BOSTON — His future a blank canvas, a 17-year-old Jack Eichel remembers the goals. Four of them, to be exact.
While turning heads with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in the 2013-14 season, the North Chelmsford native was on the cusp of fulfilling his lifelong dreams.
After starring in the red, white and blue that season — competing in the World Junior Championship as the team’s youngest player and leading the United States to a gold medal at the World Under-18 Championship tied for the team’s leading scorer — Eichel would go on to dazzle at Boston University in 2014-15, capture the Hobey Baker Award and hear his name called by the Buffalo Sabres as the No. 2 pick in the 2015 National Hockey League Draft.
Eichel is now a Stanley Cup champion in the prime of his career leading the Vegas Golden Knights in scoring (21-47-68) while on pace for career-high numbers. He’s reached the pinnacle of the NHL. The Knights are again championship hopefuls.
But perhaps one box remained unchecked. Eichel can now add Olympian to his crowded resume of accolades, and it’s a distinct memory from between his World Championship appearances of the 2014 Winter Olympics that is as relevant as ever.
“The thing that sticks out is the shootout between Russia and the U.S. when T.J. Oshie went a bunch of times and kept scoring,” Eichel said during a recent morning skate at TD Garden prior to the Olympics. “I think that was probably the thing that I remember the most.”
Oshie became a household name with his masterful 4-for-6 performance in Team USA’s memorable preliminary-round shootout victory against Russia. It was the kind of showing that would leave a lasting impression on Eichel and many other youth hockey players in the nation who aspired to take the ice on that stage.
And in the next opportunity NHL players have to do just that, Eichel was at the center of Team USA’s efforts in Italy when the team dropped the puck against Latvia on Thursday in the first of three preliminary round matchups. Centering Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Eichel picked up a pair of assists in a 5-1 victory.
NHL players hadn’t competed in the Olympics since 2014, missing the competition in 2018 and 2022.
“Not having the opportunity to have done that so far in my career, and now having the chance to do it, yeah, it’s definitely something that sticks out, and I’m just really excited for it,” Eichel said.
Eichel was one of the first six players named to Team USA’s roster in June, joining Auston Matthews, the Tkachuk brothers, Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy, who all were members of Team USA at last February’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
Eichel isn’t the only U.S. player with Lowell-area roots. Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck, who starred at UMass Lowell for two seasons, is one of three goaltenders on the roster. Hellebuyck turned aside 17 shots against Latvia.
Of the 25 players rostered on Team USA, 21 of them competed in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Team USA fell to Canada, 3-2, in a thrilling overtime game in the finals of the tournament in Boston at TD Garden. For Eichel and many of his teammates, the ultra-intense tournament was a de facto warm-up for this winter’s Olympics.
Team USA center Jack Eichel, right, a native of North Chelmsford, eyes the puck during a 5-1 win over Latvia at the Winter Olympics on Thursday. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
“I think for a lot of us in this generation that haven’t played that best-on-best international, it was an opportunity to do that and get a little experience and see what it’s going to be like because I assume it will probably be similar,” Eichel said.
The smooth-skating Eichel emerged as one of Team USA’s most reliable players in the event, showcasing his immense playmaking ability while also proving himself as an elite two-way player. He picked up four assists in four games.
Eichel, who grew up skating on area rinks and ponds, said he always imagined himself playing in the Olympics.
“With some of the way that things have went the last how many ever years and the NHL players not being able to go, it’s definitely something you have in your mind when you’re training and you’re working the last few years and thinking to yourself this could be a possibility and how much it would mean to you to be a part of it,” Eichel said. “Really, really honored and feel very grateful to have the chance to wear the red, white and blue.”