O'Rourke set on proving himself and earning everything as year two progresses

It’s been a whirlwind year for Soo Greyhounds defenceman Ryan O’Rourke.

Entering his NHL draft year, the sophomore blueliner opened the season in late-July at Hockey Canada’s selection camp for the Canadian entry in the annual Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

He proceeded to make the team and represented his country overseas.

Since returning to the Greyhounds to start the 2019-20 Ontario Hockey League season, O’Rourke has taken on a leadership role as the Greyhounds captain and earned high praise from his coach in the process.

“Ryan O’Rourke, first and foremost, is a good human being,” Dean said. “I want to work with good people. Ryan is a great kid off the ice. That’s the most important thing to me. On the ice, he’s a pretty special player. The biggest thing for me as a leader is that he leads in a variety of ways. He leads by using his offensive potential, transporting the puck, making critical plays in stressful situations. He also leads by being physical when he needs to be and being aggressive.”

Dean added that O’Rourke is the type of player that is an example for the rest of the team.

“I can be really hard on him and he responds in a very positive way. When your leaders are your hardest workers and you can be really hard on them, sometimes when you’re correcting them, you’re really correcting everyone else and their response is the most important thing,” Dean said. “Rourkie, every single time, responds in a positive way and goes out there and makes sure he has an impact on the next shift or the next practice or whatever the situation calls for. He brings a lot to the table

Dean said, “it was pretty difficult not to name him captain.”

“I don’t think age matters,” Dean said. “His compete level, how he responds to constructive criticism, how he responds to adversity inside games, how he leads by example; all of these things made him a really easy pick. He chose the captaincy. It was pretty clear and that’s a credit to him. His youth is a cool component of that.”

With the new responsibility, O’Rourke said he has tried to stay the course and not change his play and work with the Greyhounds leadership group, which includes Cole MacKay, Jacob LeGuerrier, Rory Kerins, and Jaromir Pytlik.

“I haven’t tried to change much,” O’Rourke said. “I’ve tried to be the same (player). Especially with Cole, Leggy, Rory, and Pytlik, we do a good job controlling the room and controlling the ice.”

The 17-year-old, who was recently named a participant in the annual CHL Top Prospects game along with Pytlik, has looked to keep things simple in year two as far as his game is concerned this season.

“It’s definitely been better than last year,” O’Rourke said. “There’s been a lot more opportunity given to me. Just keeping it simple, playing it like my rookie year, coming in and having to prove myself and earn my ice time.”

Through 25 games prior to breaking for Christmas, O’Rourke has six goals and 20 points.

In 62 games in his rookie season, O’Rourke had eight goals and 22 points.