The Chelmsford connection
Jack Eichel controls the puck during a recent game against Adrian College at the Ice Cube.
Photo by Scott Mapes
Eichel, the U-18 team's leading scorer this season with 22 goals in 29 games, and defenseman Ryan Bliss share a unique background. They both came to the national program from Chelmsford, Mass., a northern suburb of Boston.
So on the rare times they get to go home, mostly during the summer between school years at Pioneer, they still see each other in Chelmsford. And when they get homesick during the season, they have each other.
Ryan Bliss
Photo by Scott Mapes
"He's one of my real good friends," said Bliss, a Cornell University commit. "It's nice to have him here and also at home, just have the same schedule as somebody else."
"When we go home in the summer and things like that, we're able to work out, skate together," Eichel said. "We push each other.
"Usually nobody from your hometown or where you're from understands what the program is about, so having somebody like Ryan around is really nice because he understands it. At the end of the summer, we're always gunning to get back here and we're really excited about it. Yeah, it's really nice to have somebody like that."
For the rest of the 44 players split between the U-17 and U-18 teams, it is a mix of hometowns and backgrounds. Many players are from the hockey-rich states of Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York. Blake Weyrick, a goaltender for the U-18 team, is from Ojai, Calif. Auston Matthews, a forward on the U-17 team, is from Scottsdale, Ariz.
