BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Drew O'Connor didn't see much regular playing time to start his professional career.
O'Connor played in nine games with Pittsburgh through the first month and a half of the season in a limited fourth-line role. He averaged 9:14 of ice time through those games, and in two of his last three games in the NHL, he played under seven minutes.
So when he was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre last week and was thrown right back into playing top-line minutes along with time on both special teams units, the most he's played since he was in college a year ago, it was a bit of an adjustment to start.
"It's been a little bit different," he told me this week of getting to play significant minutes again. "The first game I think it took a little while to settle in, get used to playing like that. I was definitely feeling it a little bit in the third. Playing in games is different from any kind of practice situation you put yourself in. So getting those minutes in games for the first time in awhile, you're always going to kind of feel it. But I thought I settled in well. The second game, I felt really solid. I felt like myself again, it's been good."
O'Connor said that he didn't think his confidence in Pittsburgh was lacking with his limited playing time, but now that he's down in Wilkes-Barre and playing more, he has a better feel for the game and feels his confidence growing as he continues to make more plays in more situations. It's helped that Wilkes-Barre tries to play similar to the way that Pittsburgh plays, making the transition near seamless.
"I think a lot of the systems are very similar," he said. "That's one of the main things they've talked about here, is how they want to play similar to that style up there, and the same kind of system. So it definitely made it easier coming down here after I got used to the systems there. I was able to step right in and feel comfortable on the ice right away."
It didn't take O'Connor long to show up on the scoresheet. He scored his first professional goal in his first game with Wilkes-Barre, a one-timer off of a feed from linemate Tim Schaller against the Binghamton Devils:
O'Connor said that when the Penguins re-assigned him to Wilkes-Barre, the message from the coaching staff was that they wanted him to focus on "all the little things" in his game, but one little thing in particular.
"I think a big thing that was talked about and focused on at the NHL level and here as well that wasn't a big of a part in college was wall play," he said. "As a winger, making sure you get all those pucks out and being hard to play against there, and tough in those areas. I think that's a big area for me to keep improving there. And just working on my overall game while I'm here, making the most of the opportunity."
In O'Connor's second game with Wilkes-Barre against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he recorded two assists. And on one of the plays, he showed some of the skill along the boards that the coaching staff was hoping to see from him.
O'Connor drove to the net and was hooked on the play, and didn't get a shot off. The puck went into the corner, and he was pressured by Phantoms defenseman Derrick Pouliot. Pouliot pinned O'Connor to the boards, and O'Connor was still able to win the battle. With the puck loose in front of him, he used his reach to poke it along the boards to Schaller before Phantoms forward Pascal Laberge could recover it. Schaller passed the puck to Josh Currie, who ripped it from the right circle to score:
"Focusing on puck possession, shielding the defenseman off, I think that's a big part of what my game can be," O'Connor said when asked about that play. "I think that's something I'm definitely focusing on and trying to improve upon."
This week Wilkes-Barre head coach J.D. Forrest was asked what has impressed him the most about O'Connor through his first two games, and he pointed to battles like the one above as one of the early highlights of O'Connor's time in Wilkes-Barre.
"Just his puck pursuit and his ability to get his stick on pucks around the net, and recover pucks down low, loose pucks," Forrest said. "He gets into battles and seems to come out with the puck on his stick. And he makes it real hard for the other team to break out cleanly, because he just has a knack for getting a piece of it. I thought that was a real strong part of his game for us from him the last two nights. We heard about his ability to do that, but it's good to see it in person and how much more zone time that line was able to get just because of his tenacity on pucks."
While O'Connor works on the parts of his game needed to get back up to the NHL, he's enjoying his time in Wilkes-Barre, both for the renewed playing time and the team culture.
"One of the things I noticed right away is how close the team is down here," he said. "It's a lot of young guys, and a lot of really good players here. I kind of gelled really well. I was able to meet some of those guys up at (Pittsburgh) camp too. I think everyone just comes here working hard every day, and they want to win. They want to get better. So it's been a great little time here so far."
