BUFFALO — For now, Jack Eichel is just another rookie with a funny number.
No. 41 will not stay on Eichel’s back for long.
At the conclusion of the season-starting warmup laps known as rookie camp and main camp, Eichel will toss aside No. 41. The North Chelmsford native then will pull on a blue No. 15, the number he’s been destined to wear ever since Buffalo ended up with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft lottery.
On Saturday at the First Niagara Center, Eichel competed in a Buffalo jersey for the first time as part of the Prospects Challenge, the three-team rookie tournament. It took Eichel all of 25 seconds to record his first point.
The puck skittered through the neutral zone to start the sequence. Eichel clicked through his transmission, hit sixth gear, and tracked down the puck to kick off a two-on-one rush. Eichel backhanded the puck across the crease to Nicholas Baptiste. Before New Jersey goalie Mackenzie Blackwood finished his push from right to left, Baptiste had collected Eichel’s tape-to-tape dish and snapped the puck into the net at 0:25 of the night.
“His game is to be able to set guys up,” Randy Cunneyworth, who coached the Sabres rookies, said after Buffalo’s 6-2 win over New Jersey. “He’s got that breakaway speed. He can pull away from people, make things happen, find room. If he’s not able to do it himself, he’ll find space for somebody else where he’s throwing the puck into areas where others can get it. He has that creativity. We liked what we saw today.”
Cunneyworth is not the first coach to like what he’s seen. Boston University coach David Quinn had a year of Eichel on Commonwealth Avenue, which was enough to hope for a second season back in school.
Quinn, however, was realistic about the outcome. After winning the Hobey Baker Award and leading the Terriers to the NCAA championship game against Providence, Eichel had no business playing college hockey as a sophomore.
Eichel is a professional hockey player. Saturday’s game was one of his checkpoints en route to the profession of his choice.
“I know it’s a prospects tournament,” Eichel said. “But you’re suiting up against another team. You’re putting your game sweater on. It seems like a real game. It’s nice to get off on the right foot. We’re a pretty confident bunch now after a good game against a pretty good team.”
Eichel centered Baptiste and former Boston University linemate Evan Rodrigues. They played well together. Rodrigues triggered the game-opening goal with a chip up the ice. It was like Eichel and Rodrigues were back at Agganis Arena, with Baptiste playing the part of Danny O’Regan, the third member of BU’s power line.
Baptiste and Rodrigues will not be Eichel’s linemates for long. When the regular season opens, Eichel projects to be Buffalo’s No. 2 center behind Ryan O’Reilly. Eichel’s potential wingmen include Evander Kane and Matt Moulson.
Eichel has the speed, power, deception, and creativity to play high-pace hockey with players like Kane and Moulson. Eichel likes to carry the puck, especially down the left flank. From there, Eichel’s toolbox expands. He can snap shots on goal. He can cut inside and look for far-post threats. He can accelerate down the wall and force his defender to take penalties, which he did twice against the Devils.
In the second period, Eichel steamed down the left wing against Blake Coleman. Eichel cut back inside on Coleman, causing the New Jersey forward to tumble over his skates. In a desperation move, the falling Coleman swiped at Eichel with his stick. Eichel fell into the end boards and Coleman was called for tripping.
In the third, Eichel powered past Vojtech Mozik. Because of Eichel’s momentum, Mozik was forced to take an interference penalty to try and slow down the center.
“It’s the reach, the foot speed, the way he can pull away,” Cunneyworth said. “He can do that. It looks impressive when he’s able to move his feet and pull away. He’ll show you the puck, pull away, and keep on going. It’s a fun thing to watch.”
The No. 2 pick looked crisp in his first game. He has one more tuneup against the Bruins before he moves up alongside the big boys in main camp. The Sabres will then have a better idea of what to expect from Eichel in his rookie season.
As unlimited as Eichel’s future ceiling may be, it’s hard to determine how the teenager will perform against experienced, surly men. That will come when the Sabres open the regular season on Oct. 8 against Ottawa.
By then, Eichel will be back in No. 15. Neither he nor his employer can wait.
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.