BOSTON -- Halfway through the first period of Friday night's exhibition match between the United States junior team and Boston University, Jack Eichel jumped on a Terriers defensive miscue and sprang down the right wing on a 2-on-1 break. Eichel, a BU freshman on loan to the United States squad for the upcoming World Junior Championships, dangled the puck as he zeroed in on his Terriers teammate, 6-foot-5 goaltender Matt O'Connor. As the lone BU defender covered the second USA forward, Eichel calmly waited for O'Connor to commit. O'Connor obliged and dropped into his butterfly, and Eichel ripped the puck just under the crossbar to give Team USA its second short-handed goal in 30 seconds and a commanding 2-0 lead.

After Team USA's convincing 5-2 win at Walter Brown Arena, Eichel explained the goal. "I told O'Connor before the game that I was going to look to shoot between his legs," the 18-year-old center said with a wry grin. "So he went down, and I was able to go over him."

The play and postgame comments were vintage Eichel, combining the impish humor of a middle schooler, the man-size physical attributes that have tortured collegiate opponents this season and the extraordinary vision and timing that could make him the top pick in the NHL entry draft next June.

"He has what I call Larry Bird court sense," said former BU coach Jack Parker, who recruited Eichel to Commonwealth Avenue. "He sees the whole ice. Everywhere. He makes plays that other people can't even think about. You better be ready and alert because he's going to burn you."

For the next 16 days, Eichel, who was named Team USA's captain for the BU exhibition, will be among the leaders for the Red, White and Blue at the World Juniors in Quebec and Toronto, Ontario. But Boston University is his home.

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This past August, Ben Smith, a USA Hockey national teams consultant from Boston's North Shore, picked Eichel up at his North Chelmsford home and drove him to the USA junior team development camp in Lake Placid, New York. Along the way, a curious Smith asked the teenager if he was excited to attend BU, the school he committed to before he turned 15.

"I can't tell you how excited I am," Eichel told Smith. "It's the first time in my life I'm going to play for my school team."

Think about that. For most young men, dreams of playing for their high school team trump even delusions of NHL glory. But Eichel never did. Instead, he developed his talents with several select programs, such as the Boston Junior Bruins and USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Michigan. But school was still part of the plan.

"I think Jack was brought up the right way," Parker said. "His family has the right values, and they know they have a very talented human being. But they also know they have a teenager, who they want to take the right stops along the way.

"When I first met him and he committed to coming to BU, I thought he wouldn't really show up and that he'd wind up going to play major junior A [in Canada]," he said. "I've seen it happen in the past. But his parents told me over and over again that he was going to go to BU, and sure enough, here he is."

According to Eichel, it's the ideal fit.

"I never played for a school, so to be able to come to BU and play for the Terriers, it's been a dream come true," he said. "I never really experienced playing a game in front of students and them all being behind you. And then you're at the dining hall the next day, and someone says, 'Good game' or 'Congratulations.' It's really nice."

Despite persistent rumors from north of the boarder that Eichel might follow in the footsteps of players such as former Terrier Charlie Coyle (who left halfway through his sophomore year at BU to play for the St. John's Seadogs), the nation's current leading collegiate scorer said he has no intentions of relocating.

"I'll shoot [the rumor] down now," Eichel said. "I don't plan on going anywhere the second half of the year. I'm perfectly content staying at BU. I love this place."

The feeling is mutual. Following the postgame handshake line on Friday, Eichel stayed on the ice with his Terriers teammates for the traditional stick salute to their fans, a single white USA jersey surrounded by scarlet throwback BU sweaters.

"We talked a little bit after the game, and he said it was very weird playing against his team," BU coach David Quinn said. "He gets along great with his teammates. He's a great leader, and he really cares about winning. He cares about being a great teammate."

Eichel is a rare talent. He isn't a pretty skater, but he is a powerful one. "He's an impressive player," USA teammate Hudson Fashing of Minnesota said. "His speed. He just explodes. You don't always realize how fast he is when you're out there, but he just flies. One time, I tried to drive wide, and I'm working so hard to get around him, and he just looks effortless. It just looks effortless."

Eichel skates upright and constantly has his head up, which allows him to employ that "Larry Bird court sense" while everyone is focusing on him. He has the strength and size (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) to shield the puck until he decides what to do with it.

"We got to come in a couple of weeks before school starte, and get in the weight room," said Matt Grzelcyk, BU's junior captain and a Boston Bruins draft pick. "Some of the guys were shocked at his power off the ice. He's very dedicated to that -- working out on his own. Coming to school, I knew how powerful a skater he was, but I think he's really matured. He can skate with two guys draped all over him. He finds a way to get the job done."

BU forward Danny O'Regan, who played for the U.S. junior team last year, agreed.

"He's just a freak on the ice, the way he can overpower people, and blow by people even with guys holding on to him," the San Jose draft pick said.

But there's also an eye-of-the storm calmness to Eichel that's almost eerie. He never appears to get rattled, even when he's being hacked and whacked. Parker, asked if there was a single word that described Eichel, replied: "Poise."

"From that time to the time he arrived at BU, and now that I've seen him play in college, I can't believe how much better he's gotten," Parker said. "He's made big strides. He's just growing up, getting more mature, getting more physically strong. But all the attributes he had when he was 14 or 15 and dominating kids, he still has now, and he's still dominating kids."

Just don't expect Eichel to admit it. Humility, Quinn said, is a big part of Eichel's makeup, and it was on display again Friday. He said the U.S. junior team was still finding the chemistry needed to succeed on the world stage, and some of his passes were off target. The reality was Eichel's teammates, not unlike the teammates of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, were simply not ready for some of his feeds.

"The best thing about that line, when they're on the bench, they're talking about it," U.S. junior team coach Mark Osiecki said. "It starts with Jack. Jack does a great job speaking almost coaches' language -- not only to his linemates, but the whole team. He does a tremendous job. He's such a great leader and a great kid. So that helps a lot, and we can build out from there."

Or, as O'Regan said: "It's pretty easy to play with him, to be honest. You just have to get open and wait for him to do his magic."

Boston College goaltender Thatcher Demko, one of a trio of goaltenders on the U.S. junior roster, gave a between-the-pipes perspective.

"He's obviously a threat offensively," the sophomore netminder said. "When he's on the ice, you always have to be aware, and the hair on your neck sticks up a little bit."

Eichel's talent and accomplishments lead to the obvious question: Will he leave BU after his freshman year? Projected to go no later than No. 2 in the 2015 NHL draft, Eichel will have the choice to remain in school or sign a pro contract.

"My advice -- and we've had many kids in that situation, whether they're sophomores or juniors -- is real simple," Parker said. "I know exactly when you should leave BU. That's when you leave here, and you're going right into the NHL.

"So the question is: Who drafts him, and how much of a possibility is there, or a probability, that he'll be an NHL payer next year?" he said. "Because if he's not going to be in the NHL, there's no sense in going to the American Hockey League. You might as well get closer to a degree. You might as well get closer to playing the NHL brand of hockey, where you're working out off the ice more and playing fewer games and practicing more. All of those things are big pluses to a kid who is still growing and still getting better."

Former Pittsburgh Penguins and Olympic coach Dan Bylsma saw plenty of young talent during his tenure in the Steel City, including Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. He warned that while Eichel had the skills to make the jump directly to the NHL, the league hasn't always been kind to first-year centers.

"The team that gets Jack is going to be a needy team," he said. "It's going to be a team near the bottom of the league. That's certainly going to be a situation where they're going to need an elite centerman.

"I do think he can play," Bylsma said. "But sometimes, for the development of the player, is it the best thing to go right in and play? It's a tough question. There are bumps in playing in the National Hockey League. It's going to be difficult."

Bylsma concurred that teenage hockey prodigies often meet the same fate as highly touted NFL quarterbacks: drafted by weak teams that can't offer adequate protection. Centers prosper when they're allowed to mature, much like the Patriots' Tom Brady or the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers.

"Look at [Montreal Canadiens forward] Alex Galchenyuk, who is an excellent center, but hasn't played center yet," Bylsma said. "It's the hardest position to play. I'd like to see Jack as a third-line center for a team -- not a first-line center -- when he starts."

The ideal situation for Eichel, Bylsma said, would be a team already strong at center, such as the Carolina Hurricanes, with the Staal brothers, Eric and Jordan.

Before Friday's exhibition, Bylsma admitted he hadn't seen enough of Eichel to judge whether he was NHL-ready. But after the first period, after Eichel scored his short-handed tally and almost had a second with a strong net drive, Bylsma updated his assessment.

"He's good," Bylsma said with a smile, pointing at Eichel. "That No. 9? He's good."