Buffalo Sabres Prospects: Should Jack Eichel Play In The Top Six?

Jack Eichel is, without a doubt, the highest profile player that will be on the Buffalo Sabres roster come opening night in October. There are still a lot of questions that face him as a player, and there is still a lot of questions regarding where he should play on the Sabres. Should he play center? Wing? First, second, or third line?

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To determine where the best position for him would be, let’s have a look at which one he is historically better at.

During Eichel’s time in the USHL (and USDP) earlier in his life, he played primarily a center role, only having short stints on the wing when his two way game, or face-offs suffered. During the time where Eichel played a center role, that is when he succeeded the most on the ice.

In his time at Boston University last year, Eichel also was a center.

Jack Eichel is the dynamic overall skill center that can drive opponents mad with his speed and shot. He is a large bodied young man (6’2, 196lbs) that can overpower opposing defenses by going right through them, but also has the finesse and speed to go right past or around the defenders before they know where the hell he went.

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Should Jack Eichel play wing on the Buffalo Sabres? I don’t think so, no. His primary position is center and he was drafted to be the Buffalo Sabres eventual number one center, so starting his career on the wing would not be the right choice.

But the question still remains as to which line Eichel should play on to start the season.

As a young forward who has not yet played a game in the NHL, Eichel does not have the knowledge or experience to automatically keep up with the league’s best. He will develop it over time and will most likely grasp onto it very quickly as the season progresses.

For the start of the season, I think that Jack Eichel should be the center for the third line on the Buffalo Sabres. This slot will allow him to have a good amount of playing time while also giving him something to build on and earn. As many Sabres fans know, handing a young center a top six position without truly earning it does not work out well (cough cough Grigorenko).

By putting Jack Eichel on the third line, it is a starting position that he can build on and rise above. He has the raw talent to start on the Sabres second line in my opinion, but to hand that to him at the start of the year is just too much.

An example that has panned out relatively well (so far) with this placement style is Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon. The former first overall pick made the Aves right out of training camp, but coach Patrick Roy placed him on the third line. In short time, MacKinnon proved to his coach that he was much better than a third line center. Within a couple of months, he found himself on the second, and first line playing with the likes of Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, and even Ryan O’Reilly.

Should the Buffalo Sabres follow a similar approach with Jack Eichel, the success rate he would have would be similar. Within the year, it would not be shocking to see Jack manning the second line pivot slot, or even dethroning Ryan O’Reilly for the top spot. If he develops in a similar way to the Avalanche’s young star, it would only be beneficial for the Sabres as a whole.

Worst case scenario, Jack Eichel plays well as a third line scoring center in his first year and puts up reasonable numbers. Though that would be a slight disappointment, I would not be overly upset with that result, and neither should other Sabres fans.

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