

Jeff Skinner was selected 7th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and he went on to spend eight seasons in a Hurricanes jersey before he was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres earlier this week.

Preparing to play his first season for a team that isn’t the Hurricanes, the 26-year-old spoke to members of the media over a conference call on Friday and discussed what he’s looking forward to this season, especially playing alongside Jack Eichel.



“I’m excited to get to know him and meet him. He’s one of the top centremen in the game. Anytime you have that on your team, that’s exciting.” said Skinner. “I’m happy to be on his team now rather than playing against him.”





Skinner also mentioned how he thinks the team has a good young core in place, especially with Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Mittelstadt looking to make their mark on the organization.



“These are guys I haven’t seen much of but what I’ve heard, and some highlights I’ve seen, I think there’s a bunch of good pieces.”

The newest member of the Sabres scored 204 goals and added 175 assists for 379 points in 579 games as a member of the Hurricanes, and is coming off a season where he scored 24 goals and 49 points in 82 games.

(H/T WIVB)