Penguins forward prospect Drew O'Connor could make his NHL debut

Drew O’Connor had some pretty modest goals as he headed to college.

Almost four years ago, O’Connor was hoping to attend Hobart in New York and walk on to the school’s Division III hockey team.

If that didn’t work out, he could play club hockey.

But things changed.

Like “play in the NHL” changed.

Those recalibrated goals could manifest themselves Tuesday if O’Connor is in the lineup for the Penguins’ road game against the Boston Bruins.

With forward Evan Rodrigues sidelined indefinitely by an undisclosed injury, O’Connor, a 22-year-old power forward whom the Penguins signed 10 months ago, skated on the team’s fourth line during practice Monday in Cranberry and even spent time with the second power-play unit.

That’s quite a jump from being a potential walk-on.

“It’s been kind of a long journey,” O’Connor said during a video conference. “There was a point in time when I was kind of just battling to just get on a college team. To be in this position, I’m very thankful. It’s all the work that I’ve put in paying of potentially. It’s definitely a cool spot to be in now.”

So what changed for O’Connor?

Well, he did. Physically.

Upon graduating high school in 2016, the Chatham, N.J., native was a modest 5-foot-9. A growth spurt sprouted him to a stout 6-foot-3 and prompted Dartmouth to extend a scholarship offer in 2018.

As a sophomore last season, O’Connor led Dartmouth with 32 points (21 goals, 11 assists) in 30 games. His goal total was the fifth best in all of NCAA Division I.

His blend of strength and skating at 200 pounds, as well as his obvious scoring touch, led the Penguins to make a furious push to sign him to a two-year entry-level deal in March.

In less than a year, he has become one of the organization’s top prospects, admittedly in a rather shallow pool of candidates.

“Our hockey (operations) department did their homework on Drew,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He was a sought-after guy coming out of Dartmouth. We knew he was a good player coming (into training camp). You can see his physical stature. He’s a big kid. He’s strong on the puck. He’s a good skater. He has good poise. He has a lot of the attributes that I think can potentially translate into being a real good pro.”

With the pandemic halting most hockey leagues in North America throughout the fall, O’Connor got his first taste of the pros in Norway when the Penguins loaned him to Manglerud Star of that country’s Eliteserien league in late October.

In seven games with Manglerud, O’Connor scored 10 points (six goals, four assists), albeit against a relatively low level of competition.

Regardless, O’Connor saw benefit.

“Just kind of the professional lifestyle,” O’Connor said. “Going to the rink every day, trying to get better every day. Working out, skating, doing extra things to just kind of work on my game. Being ready to play every game. That was super helpful for me to get a little taste of that pro hockey life for sure.”

After his loan was terminated in December, O’Connor was invited to the Penguins’ training camp earlier this month and primarily practiced with the main roster instead of other prospects and minor leaguers vying for a spot on the taxi squad.

He was even given a relatively normal roster number (10) instead of a “training camp” number more befitting an offensive lineman.

On Jan. 11, O’Connor was assigned to the taxi squad. He will need a formal recall to the NHL roster to play in Tuesday’s game and realize his ultimate goal.

“We’ll see what happens,” O’Connor said. “But it’s definitely an exciting thought to think about, potentially playing in a game. We’ll see how it goes on this (road) trip. Just excitement.”

“I’m sure it will be a little bit of nerves if that does happen.”

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