CHELMSFORD — Driving to home games, he would look around in disbelief.

He watched fans walk through Buffalo, N.Y., streets toward the First Niagara Center, the arena where the Buffalo Sabres play.

Many wore jerseys with his name. Heady stuff for a teenager.

Jack Eichel shakes his head at the many memories from last season, his rookie one in the National Hockey League.

“It’s a little weird,” the 19-year-old North Chelmsford native said from his parent’s home Tuesday afternoon. “You’re driving through the city and you see people … wearing your jersey. It takes you back a bit. Buffalo has a lot of great fans. I’m lucky to play there.”

Eichel enjoyed a successful rookie season. Though he was not named one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy, given to the NHL’s top rookie, Eichel collected 24 goals and 32 assists. He scored 42 points over his final 49 games and became the youngest player in Buffalo history to reach the 20-goal mark (19 years, 131 days).

But the center, now packing 205 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame, expects more. He vows to become more of a leader. He wants to lead the Sabres back into the playoffs.

“I think I can start to take on more of a leadership role. I expect a lot more out of myself. Getting to the rink earlier. Staying later. That’s how I envision it and that’s how it should be,” he said.

He trains every day expect Sunday. When he’s not skating, he’s working out. When he’s not working out, he’s meeting with a nutritionist. Hello, organic food. Goodbye, junk food.

“I feel great now and I feel great in the gym. I’m pretty happy where I am now,” he said.

Christmas gift

Though he has an apartment in the Seaport section of Boston (a four-month lease), Eichel is clearly happy to be home. He’s extremely close with his father, Bob, mother, Anne, and sister, Jessie, a Merrimack College graduate now living in Dracut. He affectionately hugs the family’s 10-year-old golden retriever and wonders why Riley can’t make visits to Buffalo.

His rookie season in the NHL was a dream. Staying in first-class hotels. Being paid handsomely ($925,000, according to reports) to play a game he loves. He is a spokesman for Bauer and Tim Horton’s, and is in talks to pitch a sports drink.

But perhaps his fondest memory from last season was a Christmas morning skate he took with his father at Skate 3 in Tyngsboro. No screaming fans. No cameras. Just the two of them. Prior to Christmas, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft was struggling to produce points.

After a stunning freshman season at Boston University, one in which he scored 71 points — the most in the country — and won the Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey’s top player, Eichel arrived in Buffalo with expectations few NHL players have encountered.

He trained tirelessly for the NHL Draft Combine. He attended the draft. He skated at Buffalo’s development camp. By the time Christmas rolled around, he was running out of gas. Coming home for five days was a breath of fresh air.

“It was nice getting to hang out with the family. It kind of reminded me a lot of when I was younger. It definitely resets your mind. You can go pretty crazy playing in the NHL and overthinking things. It was a good reset for me for the rest of the season,” he said.

The day after Christmas, the Sabres played the Bruins in Boston. It was his first time playing at the TD Garden as a pro.

He estimates he had 100 family and friends at the game.

“It was probably one of the best moments of my life … coming out and seeing a lot of people I know around the glass watching me. Yeah, I was a little nervous for that game,” he said.

Eichel didn’t play like it. He finished with two goals and two assists in Buffalo’s victory.

“It was huge for me to come home to see my family,” said Eichel, who moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., to join the U.S. National Development Program after his freshman year at Chelmsford High.

High expectations

Asked to assess his rookie season with the Sabres, Eichel pauses.

“I think it was good. I think I learned a lot of things. There’s still some things I need to get better at. I wasn’t as good as I should have been,” he said. “But it went well. The people in Buffalo were awesome to me. I couldn’t have been welcomed any better. If I scored on breakaways, I could have scored 30 goals. You expect a lot more out of yourself after seeing what you can do.”

Eichel is a big deal in Buffalo. A very big deal. He knows his every move is scrutinized.

“It’s something you have to deal with as a pro. People are going to recognize you. Buffalo is not the biggest city. In terms of a hockey market, it’s a small one. More than anything you appreciate it. I’d rather be in a place where you’re noticed. It’s a great place to play,” he said.

As a rookie, Eichel lived with veteran teammate Matt Moulson and his family. Eichel can’t say enough good things about the Moulsons. This season he will room with Sam Reinhart, a talented forward from Canada who was also an NHL rookie last season.

Eichel will arrive in Buffalo on Aug. 27, then report Sept. 5 to Montreal for training camp for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Eichel will skate in the eight-team tournament, which will be held in Toronto, for Team North America, a squad made up of some of the best under-23 players in the world. One of his teammates will be Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, the top pick in the 2015 draft and a player he has been endlessly compared to for years.

“We’re teammates here for the World Cup and we’re all trying to win. I think that’s the most important thing. I don’t think it should be odd at all for us to be on the same team. We’re both competitive guys who happened to be in the same draft,” Eichel said.

Lessons learned

Eichel played in 81 of 82 games as a rookie.

Blame a grilled cheese sandwich from room service in Toronto — and the resulting food poisoning — for a late-season game absence.

“That was actually a goal of mind, to play all 82 games, so that really hurt. That meant a lot to me. It takes a lot to play in all 82 games,” he said. “But 81 is still a pretty good number for a rookie.”

He learned plenty as a rookie — on and off the ice. How strong Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby is on the puck. How tenacious Chicago’s Jonathan Toews is. How much of a two-way force Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar is. How quickly Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith can close on a puck.

The opening chapter of Eichel’s NHL career was promising. He can’t wait to start writing the sequel.

“Playing in the NHL is my dream. It’s everything I’ve always wanted,” he said.

Follow Barry Scanlon on Twitter@BarryScanlonSun.