Eichel, McDavid play down hype before first NHL meeting

Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel doesn’t see himself as simply playing only Connor McDavid on Tuesday when his team takes on the Edmonton Oilers at First Niagara Center. It’s much bigger than a showdown between the NHL’s two top young stars.

“We’re playing the Oilers tonight, we’re not playing Connor McDavid,” Eichel said. “Obviously, he’s a key component to their team. He’s a good player. You should be aware when he’s on the ice.” 

McDavid agreed to some degree.

 “I know that a lot of people are going to maybe tune in because they’re looking at it maybe a little differently, but for us … it’s not about just me or him; it’s about the game and two teams that both need wins,” he said.

McDavid was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Eichel was taken No. 2. 

Both players were in the news all last season as they jockeyed to be the top pick. Meanwhile, teams pushed for the bottom of the standings for the opportunity to draft either of the generational talents.

"I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t curious to watch Jack and to watch Connor play and see them play against each other," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. 

For the most part, both 19-year-old centers have lived up to the hype. Eichel has shown brute strength with speed to notch 27 points in his last 28 games. He ranks second on the Sabres with 41 points in 63 games played and is third amongst forwards, averaging 18:49 per-game. He also ranks third amongst NHL rookies in scoring.

The shifty McDavid missed three months with a broken left clavicle, but has averaged more than a point per-game with the last-place Oilers. He has 29 points in 27 games played, and recently was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for February with 17 points in 14 games played.

Do the two players pay attention to one another? Not really. In fact they both don’t talk all that much.

“I don’t have a bad relationship with him at all,” Eichel said. “We have, I guess, kind of a small one. We got to know each other a little bit. We had some good times and good experiences.”

Said McDavid, “The media always has us pegged as not liking each other and being rivals or anything like that. We really don’t know each other.”

During the season last year, Buffalo fans clamored for McDavid as their team continued to drop in the standings. This led to fans wearing Sabres ‘McDavid’ jerseys, hoping Buffalo would win the draft lottery.

Though the Sabres finished with the NHL’s worst record, it didn’t happen, and McDavid ended up in Edmonton. 

“It definitely feels like a second home,” McDavid said of Buffalo on Tuesday.

The city of Buffalo has embraced Eichel, and right from the get-go he has said he wants to bring a championship to the long-suffering fanbase which has yet to win a Stanley Cup. The Sabres are in second-to-last place in the Atlantic Division, five points clear of the NHL’s worst record.

“I’m happy in Buffalo,” Eichel said. “It’s a pretty good place to be playing right now. It’s a great city and a great organization to be a part of.”

Eichel and McDavid will only face one another twice during the regular season given the NHL's schedule matrix. The only time they can play one another in the postseason, where many rivalries are born, is the Stanley Cup Final. This changes the dynamic to some degree. 

"To me it’s a little made up. The hype is produced,” Bylsma said. “They’re great players. We want to watch them both play. I’m curious to see how Jack does, how Connor does. I don’t think there’s a head-to-head matchup that’s going on tonight, per se.”

S/t Buffalo Hockey Beat for the transcript. 

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper