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Matthews Asked Eichel For Advice |
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Thanks, Sirius XM
Auston Matthews recently chatted up his former Team USA teammate Jack Eichel.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will likely select Matthews first overall at the NHL Draft in Buffalo on June 24.
Matthews might want to keep his questions for Eichel to a minimum. It won't be long until the former and future Team USA bros trade phone chats for face washes and slashes across the wrists.
The Battle Of The QEW will get kicked up a notch or twenty once Matthews pulls his Buds sweater over his head on June 24 inside Eichel's house.
Matthews is representing Team USA in St. Petersburg, Russia, as Team USA will kick off its IIHF World Championship tournament on Friday vs. Connor McDavid and Team Canadians.
Recently, Matthews spoke with Sirius XM radio about his chat with Eichel and the pearls of wisdom that were exchanged between Eichel and Matthews.
Eichel told Matthews that the NHL is faster than the level of play in Bern of the Swiss League where Matthews played this past season. Eichel also told Matthews to keep his head up at all times because the NHL is a more grinding, physical brand of hockey.
Matthews will have to learn his lessons the hard way. On the ice. No chats or conversations can prepare a kid for the NHL. The best advice someone can give Matthews right now is to block out all distractions and focus on building strength and improving stamina. Many a hot shot rookie has been humbled by the NHL over the past eight decades. Matthews is no different. He will have to carry the weight of 8 million Torontonians and millions of other Leafs fans every day of his existence in The Big Smoke.
No pressure, though.
Eichel also told Matthews to be prepared to run an 82 game marathon, not the 36 game sprint that Matthews played in the Swiss League this past season.
“He definitely stressed recovering and eating right and keeping your body in good condition to get through those 82 games,” Matthews said.
The Swiss League is a competitive collection of players and teams, however, it's nowhere near as grueling and competitive as Canadian major junior hockey, NCAA hockey, nor Canadian university hockey.
Matthews will have to make his living on the 200 by 85 NHL sheet rather than the 200 by 100 international pond. Les time. Less space. More speed. Much more physicality and contact. Welcome to the NHL, Auston.
Matthews will have to learn his NHL lessons on the job in a town that has been starving to win a Stanley Cup since 1967.
Eichel, the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, never once looked out of place against NHL opponents. He assimilated perfectly and played at the highest level in his rookie season.
Eichel made the sublime look ridiculous and the ridiculous seem sublime.
Eichel played in 81 games this season. The only game he missed was a Hockey Night In Canada game in Toronto when he suspiciously developed food poisoning in Buffalo. The Sabres team ate at the same restaurant the night before the game between the Sabres and Leafs. To this day, questions still abound as to why Eichel's food was contaminated and no other Sabres player experienced issues after the meal. It's just another brick in the wall of hatred that has been building for the past 46 years between the Sabres and Leafs.
Eichel scored 24 goals and added 32 assists in his 81 games played. He played remarkably well for a nineteen tear old NHL rookie.
Off the ice, Eichel assimilated well into the Western New York community without a ton of pressure and fanfare. Sabres fans know that Eichel is famous and they know that he is a rockstar. Sabres fans respected Jack's time and space. Eichel handled all media opportunities and community events like a ten year veteran. He was a pleasure for this observer to work with. Never was Eichel testy or salty with the media. Eichel has been interviewed thousands of times in his hockey lifetime and he understands and respects the give and take process between the player and media.
Personally, I feel sorry for Matthews because he, his family and his agent have no idea of what they are getting themselves into having to deal with the enormity of the Toronto media. Matthews better get used to having 35-40 reporters, scribes and cameramen in his face daily at the practice rink, the game day skate, the post game press scrums and team community photo opps. Every reporter is looking for a scoop and interesting, heartfelt, thoughtful responses to the same question being asked 5 or 6 times in the same scrum. They all want face time and a one on one "exclusive" interview. Matthews will be the toast of the town when he scores in a win and he will be barraged with questions when he is exhausted mid-season and goes pointless in 12 straight games. Heavy is the head that wears the crown of the first overall pick in the NHL Draft.
Eichel wasn't crushed by the Buffalo media like I anticipate Matthews getting inundated by the Toronto press corps.
Eichel opted to skip the World Championships so that he can rest and take his family on vacation. He will also focus on working out to get stronger for his sophomore NHL season. He is also training for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey tourney in Toronto in September. Eichel, the new face of USA Hockey, will be representing the "Young Stars" team at the World Cup.
At the 2015 IIHF World Championship, Eichel helped power USA's top line along with Trevor Lewis (LA) and Brock Nelson (NYI) to the bronze medal. Eichel scored seven points in 10 games.
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Drake Caggiula's seven city " Spring Of Love Tour" ended on Monday. He is expected to reveal his final destination this week.
The hotter than a pistol unrestricted free agent who was never drafted into the NHL, is now free to sign with the NHL franchise of his choice.
My friend in red wine and hockey Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Caggiula could make a decision on his NHL future as early as Friday.
“We’re expecting, likely, a decision from Drake Caggiula tomorrow, the North Dakota free agent, about his NHL future,” Friedman said. “He visited I think about eight or nine teams.”
Caggiula was never drafted into the NHL.
The NoDak sniper recently earned most outstanding player at the Frozen Four tourney in Tampa.
Seven NHL GMs are still wishing and hoping that Caggiula selects their franchise to sign with.
The teams still alive in the Caggiula sweepstakes are:
Buffalo
Philadelphia
Edmonton
Ottawa
Vancouver
Chicago
NY Rangers
Caggiula will add immediate scoring pop and a keen ability to read the play and distribute the rock. He exudes the two things that offensive players need to be successful: confidence and skill.
The kid sweats out sick skill. He has to work harder because he isn't a 6'4" 200lb. tower of power. What he lacks in size he more than makes up forin skills, speed, compete and toughness. He has all the ear markings to be a 20+ goal scorer at the NHL level. I liken him to former Buffalo Sabres forward Derek Roy or current NY Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello.
Sabres GM Tim Murray is familiar with Caggiula having seen him play up close and personal at Buffalo's 2014 rookie development camp. Murray knew then what other NHL GMs now know and that is that Caggiula is a bona fide NHL prospect. The kid tore up the NCAA and now he will elevate his game to the NHL level.
At the 2014 Buffalo rookie development camp, Caggiula, Mikhail Grigorenko, Mark Pysyk, Justin Kea, and Liam Pecararo hoisted the hallowed French Connection Trophy, which was introduced that year and has been awarded ever since to the annual winner of the tournament. The intense week of practices at development camp culminates Friday in a 3-on-3 tournament. Sabres prospects broke off into seven teams with games played on each half of the rink.
Caggiula turned multiple heads in his Buffalo practices and in the annual Blue & Gold scrimmage. Caggiula likely would slot in next to Wonder Twins Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhart is he were to select Buffalo. Murray has said repeatedly that one of Eichel's linies isn't even on the Sabres' roster yet. Caggiula may be that lucky man.
Caggiula reportedly met with Sabres GM Tim Murray and head coach Dan Byslma last weekend.
Caggiula has also met with the Philadelphia Flyers where his former Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol knows Caggiula, having recruited and coached him. That is an added bonus for the Flyers, however, watching them go down in flames in the first round of the playoffs against Ovi and the Caps exposed the Flyers as a forward-heavy team that is light on back end talent at the NHL level. The Flyers have solid D prospects in their pipeline, however, I don't see an overnight rebuilding of their NHL blue line. It will take a few years for the Provorovs, Morins, et al to arrive and be 82 game NHL grinders. That isn't exactly a bonus on recruiting Caggiula to Philly right now. When the Flyers get were in four straight games by the Caps, it exposed the Flyers as a D-corps who failed at feeding the flying forwards on the breakout. Caggiula's forte is creating in the neutral zone and attack zone with his talents.
Vancouver has strong ties to Caggiula too. His NoDak bros Brock Boeser and Troy Stecher were drafted by the Canucks. Vancouver took Boeser in the first round of the ’15 draft and Stecher, an undrafted UFA who signwd his NHL entry-level contract last week.
Chicago loves snagging NCAA an KHL free agents. Caggiula played with Nick Schmaltz at NoDak. Schmaltz was drafted with overall in 2014 by the Blackhawks. Archie Panarin won the lottery when he was signed as a UFA by Stan Bowman last summer.
The NY Rangers, like the Flyers, are forward-heavy and light on the blue line. The last thing the Rangers need right now is another forward. They need to pay free agents Chris Kreider, JT Miller among others this summer.
His senior season at NoDak saw Caggiula score 25 goals, 26 assists and 51 points in 39 games.
In his four year NCAA career, Caggiula, a Pickering native, scored 64 goals and 65 assists.
Team Caggiula has had a tight lid on his whereabouts and destination of choice.
My guess is that Drake will be walking through the 716 without his woes.
#Eichel #Reinhart
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