Jack O’Brien

August 2021 – O’Brien was not selected in the 2021 NHL Draft. He will re-enter the draft in 2022. Nick Richard

April 2021 – With the WHL season delayed, O’Brien made the decision to join the Lincoln Stars of the USHL in his draft year and it proved to be a difficult adjustment for the young center. After recording 14 goals and 16 assists in 55 games during his rookie season with the Portland Winterhawks, O’Brien has mustered just a single goal and six assists in 23 games with Lincoln.

O’Brien isn’t a player that is going to regularly grace highlight reels with elite offensive skill but he is a strong skater who plays a mature, intelligent game. His stride is clean and he consistently generates speed through the neutral zone with his quick feet and superb crossovers, allowing him to transport the puck himself or pressure defenders on the forecheck. He has a strong work rate and a good understanding of his defensive responsibilities, actively supporting the play in all three zones and rarely getting caught out of position. Not the most creative distributor, O’Brien can still be effective utilizing his vision to make heads-up passes to set his teammates up in good shooting areas. He is a player that could actually look better as he climbs the ladder to the professional ranks and gets to play in more structured systems with smarter players that will be in the right place more consistently. Like most young players, O’Brien will need to add strength to his frame in the coming years but he has the potential to be a reliable two-way pivot at the NHL level. Nick Richard