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LD Ryan O’Rourke (2020, 39th, MIN)

All signs so far are great progression, can’t ask him to do much more, I believe expectations are a year or two in Iowa and go from there. Only challenge for him will be breaking into the NHL on the Wild who have a pretty full cupboard of LHD. He does play a game that would make him valuable in the bottom pairing though and with the cap issues I would expect to see him in the league within the next two or three years. Wild fans likely rate him below Lambos and in the tier below with Hunt and Peart.

Highly likely that he is going to be an effective NHLer, just a matter of him hitting offensive potential, will determine if he is a #3 or a #6, or in between.
 
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Not showing much offense, but he has some tools. Not a plodder.... decent wheels and a decent first pass. would like to see him try to lug the puck out of the zone a bit more, but he seems to be playing very cautiously. OK shot from the point, but nothing spectacular.

His defensive work is good, not great. Decent on defending line rushes, decent in board battles, decent at blocking shots. One thing he does really well, which makes this old defensive Dman's heart sing, is D zone coverage of players without the puck. He sticks to them really well, using either his body or stick to keep contact with the player, and really keeps his head on a swivel when he doesn't have a man to cover.

In general, he seems to play a style that is physical, and is having a bit of trouble implementing it in the AHL against older men. Nothing a summer or two of hard work and eating won't solve. He's got decent size, and seems to be a battler.

I am fine with him concentrating on his D zone at the expense of play up the ice...for now. There is no reason that he can't become a bit more adventurous in the future.

I will be disappointed if he does not take a big step up next year. He is still only 20 yo, playing against grown ass men who smoke cigars and are playing so they can feed their families. I don't expect him to be dominating... yet. Next year he needs to be in the running for a top pairing position in Iowa, or be the best guy on the 2nd pair. Year after, (when he is 22yo), maybe a bit of NHL TOI?
 
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Hockeyville USA said:
Where do we think O'Rourke is at? Still progressing to be a bottom pair NHLer, AAAA guy, or likely to never make it?
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TBD. I would bet on him being a bottom pairing NHL Dman before too long. Maybe even a 4/5D. Just turned 22 a few days ago, so plenty of time. We all want our prospects to be ready ASAP, but useful players like Middleton and Soucy were 26 and 25 yo respectively before they played any significant NHL minutes.

In general, he plays a solid two way game, and has decent feet, and stick skills. Judgement is also good, but not perfect. I am stealing this take from someone else, but he plays the sort of game that needs some strength and physicality, and he's not quite there yet.

Daemon Hunt will be the first LHD called up, however. Had a vg year last year.
 
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57special said:
TBD. I would bet on him being a bottom pairing NHL Dman before too long. Maybe even a 4/5D. Just turned 22 a few days ago, so plenty of time. We all want our prospects to be ready ASAP, but useful players like Middleton and Soucy were 26 and 25 yo respectively before they played any significant NHL minutes.

In general, he plays a solid two way game, and has decent feet, and stick skills. Judgement is also good, but not perfect. I am stealing this take from someone else, but he plays the sort of game that needs some strength and physicality, and he's not quite there yet.

Daemon Hunt will be the first LHD called up, however. Had a vg year last year.
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Progress update on O'Rourke?
 
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