Jack Eichel was asked for a scouting report.
On somebody else.
For the Buffalo Sabres rookie saviour, Wednesday’s query about a former NCAA Boston University Terriers teammate — Calgary Flames blueline prospect Brandon Hickey — seemed to be a refreshing curveball after the usual daily diet of questions about … himself.
“He’s a really good player — he’s a real smart defenceman,” Eichel said of Hickey, who’ll arrive Thursday in Toronto for Team Canada’s world juniors selection camp. “I think another great thing about him, something I noticed, is he’s got a great one-timer … It doesn’t matter how hard you pass it, where it is, he can one-time anything.