Who had the better NHL debut: Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel?

All of last season NHL teams were salivated for his services. On April 18th the Edmonton Oilers were the fortunate ones to win the Connor McDavid lottery.

A decade ago the hockey world was introduced to Crosby vs. Ovechkin talk and Thursday we were introduced to McDavid vs. Eichel comparisons at the NHL level.

McDavid and Eichel, the first- and second-overall picks from the 2015 NHL Draft both made their NHL regular season debuts and the comparisons began before the pucks dropped in their respective games.

Eichel made an impact for the Sabres during a comeback attempt in the third period of a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators as the American registered his first career goal.

McDavid, meanwhile, showed glimpses of his blinding speed but was held off the scoreboard in a 3-1 Edmonton Oilers loss at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.

Here’s a look at how their stats matched up in their official NHL debut.

ICE-TIME
McDavid – 18:07
Eichel – 21:58

GOALS
McDavid – 0
Eichel – 1

ASSISTS
McDavid – 0
Eichel – 0

SHOTS
McDavid – 2
Eichel – 3

HITS
McDavid – 0
Eichel – 1

PENALTY MINUTES
McDavid – 0
Eichel – 0

PLUS/MINUS
McDavid – minus-1
Eichel – minus-1

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