O’Brien looks to prove pedigree with Marlies

Former 2018 first-round pick has overcome numerous injuries en route to signing first pro deal

Jay O’Brien is well aware that most first-round picks from the 2018 NHL draft are making an impact at the big-league level. But, bedevilled by injuries, the 23-year old centre from Hingham, Mass., is only now turning pro.

“I definitely think it motivates me,” says O’Brien, who signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Marlies 11 days ago. “But I’m a motivated kid to begin with it. It’s been an interesting path … I don’t think it’s one anyone would have drawn up.

“Some really unfortunate injuries over the past couple of years, which is difficult because it’s so out of your control. I know when I’m healthy, I know I can play in the NHL, I know I can be an impact player. I’ve been skating with NHLers all summer, pushing myself with them. I do believe in myself. You can get frustrated sometimes, but my confidence never wavered.”

His last coach, Boston University’s Jay Pandolfo, believes the Maple Leafs organization may have landed a diamond in the rough.

“I think he’s going to surprise some people,” says Pandolfo, who spent 15 years in the NHL. “(He’s) really competitive, a good two-way player. Can play either centre or wing. He was very good for us. Very effective. We used him in all situations.

“If he can establish himself, and get confidence early in the year, I think he has an opportunity to move up pretty quickly.”

O’Brien’s journey to the Marlies has been an interesting one. He was selected 19th by Philadelphia, right out of high school, in the 2018 draft. Ron Hextall, then the Flyers GM, admitted it might take O’Brien some time to develop but he liked his competitive level, his hockey sense, and his ability to be an agitator. The name Jeremy Roenick was thrown around as a comparable.

“I would say I play with a bit of an edge,” says O’Brien, six feet and 188 pounds. “Sometimes in the past, I wouldn’t say I crossed the line but … OK, I guess I went over it a few times. I had to learn how to not do that. When I’m playing with that edge, that’s when I’m at my best.

“I’ve been through some stuff over the last couple of years, and it’s fuelled me.”

O’Brien started the 2018-19 season at Providence College but it did not go well; he had five points in 24 games. He left Providence after one year, joined the Penticton Vees of the BCHL for a season, leading the team in scoring, then returned to NCAA hockey with Boston University. But the injuries began to pile up: a shoulder problem, a concussion, and a hip issue that required surgery last summer.

“Your labrum starts to tear, you get some impingement,” he says. “It was probably hurting me for a three or four years, and I got it repaired in New York by the same guy that did (Nikita) Kucherov, (Tyler) Seguin, (David) Pastrnak, (Brad) Marchand. He did a great job with me.”

The Flyers, though, had changed management, with Danny Brière taking over for Chuck Fletcher, who in turn had replaced Hextall.

Brière decided he would rather have a compensatory secondround pick (for not signing a firstround pick) than a soon-to-be 24year-old who had eight goals (and 32 points in 39 games) in his final college season.

“A lot of turnover in the organization,” O’Brien says. “It wasn’t the right fit for both sides. But I wish (Brière) the best, and the whole organization.”

The Flyers’ loss could well be the Leafs’ gain, a low-risk, high-reward investment (although, since he signed an AHL contract, O’Brien is still considered an NHL free agent).

“I definitely think the injuries hurt him,” Pandolfo says. “It’s tough, year in and year out, to battle through nagging stuff. You ask anyone who had that hip surgery, it takes a while to really start feeling yourself. You could tell by the end of the year, he was moving better, feeling more comfortable.

“He’s healthy. Instead of rehabbing all summer, he’s trained all summer. He’s got himself in a really good spot.”

O’Brien says what little he knew about the Marlies, from the likes of Adam Gaudette and Nick Abruzzese, was positive. And it helped that he had a strong relationship with Ryan Hardy, the Marlies GM, who had scouted O’Brien for the U.S. national under-18 team in 201718.

The high-end players of the 2018 draft — Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov and Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk — are just coming into their prime. O’Brien is the highest pick from that year who has yet to play an NHL game. But he has been skating at Boston University this summer with the likes of Jack Eichel, Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, Noel Acciari and Marlies teammate Marshal Rafai.

“I don’t think I can put a timetable on it, but I know in the near future, I can make an impact at the NHL level,” O’Brien says. “I’m healthy now. I’m good to go.”