Jack Eichel says Team USA seeks to prove it has closed the gap on Canada at 4 Nations Face-Off

It didn’t take much to stir Jack Eichel’s national pride in looking ahead to representing the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

Appearing on a Team USA Zoom call on Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights forward jumped right in when reminded how U.S. teams featuring NHL players competing in best-on-best international tournaments haven’t won a gold medal since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey series.

“I’ll take it,” Eichel interjected after Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy apologized for not hearing the question.

“I think there’s a lot to prove for us as USA Hockey,” Eichel said. “I think for a while it was Canada on a pedestal by themselves. And I think for us, we feel like we’ve closed that gap. And I think this is a great opportunity to prove that.”