You Wouldn’t Peg a 17-Year Old to be Anything More Than a ‘Kid’
by Kara Albrecht
From a young age, Jack Eichel, the soon-to-be forward for Boston University, shared the
same dream as many kids growing up in North Chelmsford, Mass. – to play college hockey and
to one day go on to have a professional career. And, as many of those kids do, Eichel chases his
dream with reckless ambition, his journey first taking him to Ann Arbor, Mich., in pursuit of his
goal.
Eichel has been a member of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program
(NTDP) for the last two years. His first year he centered on the Under-17 team and took over that
position on the Under-18 Team for the 2013-2014 season. Eichel played 15 multi-point games in
22 games, accumulated 39 points in 21 games, and is ranked 8th for the NTDP in all-time points
with 79. On top of those already prestigious statistics, Eichel is projected to be the first or second
pick in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. And he’s only 17-years-old.
When you think of a 17-year-old boy, you probably also associate that with the word
“kid.” You wouldn’t peg a 17-year-old to be anything more than a kid, but when you first sit
down with Eichel, you realize that he’s more than just a boy with insane talent. He is a goodnatured young man who thrives off of making himself and the people around him better.
Even though he is mature beyond his years, Eichel realizes that one of his sacrifices in
pursuing his dreams is living away from home and it ultimately being a valuable experience.
However, he still has a lot of youth in him being born in 1996 and part of that youth is missing
his native land.
“It’s definitely hard to live away from home,” said Eichel. “You miss your friends back
home and you miss living with your parents. I think it was important for me to get away from
home and mature a little bit, even though I really do miss being with my mom and dad every
night and seeing my friends on a daily basis as well.”
Jack acknowledges his parents, Bob and Anne Eichel, for their constant support and
influence on his hockey career and his life in general. Being away from home, his closest
contact still remains his father, who is also his best friend.
“My dad and I share everything with each other right now and I can’t tell you anyone that
I’m closer with in the world,” said Eichel. “If I’m down, he’s always there to pick me up and if I
need a kick in the ass, he’s always there to kick me in the ass.”
“As I moved out here, I think our relationship matured because I matured and having a
dad like the one I have is something special. He’s always done everything for me my whole life,
and I’m just really happy that I can be his son.”
Eichel currently resides with Laura Blake-Jones and Stan Jones in Ann Arbor, Mich.,
along with their three sons, Kyler, Ryan, and Jordan. Also living under that roof is Jack’s Under18 teammate, Brandon Fortunato. The two of them attend Pioneer High School with the rest of
their teammates, just minutes away from the rink. If having three boys wasn’t enough, the Jones’
now have five of them to look after.
The Jones family has taken in Eichel and Fortunato for the last two years and they have
created their own little family unit throughout their time together. Eichel notes his enjoyable
experiences living with the Jones’ during his career with the NTDP.
“We do a lot of things together when we can,” said Eichel. “We go out to dinner, we’ve
gone to Frankenmuth, Mich., and we even take family pictures at Christmas. We all have a really
good relationship and I really enjoy living in their home.”
“It’s a different experience to live with a billet family, but it’s also special building that
bond with them. I’m also fortunate enough to live with another player and build a really great
relationship with him because of it.”
Eichel has also made an impression on his teammate and roommate. Fortunato reflects on
what his experience has been like living with Jack for the last two years.
“It’s honestly amazing to live with Jack in our billet house. He is someone who is very
funny and outgoing, and yet at the same time he is very mature for
his age and knows how to handle situations.”
“It’s great to live with him because since he is such a great
hockey player, I have the unique privilege to be with the best player
in the world 24/7. I get to go through my highs and lows with him,
and he does the same with me. He is an inspiration when it comes to
having the right attitude and focusing on the game, and he is overall a
good influence to be around.”
Eichel was born with a talent for hockey, but what makes him
Teammates and Roommates, Eichel and
Fortunato.
special is that he values his work ethic as if he wasn’t born with that
talent.
“I think practice is a time to get better and I take it really seriously,” said the Under-18
forward. “It doesn’t matter what kind of drill it is, I’m always trying to score or make a play. I
think it emulates to a game too, so if you have a good week of practice, I think you’ll play well
in the game.
“Practice is also a time to sharpen your skills and get better and push your teammates and
have your teammates push you. I think practice is really important and I take a lot of pride in
working hard.”
Danton Cole, head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team, has had the pleasure of
watching Eichel grow and progress over the last few years. He acknowledges Eichel’s
exuberance during practice and his attributes that he brings to Team USA.
“Jack works extremely hard,” said Cole. “One thing he does that’s great for us is through
working that hard and his talent, he pushes the rest of the team because if you’re not up to your
game, he’s going to take advantage of you. I think that type of
mental attitude is something that is going to serve him well. It
served him well at the Under-20’s this year and will as he
continues to move through college and pro hockey.”
The elder statesman of the U18 goaltender corps,
Edwin Minney, also credited Eichel with the ability to make
the people around him better.
Eichel (middle) and Under-17 teammates
“I've known Jack for about three years now and I enjoy
playing with him a lot,” said the Wind Gap, Pa., native. “He's a very good teammate and he
pushes everyone during practice. I know that I personally love competing with him in practice
because I like how he pushes me and I like to push him. It's a cycle that continues to improve
everyone's game.”
That same thing is exactly what teammate and roommate, Fortunato, had to say about the
guy he’s been sharing his life with for the last two years.
“It’s unbelievable to play on a team with Jack,” said Fortunato. “Playing with and against
him every day in practice not only makes me better, but my team as well. Personally, I just like
observing him and seeing what he does with the puck in certain situations. When you watch
Jack, you can learn many things from him and try and import it into your game. Jack is always
the hardest worker in practice and because of this, it makes other people work harder as well.”
Jack’s skill is more than just his personal talent, he is a natural when it comes to leading
others. Jack had the privilege of wearing an “A” for the Under-18 Team, but he always leads
with or without a title.
“Jack does a great job on fulfilling his role as a leader on our team,” said Fortunato.
“There were many times these past two years where we were down in games and Jack single
handedly brought us back to life and we ended up winning those games because of him.”
“What I like about Jack’s leadership is that he is a natural leader. In times when he didn't
wear a letter, he still was himself and acted like a leader. He never changed himself or his
personality and that is a very admiring quality to have at his age.”
Eichel’s personality helps make him a great leader. Whether he’s in a room full of
strangers or scoring a game-winning overtime goal, he captures your attention.
“I like to get a laugh out of people,” said the 6-1, 191 pound forward. “I always try to
mess around and I love when I do something and it makes people laugh. I’m always up to have a
good time; I think that’s just my personality. I’m an outgoing kid and I just grew up that way.”
Eichel’s teammates had no problem agreeing with his own description of himself,
supporting the liveliness that he brings on a constant basis.
“Jack has a very funny and sarcastic personality,” said Fortunato.
“He knows when to be mature and act like an adult, and then there’s times
where he is a complete goof ball. He is the center of attention where ever he
goes and he has the ability to have a whole group of people fall in love with
him instantaneously.”
There are many things Eichel enjoys doing with his friends outside of
life on the ice. During his summer months at home he loves going to Cape
Eichel (right) and billet brother, Jordan
Blake-Jones, showing off Jack's
personality.
Cod, playing video games, going to the beach, golfing, fishing, and any activity that lets him be a
17-year old kid. He also lifts weights and power-skates in the offseason. But the one thing that
Eichel enjoys doing most outside of hockey is playing pingpong
The Jones’ family house has set the scene for team pingpong tournaments for the last two
years. This game also brings out another one of Eichel’s traits, his competitiveness.
Pingpong is something the boys look forward to every day after practice. The games are
played in just boxers, which they say, iterates how serious they take this pastime activity. There
have also been more than 15 paddles broken over the two-year course.
“At first when I used to play Jack, I used to easily beat him, but now he has gotten so
much better and he starts to beat me here and there,” said Fortunato.
“The thing that bothers me the most though is when he wins, he acts like he just won
Wimbledon or the Stanley Cup. He screams and jumps on the ground and lies there, and then
after the celebration he of course has to tell everyone at dinner, everyone at school, and everyone
in the locker room the next day that he beat me. At the end of the day, of course it’s all in good
fun and it has gotten us much closer together.”
Despite Eichel’s competitiveness, he gives his roommate some credit about his pingpong
talents, and as Fortunato mentioned, he always makes sure that people know he won.
“Fortunato is actually the current pingpong champion of our team,” said Eichel. Since I
live with him, I get to play him all the time and I’ve beaten him five times. So that’s kind of my
claim to fame in the locker room is that I’ve beaten Fort five times in pingpong. I’m one of the
three guys that has.”
It’s one thing to be a really great athlete and it’s another to be a really great person.
Fortunately for Eichel, he reaps both of those qualities and the sky is the limit for his future.
“I think there’s a pretty high ceiling on where Jacks going to go,” said Cole. “He’s going
to probably be 6’3” and probably 210, 220 pounds, and just a lot of power and a lot of hockey
skills.”
“He’s got a chance to be a very good American center for a long time and I’m sure that’ll
entail BU for a while and hopefully the NHL after that, and I’d love to see him on an Olympic
team one day. He’s got a lot of opportunities and I think he’ll have a good chance of fulfilling
them because of how hard he works.”
With the opportunities and successes Eichel will continue to see in his future, he would
never trade wearing that red, white, and blue sweater for anything.
“Every day I create a memory with these guys and it’s a privilege just being around them
on a daily basis,” said the Boston University commit. “I don’t think I’ve ever become this close
with 22 people before. Playing for my country is something special that I was also able to do. I
know I’ll see a lot of these guys in the future, but there will never again be a situation where all
22 of us our together, and I know we’ll never forget the memories that we made and the program
that made us who we are.”
U18 Five Nations Tournament Champions 2014
Team USA at U18 World Championships in Finland
April 17-27, 2014