He's fun to watch right now.  As is Olofsson.  And tonight, Reinhart seemed to have his game back too for the 1st time in a while.  (Though he had point in the past few games, they seemed to be coming despite his overall game, not because of it.)

And let's hope MacKinnon keeps excelling.  Jack continues to echo (and slightly amplify) his game. ?

No, I'm not saying he's elite defensively. I'm saying he's overall an elite player. His defence is certainly good enough for him to be considered an elite player overall, rather than just an elite offensive player. It's not holding him back in that sense, whereas if a player was called simply "elite offensively" the connotation there is that the player isn't simply "elite". Which Jack is. 

Edited December 13, 2019 by Thorny

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

No, I'm not saying he's elite defensively. I'm saying he's overall an elite player. His defence is certainly good enough for him to be considered an elite player overall, rather than just an elite offensive player. 

Thanks for the clarification.  My bad.

?

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Thanks for the clarification.  My bad.

?

Should have said simply "elite" or "elite overall" rather than "elite all-around", so the wording was perhaps poor on my part. 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

Should have said simply "elite" or "elite overall" rather than "elite all-around", so the wording was perhaps poor on my part. 

Nah, your wording was fine.  Just misinterpreted it.

[Thorner]

Just now, Taro T said:

Nah, your wording was fine.  Just misinterpreted it.

My wording certainly wasn't elite. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Another "respect" goal tonight.  He is playing with such confidence at both ends.  He even made the save of the night at the goal mouth.

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Another "respect" goal tonight.  He is playing with such confidence at both ends.  He even made the save of the night at the goal mouth.

Well, what’s his name certainly respected the fact Jack twisted him inside out, and the goalie respected what can only be termed a world class short-side snipe. That looked like it was shot-put electronically. 

[Huckleberry]

5 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

And he's doing it against goalies that don't look like it's the first time they've ever experienced ice before, too ?

Personally I feel like he is just getting on fire.

[Weave]

It’s good to see that he is playing to his potential through this stretch.  My main concern with Jack was, you knew this was in him, but he’d only put it on display in flashes. This team has seen that kind of player before.  They don’t lead you to the promised land.  What he’s doing now takes a real commitment to the effort, and Jack is showing that in spades.

 

Early in this thread I said he has the skill set to be elite but what was holding him back is between his ears.  I don’t know if RaKru is a Jack whisperer, or if Jack just decided he wanted to be the difference maker.  But he’s been elite since early November.

He’ll own this city if he maintains it.

[LGR4GM]

I am worried about Jack because it sounded like the news Bogo wanted out hit him hard. 

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I am worried about Jack because it sounded like the news Bogo wanted out hit him hard. 

Where did you get this?

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Where did you get this?

https://theathletic.com/1457313/2019/12/13/news-of-zach-bogosians-trade-request-shocks-a-surging-sabres-team/

Quote

Eichel, who is closer to Bogosian than anyone, had no idea until being informed of the report after his two-goal game.

“Zach’s been my best friend since I met him,” Eichel said in KeyBank Center. “You never want to imagine your best friend leaving you. It’s tough to think about.”

The captain, though, gathered his thoughts.

“It’s an important year for him, obviously, and his family. He’s in a contract year,” Eichel said.

 

[Doohicksie]

I think Jack will be okay.