For the first time in his three-year career, Jack Eichel is an All-Star. On Wednesday the rosters for the upcoming NHL All-Star game were announced and Eichel was the only member of the Buffalo Sabres to make the team.
Eichel, 21, has been one of the lone bright spots for the struggling Sabres, tallying 39 [17G, 22A] points in 43 games. In his short career, Eichel has 152 points in 185 games.
Here are the full rosters:
Here are your NHL All-Star teams pic.twitter.com/nfMpiRz1kH
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) January 10, 2018
Bove's take:
This shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise, especially when you consider the NHL selects at least one representative from each time. Eichel is by far the Sabres most impactful player and is as much of a household name as anyone who has donned the blue and gold in recent memory.
What is surprising is that Eichel has never been named an All-Star up until this point. Last year, Okposo represented the Sabres while Eichel was just returning from an ankle injury that caused him to miss the first 21 games of the season. In Eichel's rookie year Ryan O'Reilly was the Sabres' lone representative.
This may be Eichel's first All-Star game but you can bet it won't be his last.
