O’Connor draws NHL interest; Eichel prepares for WJCs

Junior netminder Matt O'Connor is drawing interest of several of the Canadian NHL teams, according to an Edmonton Journal article. At midseason, the 6-5 junior from Toronto has a 1.67 GAA, a .941 save percentage and a 10-2-1 record. His highlight reel skate save against Rensselaer was the NCAA top play of the week.

The Journal article quoted Elliotte Friedman of Canada's Sportnet reporting that representatives of the Maple Leafs talked with O'Connor, an undrafted free agent, last Saturday and that Craig MacTavish, the Oilers GM (and father of 2015 BU recruit Sean MacTavish), met with him a few weeks back. Vancouver and Ottawa also were mentioned as teams interested in him. Last summer, O'Connor was invited to three NHL development camp: Chicago, Rangers and Vancouver. It certainly would not be surprising if O'Connor, who will be 23 in February, leaves for the pros following this season.

World Junior Championships and Jack Eichel news
The 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships are just a few days away. Team USA has one

exhibition game remaining—Tuesday night against Sweden--before its first preliminary round game against Finland on Friday. Freshman Jack Eichel, who sat out Sunday’s exhibition game against Germany, is expected to be back in the line-up and skated on the first line in practice today. 

● USA Hockey World Junior Championships home page
● Live TV and stream details for Team USA at World Junior Championships
● NHL Network live broadcast schedule at WJCs

The 18 year old center from North Chelmsford, projected to be one of the first picks in next June’s NHL draft, continues to draw seemingly non-stop attention from hockey media in the U.S. and in Canada.   
● ESPN: BU, Team USA All in on Jack Eichel 

● College Hockey Inc. First Semester Helps WJC Freshmen 

“One of the reasons I wanted to play college hockey was playing against older, stronger guys on a nightly basis,” said Eichel. “I think it’s really going to help me in the long run, making sure I’m competing for every loose puck, moving my feet and avoiding hits when I can. I’ve got to work hard at the faceoff dot and away from the puck.”

● La Presse of Montreal: Humble Jack Eichel enters world junior hockey spotlight
● Sportsnet Canada: Eichel could go no. 1 in 2015 NHL draft 
● The Star: McDavid vs. Eichel world junior hockey subplot

Comparing Boston University's Jack Eichel to other high scoring first year NCAA freshmen. http://t.co/NDeC49IKzq
— Matt Grainda (@graindaiv) December 22, 2014

From Friday’s BU-USA game
 ● USCHO: Melissa Wade’s photo gallery
 ● USA Hockey: extended video highlights

Looking ahead

For the second time in a month, 2015 recruit Jakob Forsacka-Karlsson has earned the USHL's CCM Forward of the Week honor. The Omaha Lancers center scored twice, including the overtime game-winner, in the Lancers' 4-3 win against Tri-City, as he recorded his second consecutive three-point game. Forsbacka-Karlsson leads Omaha in scoring and is tied for eighth overall in the USHL with 26 points. In his last 11 games, he tallied eight goals and 10 assists.
 

2016 recruit Clayton Keller scored a goal and assisted on another goal but the US entry at the 2014 U17 Four Nations' Tournament in Ann Arbor dropped a 3-2 decision to Russia in the gold medal game. The left-shot center from Swansea, Ill., led all tournament skaters in scoring with three goals and five assists in four games. After 27 games, Keller has a team best 17-24-41 scoring line.

Recap and box score

2016 recruit Johnny McDermott scored an unassisted goal that was the game-winner for Westminster School’s 5-2 win over Milton Academy in the annual Flood-Marr tournament. The Martlets lost to Salisbury, 2-1 in the tournament final.

2017 recruit David Farrance scored 12 points (5G, 7A) in three Syracuse Stars wins, 7-0 and 10-1, and 11-4, over the South Shore Kings this past weekend.  The left-shot defenseman from Victor, N.Y., has a 19-20-39 scoring line in 20 games and is the point leader for the Stars, who have won 19 of 20 games and have outscored opponents by a 126-23 margin. Farrance is fifth overall in the USPHL’s 16U league scoring race.