it never crossed their minds that Jack could become a pro or the prospect that he has become.

After graduating high school in three years to give him the option of playing NCAA hockey and thus close to home, Eichel enrolled at Boston University. And here he is.

For the first time he is playing for his school. He has never done that before.

***

Eichel played his first three college hockey games as a 17-year-old: Three goals, three assists and a plus-8.

He turned 18 on Tuesday, and he already is on the doorstep of a Jonathan Toews-comparable body. Just a little more weight and little more body thickness needed to prepare for the much more physical game that awaits him at the final level.

Eichel is a whisker over 6-foot-1, with 195sinewy pounds on his frame. As he walked to the shooting practice cage underneath BU's Agannis Arena with Drake bumping in his earbuds, he has a spring to his step. He walks the Earth with mini-calf raises.

On the latest round of strength testing, he front-squatted 320 pounds, cleaned 335 pounds, had a close-grip bench press of 250 pounds, a pull-up max of 25 reps, and body fat percentage of 6.3 percent.

"He is very competitive and a great team guy," Quinn says. "He wants the responsibility of being the best player and a team leader."

"You think of great players, and they might just be skilled," says fellow BU freshman Brandon Fortunato, who also played with Eichel on U.S. national teams, "but Jack is a complete player that plays with