The Buffalo sports scene added two huge names this past offseason, with the Bills bringing in former New York Jets coach Rex Ryan and the long-suffering Sabres drafting the best college hockey prospect in ages in Jack Eichel.
As it turns out, the former already is a big fan of the latter.
Ryan, whose team is off to a promising 2-1 start, began his Wednesday press conference with praise for Eichel, who continued his impressive preseason by netting a short-handed goal in Tuesday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"So let's start with the Sabres. That Eichel, he's an impressive kid."#OneBuffalo pic.twitter.com/JzK0xwcDTz
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 30, 2015
That assessment was an accurate one:
From one end of the ice to the other, @Jack_Eichel11 uses his speed shorthanded to put #Sabres up 1-0. #TORvsBUF pic.twitter.com/FrrEdKYScY
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) September 29, 2015
The short-handed tally was the second in three preseason games for Eichel, a North Chelmsford, Mass., native and former Boston University standout. (That’s right, Ryan actually had something nice to say about something coming out of New England.)
The Bills boss said he bought four Sabres season tickets upon his move to Buffalo, meaning he’ll see plenty of Eichel, who at just 18 already looks NHL-ready.
Thumbnail photo via Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports Images
