Fansided

Buffalo Sabres star Jack Eichel suffers brutal leg injury (Video)

By Josh Hill

Mar 31, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel (15) skates with the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel (15) skates with the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Buffalo Sabres star Jack Eichel’s season looks to be over before it can even get started, suffering a brutal leg injury in practice.

There are not a lot of things to cheer about if you’re a Buffalo sports fan. The Bills have struggled, there’s no baseball team to speak of and basketball is an amateur sport at best. But the Sabres are the great hope of the city, a team that has risen to the top before and made fans rally around a team that most of the country ignores.

No one is ignoring Buffalo today, but not because of any sort of success.

Young star Jack Eichel’s suffered a nasty leg injury in practice on Wednesday, one that forced him to be carried off the ice. Footage of the injury shows that it wasn’t sustained on a hit or a broken play, rather it just happened. While there is no news yet on Eichel’s status, the injury looks severe enough that it could put his season in jeopardy.

The video of the injury isn’t exactly the way Sabres fans wanted to see the season start — and possibly already end.

Next: 2016-17 NHL Season Preview

This is a blow to more than just the Sabres if Eichel is in fact out for the entire season. The NHL is desperately trying to keep up with the other major sports in America, and young stars like Eichel are the sales pitch. Without him on the ice, the Sabres will continue to wither away in the Eastern Conference, and the future of the game will continue to be on hold. But perhaps they get a good draft pick and can get a star to pair alongside Eichel, so that is a silver lining of sorts.

Eichel and the young stars of tomorrow were why the World Cup of Hockey was so fun to watch this year, but it was a small glimpse of a dream that still seems far off in the future.

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