TORONTO – If Auston Matthews had entered the world two days earlier, the dynamic of this showdown would be a little different.
Instead of the Connor McDavid–Jack Eichel comparisons that fuelled conversation surrounding the 2015 draft class or the Laine-Matthews debate that rages today, we would’ve heard more chatter about whether it was 6-foot-2 centre Eichel or the 6-foot-2 centre Matthews, just 11 months younger, destined to represent America’s next great hockey hope.
Alas, Matthews’ bubble birthday would make him the class of 2016, and give him a chance to benefit from his countryman’s spin under the microscope.
“The team that gets [Matthews] is going to be incredibly surprised just how good he is. I hear things like he would have gone third in [2015]’s draft. Are you kidding?” a scout for a Canadian team memorably told the National Post last spring.
“No disrespect to Eichel, but he couldn’t carry Matthews’ skates to the rink.”
Think Eichel, hot off a two-goal performance versus Dallas Monday, will be fired up for this one, his first head-to-head test against his former teammate on both the U.S. national squad and Team North America’s talent party?
“Ann Arbour, World Cup, world juniors…. I’ve spent a lot of time with him. He’s a good dude. I’m happy to see him have success and look forward to playing against him,” says Eichel.
“The teams don’t really like each other.”
Perfect. Two young teams banking on the progress of high draft picks to propel agonizingly delayed rebuilds, and the story lines — Cup-winning Babcock vs. Cup-winning Bylsma; Matthews-Eichel; Nylander-Nylander — have been laid flat for us to drive for years, like Queen Elizabeth Way.
If, like me, you believe injuries and inconsistency have postponed Buffalo’s playoff hopes until 2018, well, the Sabres get four cracks between now and early April at spoiling Toronto’s bid for an Atlantic Division berth.
Last year’s most improved team trying to bring this year’s most improved group back down to Earth.
“You can hear the excitement across the border with where they’re at,” says Dan Bylsma, the head coach the Sabres signed after missing out on free agent Mike Babcock in 2015.
So much of that excitement has to do with Matthews, whose game-worn Centennial Classic sweater just sold for $11,400 at auction.
“The last game I watched him was the [Centennial] Classic. At that age, to be doing that? He looks so much older out there. So calm in the plays he’s making,” says Buffalo centre Ryan O’Reilly.
“Jack playing against him, [the key] is playing hard on him. He’s gotta be the guy who wants to win every battle against him. There’s no casual moments against those elite players. If you are, they’re going to make you pay.”
Eichel was out of the lineup nursing a high ankle sprain when the Leafs defeated his Sabres 2-1 on Nov. 3, so Tuesday’s match marks the first NHL meeting between the friends.
Suffered during the Sabres’ final practice before opening the season, Eichel’s was the first in a series of ailments that have helped stuff them in the Atlantic basement.
A healthy Eichel could well have meant his joining McDavid and Matthews at the NHL’s All-Star Game later this month. (Top scorer Kyle Okposo nabbed that honour for Buffalo.)
Like his headline-snatching, trophy-chasing comparables, Eichel leads his team in points per game (0.77) and should easily post his second 20-goal season before he can legally order an alcoholic beverage with his Buffalo wings. Instead, rehab and his team’s fading relevance have nudged Eichel to the NHL’s shadows.
“You deal with a high ankle sprain for a long period of time, well after you come back,” Bylsma explains. “Through that, he’s come right back to us and made an impact right away. You talk about the extra goal a game we’ve had in the last 20 games, it’s largely due to Jack’s presence in our lineup. Not only what he brings offensively but what he brings to the opposition. He’s risen everyone’s level of play.”
O’Reilly can’t overstate how Eichel’s presence improves the whole.
“He makes our team so much more dangerous,” O’Reilly says. “He’s one of the few guys in the league that can create something out of nothing. You don’t think he has room, and next thing you know, he skates out of it and creates a two-on-one or a great opportunity.”
Matthews recognizes Eichel’s skating but notes his strength as well.
“He’s so hard to knock off the puck. He’s got that deceptive stride. It’s incredible,” Matthews says. “That’s something you gotta watch out for. He takes one step and he’s three steps by you.”
Much separates the McDavid-Eichel and Laine-Matthews discussions from the Eichel-Matthews one. Not only do the Americans play in the same division, ensuring regular head-to-head confrontations, but they actually have a real relationship, not just one packaged upon them by media and draft eligibility.
“I know him very well,” Matthews says. “He’s a great guy. He’s been someone I’ve been able to lean on, especially last year during my draft year, going through similar things. He’s definitely been a nice sounding board for myself.”
Representing their country on the U.S. National Development Program, Eichel and Matthews motivated each other, bonding as two of 23 Americans flown overseas to test themselves against the world’s best prospects.
“For me, it was an unbelievable two years. I gained a lot from that experience,” says Matthews.
(That includes a spot in the USNDPT record book. The pride of Arizona put up 107 points during his time in the program; Patrick Kane held the old mark with 102 points in 2005-06.)
“We’ve had different routes to get to the same place, but I think that’s just a testament to USA Hockey—producing a lot of high-end talent, high-end players.”
Good dudes, and good news: Two of the most talented tangle for the first time tonight.
