Two BAUER boys will face each other in the NHL for the 1st time tonight! #Eichel #Larkin 📷: @DetroitRedWings pic.twitter.com/46UmrC7QeI
— Bauer Hockey (@BauerHockey) December 1, 2015Two months into his NHL career, Jack Eichel has held his own against some of the best centermen in the NHL. He's more than held his own against Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby, Geno Malkin, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, John Tavares, Joe Thornton, David Backes and other alpha dog centers.
Tonight, Jack will get his first professional shot at his good friend and Team USA teammate Dylan Larkin.
Fittlingly, Joe Louis Arena will be the backdrop for the first ever NHL head-to-head-battle between the two premiere 1996 birth year players in the game today.
Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma coached Eichel and Larking at the 2015 IIHF World Championships in Prague last May.
Bylsma had a front row seat for the best that Eichel and Larkin had to offer which is quite a lot.
“I think the speed of the game has been up. The speed of which we play, how we play, has gone up,… Bylsma said. “But now you’re seeing actual players that are pretty much faster than everybody else and it’s exciting to see.
“I mean, these guys can flat-out fly and I think when you see Jack Eichel accelerate, it goes by people. And same for Dylan, the way he’s flying down the wing. It’s a new element to our game, these young players – I don’t know where they rank, if they’re one, two, three, four or five with how fast they are – but it is adding to the speed of the game.…
Bylsma said today that Eichel and Larkin became Team USA's top two centers at the Worlds.
That's where and when Bylsma was first exposed to the gratuitous speed quotient of Eichel and Larkin.
“It was evident then – and most of what I’ve seen is highlights – but there’s been quite a few of them in watching these last two games [for Larkin],… he said. “His speed is a factor on the ice at all times, whether they have the puck or he’s playing defense. It’s a factor and you saw that, even in the World Championships.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised but it’s a surprise to see it be so effective at the NHL level.…
Earlier today, Larkin was named NHL Rookie of the Month for November.
Tonight, Jack will be able to show and tell Larkin:
"Anything you can do, I can do better".
Larkin (15th overall 2014), 19, is currently ranked #3 overall in the NHL Rookie scoring race with 10 goals and 8 assists. He trails Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks (23 points) and Max Domi of the Arizona Coyotes (20 points).
Eichel, 19, is presently ranked 7th in the NHL Rookie scoring race with 8 goals and 4 assists. However, the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft is tied for first place for NHL Rookie PPGs scored. Eichel as already scored 3 PPGs. Sabres sniper Samson Reinhart has 6 goals this season, 2 of which have been scored on the power play.
Tonight, Eichel can steal the spotlight and make a case for why he should be the December NHL Rookie Of The Month.
****