College prospects eager to take ice
Two recent signings in a holding pattern
When Drew O’Connor decided to sign March 10 with the Penguins, this Dartmouth standout expected to soon head to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to get his first taste of pro hockey on an amateur tryout agreement.
For O’Connor, part of the allure of picking the Penguins over other NHL teams that wooed the undrafted college free agent was their track record developing college players. The big forward was excited to get to work.
Two days later, the NHL and the American Hockey League suspended their seasons after the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold in North America. Suddenly, O’Connor was rerouted back home to New Jersey, where, like the rest of us, he awaits word on what happens next.
“It’s kind of crazy, because it was only a week or so ago that I was getting ready to go to Wilkes-Barre for the end of their season,” O’Connor said Friday on a conference call with Pittsburgh media. “For now, I’ll just try to do a few things at home to try to stay in shape and keeping up with stuff like that.”
The 21-year-old added: “That’s just kind of all I can do for now, and just kind of [wait to see] what they end up deciding with the rest of the season.”
The disappointment is a little different for Western Michigan defenseman Cam Lee, another college player the Penguins signed in the past 10 days.
Dartmouth’s season ended two weeks ago, giving O’Connor the green light to jump to pro hockey. But Western Michigan still had hopes of a Frozen Four appearance when the NCAA canceled its remaining winter and spring sports March 12, the same day the NHL suspended play.
“It sucked that my senior year had to end like that,” Lee said. “But obviously it’s for a good reason. Everybody needs to be safe, do as we’re told here. It was a big roller-coaster because it was my final year as a Bronco. It’s emotional. But taking this next step is huge, and I’m excited to get started with it.”
Lee, who signed Tuesday with the
Penguins, still is hunkered down in his dorm room at Western Michigan. This Nova Scotia native, who is 23, hopes the AHL season will resume this spring, giving him a chance to skate in some games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. But he might have to wait for 2020-21.
Lee is pretty familiar with the Penguins, including a certain star center.
The 6-foot, 190-pound blue-liner was invited to their prospect development camp in June 2019, giving him a glimpse into how the Penguins operate. Lee put up 21 points in 26 games before his senior year abruptly ended. His experience here last summer was a major factor in signing with Pittsburgh.
One of the congratulatory text messages he has received this week came from Sidney Crosby. Lee grew up in Ferguson’s Cove, Nova Scotia, which is a half-hour away from Cole Harbour, Crosby’s Canadian hometown.
“He’s a hometown hero,” Lee said Friday. “I grew up skating with him in the summers. The first time I was probably in high school. He’s just an awesome guy. He did reach out to me after seeing I signed with the Penguins and he just said congratulations and make sure you stay in shape.”
O’Connor was largely sold on the Penguins by director of player development Scott Young, a key recruiter when it comes to college free agents.
“He came out to Dartmouth a few times. I met with him a little bit,” O’Connor said. “He was great in terms of explaining everything about the Penguins . ... In terms of me as a player, Scott was great about kind of telling me how I’ll be able to fit. I’ll be ready to fill any role that’s asked of me.”
O’Connor said he was just 5 feet 9 in his senior year in high school. He blossomed at Dartmouth. Now listed at 6-3 and 200 pounds, he was recently named the Ivy League men’s hockey co-player of the year for 2019-20 after leading Dartmouth with 21 goals and 33 points as a sophomore.
As a result, he was viewed one of the top college free agents this spring.
The Penguins under general manager Jim Rutherford have aggressively targeted college free agents as a way to pump talent into a prospect pool that is drained when they trade draft picks and prospects in win-now moves.
Among the college free agents they signed in recent years are Conor Sheary, Carter Rowney, Zach AstonReese and Casey DeSmith. They also have had success drafting prospects who took the college route and developing them into valuable players. Look at Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust.
“A big [selling] point of joining the Penguins was their history with college free agents and college players in general and kind of the success they’ve had with those players and how they develop them,” O’Connor said.