Buffalo Sabres Jack Eichel Is The True NHL Rookie Of The Year
The more Jack Eichel impresses, the more you have to believe the Buffalo Sabres’ rookie should win some hardware.
Barring an absolute meltdown or stunning reversal of conventional wisdom, Buffalo Sabres rookie Jack Eichel is not going to win the Calder Memorial Trophy at the end of the season.
And that’s a damn shame, because what he is doing right now makes him the best true rookie of the 2015-16 NHL regular season.
Yes, I probably sounded like a big homer there – but I don’t live in the 716 area code, so take that! Still, I hate to sound like I think any player deserves an award just because he happens to play on my favorite team, so let’s break it down.
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It’s an undeniable fact that Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks is having a better season, scoring-wise, than Eichel is. The Russian has 62 points, 14 more than Eichel, and people who vote for these types of things tend to vote according to the numbers, plain and simple.
Let’s be honest, though: Panarin has two things going for him that should absolutely weaken his standing in the eyes of voters. The most obvious advantage Panarin has that no other rookie has is that he has spent the entire season playing on a line alongside Patrick Kane – maybe you’ve heard of him? Kane is the league’s points leader with 89, is second in goals scored with 38, and is second in assists with 51. Folks, the way Kane is playing this season, I could lace up my skates and earn a few assists, and on a scale of 1-10 my skating skills rate a solid -11. How many of Panarin’s 25 goals and 37 assists have come courtesy of Patrick Kane?
For those of you who want to argue that Panarin’s chances should not be diminished because of who he plays with, I present the single-biggest reason why Panarin should not win the Calder Trophy this season: he’s not a rookie. Oh sure, by NHL standards he is a rookie, as it is his first season in the league. We all know this is a technicality, however, as Panarin had already played in almost 200 KHL games before he started wearing the Blackhawks sweater this year. I’m not going to argue that the NHL needs to make a rule that excludes players who have played professionally overseas from being considered for the Calder Memorial Trophy, but I am asking voters to use a little common sense here. Panarin is currently playing his seventh season of professional hockey – in the words of Yoda, “Rookie, he is not.”
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Meanwhile, Jack Eichel is a 19 year-old playing for the Buffalo Sabres. The fact that he has even scored a goal should make him the front-runner for the award! Kidding. Seriously though, Eichel’s accomplishments are far more impressive than those of Panarain’s not just due to the fact that he is playing with a weaker supporting cast, but because he has far less experience playing against pros. Forget the age difference – its the EXPERIENCE factor that makes Panarin a weaker Calder candidate in my book. I guarantee you that if Panarin had only 1-2 years of KHL experience under his belt, he would not have a 14-point lead over Eichel right now.
Take the fact that Jack Eichel is a true rookie at the professional level, throw in the fact that he is playing on a team that is still a year or so removed from playoff contention, stir in a the reality that is truly playing better as the regular season draws closer to the end, and you have the true front-funner for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Home team bias be damned – if Eichel can somehow pull to within 10 or less points of Artemi Panarin, it will be highway robbery if the Salvation of the 716 does not walk away with the hardware in 2016.