The Blue Line: Jack Eichel for Hobey Baker

The Boston University men’s hockey team defeated the Northeastern University Huskies in the 2015 Beanpot Tournament final on Feb. 23. BU won in thrilling fashion, scoring on the power play less than a minute into overtime. Junior captain Matt Grzelcyk had two goals in the game, including the game-winner.

Aside from the excitement of the game, though, BU began its “Eichel for Hobey Baker” campaign by passing out “I like Eich” buttons to members of the media before the 63rd annual Beanpot Tournament championship.

The buttons were accompanied by a highlight reel video BU released online showcasing Eichel’s skills, strength, speed and celebrations in a brilliant spinoff of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidential campaign in 1952.

Despite recent off-the-ice endeavors causing a stir in the media, Jack Eichel will win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award this year as NCAA hockey’s best player. He will become the first freshman to win the award since Paul Kariya won for the University of Maine at the end of the 1992-93 season, and just the second in the award’s history. He will be the third Terrier to win the award, joining Chris Drury (1998) and Matt Gilroy (2009).

Before the 2014-15 season started, Eichel was the second ranked NHL prospect in the world. His unbelievable play so far this season has only elevated his status, provoking a debate over whether or not he should be selected first overall in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Eichel will still likely be taken second overall, behind Canadian phenom Connor McDavid. McDavid has put up ridiculous numbers for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. At first glance, you’d think there was an error in his stat line. Fear not, he’s just that good.

Through just 39 games for the Otters, McDavid boasts a plus-46 rating, 37 goals and 65 assists for 102 points. He averages 2.62 points per game, meaning that if he hadn’t missed 20 games due to injury, he would be on pace for well over 150 points.

Also, to put McDavid’s 2.62 points per game into perspective, Sidney Crosby posted 2.71 points per game during his best season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Rimouski Oceanic. So if not for injury, McDavid arguably could have the same if not better numbers than Crosby had at this stage of his career.

If the elite Canadian 18-year-old weren’t deemed “The Next One” or the “LeBron James of hockey,” Jack Eichel would be the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft without a doubt.

Whenever Eichel is on the ice, everybody watching knows it. It’s like he’s a man playing amongst boys, even though he is one of the youngest players in the NCAA. To put it simply, he appears bigger, faster and stronger than everyone else on the ice every time he touches the puck.

Statistically, he is on pace to have the best college hockey season by a freshman since Kariya’s aforementioned 100-point 1992-93 season. Eichel has 50 points through 30 games for the Terriers, becoming the first BU player to reach the 50-point mark since Colin Wilson (55) and Nick Bonino (50) both grasped that milestone during the 2008-09 campaign, the last time the Terriers won the National Championship.

Eichel has made a massive, immediate impact on a BU team that struggled last season. The Terriers went just 10-21-4 last year overall and 5-12-3 in the Hockey East. In David Quinn’s first season as head coach, things did not go according to plan, to say the least.

This year, Quinn was fortunate enough to have the second-best prospect in the world come in and provide an instant revival to last year’s debacle. Though Eichel certainly hasn’t been the only contributing factor to BU’s success this season, he’s been a very important one.

Quinn had Eichel centering a line with junior defenseman-turned-forward Ahti Oksanen and junior Danny O’Regan to start the year. That line found instant chemistry, especially between Eichel and Oksanen, who leads the team in goals.

Now, he spends his time with O’Regan and senior assistant captain Evan Rodrigues on his wings, though he still sees Oksanen on the power play.

Aside from being an offensive juggernaut, Eichel also excels in many defensive areas.

“He’s so strong,” Quinn said in an interview with Boston’s WEEI 93.7 FM. “He’s aware of his body positioning. When he’s in 1-on-1 situations defensively, he doesn’t lose it.  He’s so strong. He’s aware of his body positioning. When he’s in 1-on-1 situations defensively, he doesn’t lose it. He backchecks with a vengeance.”

The final reason Eichel is virtually a guarantee for the Hobey Baker is his lack of competition. To say that there are no other NHL-caliber talents playing college hockey would be foolish. But, there are no players in the NCAA who are on his level.

He will face competitors nominated for the award last year, including Ferris State University goaltender CJ Motte and University of Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox. Others include Providence College’s Jon Gillies, a member of the Calgary Flames organization, and Boston College’s Ryan Fitzgerald, a 2013 fourth-round pick for the Boston Bruins.

Eichel will continue his Hobey push on March 13, when BU hosts a best-of-three quarterfinals series in the Hockey East Tournament. The farther the Terriers advance, the more Eichel gets to showcase his talent for the Hobey Baker voters.