A new year brings new opportunity for Penguins forward Drew O'Connor

Spatially, Drew O’Connor is exactly where he was at the start of 2021.

On the ice at PPG Paints Arena.

Metaphorically, he is light years away from that point at the start of his 2022.

When the Pittsburgh Penguins gathered for a brief training camp Jan. 3, 2021 in advance of the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, O’Connor was in attendance as a rookie still picking up the abecedarian elements of the professional games.

Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Dartmouth in March of 2020, O’Connor was granted favored-nations status for the camp and practiced primarily with players who figured to open the season on the NHL roster. Other prospects, including a few with first-round pedigrees, were herded into a second group that was likely to be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).

The Penguins had high hopes for O’Connor. Heck, they didn’t even give him a so-called “training camp number” on his jersey more befitting an offensive tackle. Instead, he was wearing No. 10.

Fittingly enough, he only played 10 NHL games last season and rarely looked anything close to remarkable as he recorded a single assist.

Without the benefit of a true training camp or even a proper offseason because of the pandemic, O’Connor looked overwhelmed by the highest level of the professional game.

An apprenticeship at the second-highest level — the AHL — did him some good. In 20 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he recorded 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists).

Following a productive offseason, O’Connor earned a roster spot out of training camp in September and has filled just about any hole the Penguins’ pockmarked lineup has had.

At the dawn of 2022, he’s filling a pretty big void as a temporary replacement for the Penguins’ top defensive center, Teddy Blueger.

For the past handful of days, O’Connor has been centering the Penguins’ shutdown line with Zach Aston-Reese at left wing and Brock McGinn on the right wing. With Blueger still in protocols for covid-19 as of Saturday, O’Connor figures to be the pivot on that line when the Penguins host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

He is well aware of the considerable expectations that line — and the person deployed as its center — command.

“One of the things about that line is how good they are defensively,” O’Connor said. “All three of them are really good in that aspect of the game, and they can play a really good two-way game. For me, kind of just doing what I can in that role. With those two wingers, they make it easy on you because they help you out a lot. Listening to them, any feedback, things like that and just kind of working with them.”

Appearing in 19 NHL games and scoring five points (two goals, three assists) this season, O’Connor has skated primarily either as a left winger or center. He’s still relatively new to the latter position.

“I’ve been a wing most of my life. I played center a little bit when I was young. My sophomore of college, played probably half the year at center. Then spent some time at center in (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) the last couple of (seasons). This (season), I think I only played center down there (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) when I was down there. So I think I’m getting a lot more comfortable there. I feel like I can navigate the ice a little bit better from when I first started there. It’s kind of slowing down a little bit in my head for me and I kind of feel a lot more comfortable there now.”

That comfort has led Penguins management — admittedly, with limited options at the moment primarily because of covid-19 — to turn to O’Connor in a pinch.

“He brings size, speed, finishing ability, playmaking ability,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “And he’s getting better and better on the defensive side of the puck. He’s getting more comfortable playing center with the (repetitions) that he’s getting in practice and some of the opportunity that he’s had to play center in the game. We, as a coaching staff, have a comfort level, at this point, in playing Drew in the middle. He has aptitude for the game. He picks things up quickly and because of that, he’s really established himself as a guy who can play multiple positions. For all those reasons, we know he’s an option there that we can move into that position and we feel comfortable that he can get the job done.”

That’s probably not a sentiment the Penguins, or even O’Connor, would have echoed a year ago.

“It’s been kind of a crazy year, I guess,” O’Connor said. “Played a lot of hockey this year. Just continuing to adjust to this level. That time in (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) did me a lot of good last (season). It’s been kind of an exciting year. Super happy to be here now playing.”