Can Jack Eichel Steal The Calder Trophy?

Buffalo’s rookie phenom is proving the hype was real – does he have a shot at earning some hardware this season?

The All-Star break probably could not come soon enough for the majority of the players on the Buffalo Sabres roster. Ryan O’Reilly is the Sabres player who was probably most looking forward to the festivities in Nashville, as this marks the first time in his career that he has earned a trip to the circus – but even the rest of the Sabres were probably eager to finish Tuesday night’s game against Ottawa and get the heck out of Dodge for a while . . .

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. . . except for rookie Jack Eichel, that is.

Whereas players such as Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons can use the time off to rest, heal up, and try to salvage otherwise disappointing seasons, Eichel has been on an absolute tear lately,and probably wishes he could just keep playing. The Boston University graduate has seven points in his last five games, including two goals that helped the Sabres head into the break with a well-deserved victory in Ottawa.

Anyone watching Eichel play the last few weeks has to agree that he appears way more comfortable with the speed of the NHL, and that he is going to finish his rookie campaign strong. Just check out his power play goal against he Senators – Eichel just flat-out out-muscled the defender who was draped all over him, then used a burst of speed and those sick hands to finish off the wrap-around:

That was a big-boy goal right there, folks. Anyone still upset that the Sabres “only” got the second pick in the 2015 NHL Draft?

Hopefully, the week off won’t slow Eichel down – but even if it doesn’t, is there even a snowball’s chance in h-e-double hockey sticks that Jack Eichel will provide an exclamation point to Buffalo’s season by winning the Calder Trophy in 2016?

Sure there is!

Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks is currently the front-runner for the Calder Trophy, as his 17 goals and 46 points lead all rookies. Personally, I’m not as impressed by Panarin’s effort – first of all, the dude is 24, and second of all, he plays on a line with Patrick Kane, hello! – as I am by what Eichel has done, but you know it will boil down to who has more points, regardless of whether or not Panarin has a better supporting cast.

So how can Eichel make up the 12 points that currently separate him from Panarin? For starters, he can hope that Panarin is coming back down to earth. Panarin only has three points in his last five games, and as we all know, cold streaks happen – as do injuries. Panarin has played in each and every one of the Chicago Blackhawks’ games this season, so who is to say that, as hot and healthy as Panarin has been so far, that the tide won’t turn against him when the Blackhawks resume playing next week?

Obviously, Eichel has to help his own cause by continuing to play like he has been recently. A healthy Zemgus Girgensons will go a long way toward keeping Eichel’s name in the Calder talks; it’s not a coincidence that Eichel put up four points in the two games Girgensons played once the Latvian returned from an injury.

Also working in Eichel’s favor is the fact that the Buffalo Sabres are kind of terrible, which causes a lot of team to view games against the Sabres as the perfect time to rest their starting goaltenders. Granted, facing the opposition’s backup netminder is not enough to guarantee success – if it was, the Sabres would have a much better record! – but there will be plenty of nights from now until the end of the season that Eichel will be facing backup goalies or teams resting key pieces in order to get healthy for the postseason.

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The Calder Trophy might be Artemi Panarin’s to lose, but Jack Eichel has played himself back into the conversation. Here’s hoping he can continue to give the fans in the 716 a lot to cheer about as the season winds down.

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