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Tim Murray talks Eichel, Halo during Draft Combine

The 2015 NHL Draft Combine is underway in Buffalo, and many of the top players who will be drafted in this year’s entry draft are in town, riding bikes and trying not to vomit down at HARBORCenter. Among those players is likely Buffalo Sabres draftee Jack Eichel, and of course one of the execs watching everything take place is Sabres GM Tim Murray.

Murray was on WGR’s Schopp & the Bulldog show yesterday, and of course Eichel was one of the topics to come up. Here’s what Murray had to say about his future franchise player:

He was great…Certainly when he came in to our interview I think he knew it was an important interview and he was ready. He was prepared, he was quick, he was sharp, he was impressive.

Murray also commented on the mini-controversy about his comments after the draft lottery while confirming the scuttlebutt that Eichel was telling teams he thought he’d be a better player than McDavid:

He said that, and he also said to me that they [Eichel’s family] were pretty happy after the draft lottery, and he said “You may have been disappointed but you shouldn’t be.” And I said “Oh, I was never disappointed about the player we were going to get”, my frustration was maybe a little bit on how it went down, the lottery numbers changing in the middle of our rebuild. But never once did it enter my mind that I was disappointed with getting Jack Eichel.

We know what he can do on the ice, but Murray sounded very impressed with Eichel’s interview, including the quick wit and maturity exuded by the future #2 pick. From his comments, both parties seemed content with the knowledge that they were destined to be together, which is kind of an odd certainty for an event like the draft that’s often fueled by rampant speculation and disinformation.

While the conversation was focused mostly on the draft, towards the end things took a turn toward video games, as Murray mentioned Halo as his choice for the show’s debate on the video game hall of fame. After name dropping his old Atari with Activision’s Pong as his first console, Murray commented on his current gaming habits:

I bought the first XBOX and Halo for my oldest son, but it was really for me. We have four XBOXes in the house – two of each – and the only game I play is Halo.

And finally, when asked if he played online, Murray dropped this gem:

No – just strictly campaign, by myself, in the dark.

He’s currently playing through the Master Chief Collection, is looking forward to the new game coming out this October. I’m now going to spend the rest of the day imagining Murray inviting over Eichel for some split-screen co-op campaign action once the draft is over.