Patience the best virtue for the Big Three
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - On Friday night in Sunrise, Florida, NHL history was made.
For the first time in the entry draft era, three of the top eight selections were spent on top talent from Division I college hockey: Boston University's Jack Eichel went second overall to the Buffalo Sabres, Noah Hanifin from Boston College was snagged at the fifth slot by the Carolina Hurricanes and Zach Werenski of the Michigan Wolverines was spotted at No. 8 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It was the most heralded portion of a decent two-day stretch for American education, which saw 56 players taken from 27 different universities through all seven rounds of the 2015 draft process.
While speculation on their respective futures gallop at a speed faster than American Pharaoh during the run for the Triple Crown, and the phrase "generational talent" rings through your ears, repeat the following two ideas: they're just kids, not commodities.
After a season-long blitz of endless hype which leads up to an announcement, handshake and jersey donning, it might be difficult to internalize. Forget about the well-worn cliche of being "mature for (their) age." Eichel and Hanifin are only 18, while Werenski's a mere babe in the woods at 17. The first are just ahead of cut-off dates to purchase cigarettes in the USA or drink in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec while the other should be hitting up his senior prom next spring.
For Eichel, the burdens may be doubly difficult to bear. Over the course of his 71-point, Hobey Baker-winning campaign, the Boston-area native drew constant comparisons to Paul Kariya -- the last freshman to be named college hockey's best player back in 1993 for the University of Maine and the last one to reach the 100-point plateau before embarking on a distinguished 16-year career.
As the Terriers made it to the national final before losing to Providence, either he stays in college and deals with the pressure to help BU win it all, or makes the leap to the pros where all eyes are transfixed to see how he rejuvenates the NHL's worst team.
What should also be taken into consideration in any comparisons, is that after Kariya laid waste to the D-I landscape, he stayed with the Black Bears for part of his sophomore season, jumped to the Canadian Olympic squad where he won a Silver medal, then arrived in Anaheim for the lockout-shortened 1995 season to begin his professional sojourn.
If you're strictly observing events through the lens of NHL fandom, it's easy to dehumanize the players inside the jerseys.
For eight months, you're subject to repeated highlight loops, see the experts pound glowing scouting reports into your brains, and are hammered with the hyperbolic language of social media when these kids are simply on ice acting and reacting while playing the game they love. Writers and broadcasters fall over themselves to crow about how smart they are when their mock drafts end up looking similar to the real thing, forgetting it doesn't matter a bit in the grand scheme, and least of all to the guys who fuel those fantasies.
Despite their lofty perches, all three should only be worried about their respective course loads, returning to campus refreshed and ready to bond with friends and teammates, attentive to their fitness and practice schedules.
David Quinn is building something special on the eastern end of Commonwealth Ave. in just his third year at the helm following Jack Parker; no matter how skilled and touted a player may be, all-time wins leader Jerry York fosters an environment where care is rewarded with loyalty and deep postseason runs; Red Berenson has expertly guided his program which once reached 22 straight national postseasons through a down cycle and is poised for a Big Ten breakthrough.
It's incredible to think that to some degree, the fate of their respective franchises may rest on the untested shoulders of the trio when you consider the following:
a) The top-rated undrafted American, Eichel wasn't even the best player on BU's top line last year, as that honor went to then-senior, free agent and recent Sabres signee Evan Rodrigues.
b) Named the second-best undrafted American next to Eichel, Hanifin clocked in as the third-best defenseman on the Eagles last season. Now that Michael Matheson hooked on with Florida, and Devils' 2013 draftee Steve Santini is back, he's provisionally second.
c) Youth on his side, Werenski could conceivably play all four seasons in Ann Arbor and exit for the pros only one year behind players who stay until the age limit in Canadian juniors.
Once allowed to don the purple and gold, will Eichel be allowed to develop as the next Pat LaFontaine, or as himself? Can fans of the Whalercanes put their memories aside and allow Noah Hanifin to bloom into a force on the blueline in his own right, and not fall prey to the pitfalls of recalling Frank Kaberle or Aaron Ward? Are fans in Ohio's capital clamoring to see Wisniewski in Werenski?
All in good time, folks.
Let youth be served and hope that the maturity of all involved allows for the proper time to develop in familiar circumstances.