LD Ryan O’Rourke - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL (2020, 39th, MIN)

[Tryamkin]

15 year old defenseman who just started playing in the OJHL at the end of this year with Whitby. A physical defenseman with a wicked shot. Considers himself a two way defenseman who models his game after Drew Doughty and Duncan Keith. He’s 5’11 and 154 lbs which is a good frame to build on for a 15 year old. Played with the Vaughan Kings in AAA minor midget.

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[Tim Wallach]

15 year old defenseman who just started playing in the OJHL at the end of this year with Whitby. A physical defenseman with a wicked shot. Considers himself a two way defenseman who models his game after Drew Doughty and Duncan Keith. He’s 5’11 and 154 lbs which is a good frame to build on for a 15 year old. Played with the Vaughan Kings in AAA minor midget.

Is that all he is? He looked bigger to me at the OHL Cup. He certainly plays bigger. Bit of a nasty edge to his game from what I saw.

 

[Daneurism]

I think he's 6 to 6'1. I've seen him a bunch this year.

 

[NA Hockey]

The title of the thread is misleading. He played the entire season as a member of the Vaughan Kings MM team in the GTHL. Was an AP for Whitby Fury during the season.

Is touted to go somewhere between 10-20 in the draft and will make a team very happy.

Has the size and skating to easily translate to the next level. Has a cannon of a shot from the point. Is able to add offence by jumping into the rush. Needs to work on decision making and first pass.

Is probably the 4th best DMan from the GTHL this past season and 5th best in the entire draft.

Here is an excerpt from the Scout.ca report Top 10 from the OHL Cup where he led the Vaughan Kings to the Final.

6. Ryan O’Rourke, D, Vaughan Kings
O’Rourke stood out as a one of the top performers of the week and came up huge in a number of games for the Kings. Utilizing his fluent skating and elite defending intelligence, he was able to get on attackers before they could generate any offence and quickly generated breakouts and offensive pressure for his own side. He was able to do the little things that often go unheralded over and over and it went a long way to bringing his team within a win of the OHL Cup. He was physical and rugged in playing an in-your-face style, including delivering some massive hits in the neutral and defensive zones. A team-first defenseman who is willing to sacrifice the body for the better of the team. With good size and speed, O’Rourke is as polished as they come and looks ready to take on OHL competition.

 

[Tryamkin]

Scored on his OHL debut with SSM against Saginaw in a loss, looked quite good.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I'm surprised he didn't have a thread already, especially considering he's one of the bigger names among the Canadian 2020 draft eligible prospects. Saw him play today, and he was quietly excellent. Good skater and passer, a lot of smart decisions, and good defensively. Already has 5 points in 16 games for SSM.

Ryan O'Rourke at eliteprospects.com

 

[BowDownToVasilevskiy]

Couldn't find a thread about him. Ranked late first round right now.
Ranked #24 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM
Ranked #26 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Ranked #28 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM

Ryan O'Rourke at eliteprospects.com
Edit: Made a thread about him because I thought one didn't exist but I guess it does so disregard this post.

 

[HockeyPops]

O'Rourke was hands down our best defender all season, playing big minutes in the top 4 and still managing our best 5v5 GF% of all our defensemen other than our most sheltered rookie D-man. The Greyhounds have a number of very offensive d-men, so O'Rourke's production is down a little bit from where it would be on any other team as often times his partner is just as eager to join the rush as he would be, so the offense is spread around somewhat. But he can still join the rush and contribute offensively when the opportunity arises.

Defensively, I would take O'Rourke over pretty much any defensemen in the league; he is that good. He is physical, but rarely takes himself out of the play by being too physical. He has good gaps and doesn't get beaten wide. But it's all the little extra stuff he does that makes him elite. Stuff between whistles. Stuff off the puck. When you play against O'Rourke you know that he is going to be in your kitchen for 60 minutes, and he rarely crosses the line where he is penalized for it. All this from a 17 year old; he plays like a veteran, long in the tooth and wily with experience.

With his production not quite as high as expected as a result of the team he was on, it's not surprising to see his draft stock soften a bit (according to some recent rankings that I have seen). But the team that drafts him will be imminently pleased that they did. I expect 2nd pairing NHL to be quite likely, with potential to be a top pairing player.

 

[HockeyPops]

“Ryan O’Rourke is not only a skilled player, he has the ability to play on the edge and be aggressive,” Greyhounds head coach John Dean told The Sault Star on Wednesday. “I love the way he leads with his grit and determination and well as with his skill. Anybody who takes him will be very fortunate, while getting a fantastic hockey player and fantastic human being.”

Greyhounds O'Rourke moves up

“I hear a lot of scouts coming up to me and say he just doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Greyhounds coach John Dean said. “That’s the best way to describe Ryan. He’s consistent. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and a real underrated offensive player as well. He’s got a heavy shot. He worked our power play. He’s an interesting guy. He does everything really well.”

O'Rourke leads list of seven Greyhounds on Central Scouting list - SooToday.com

 

[LastWordArmy]

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenceman Ryan O’Rourke was the 20th overall pick in the 2018 OHL Priority Draft. He was named the team’s captain and broke out in his second season in the league. O’Rourke scored seven goals and 30 assists for 37 points in 54 games this year. He also played in the CHL Top Prospects Game, picking up an assist. This was an improvement on a solid rookie season, where he scored eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points in 62 games. O’Rourke added two assists in 11 playoff games. He was named to the league’s All-Rookie Second Team.

O’Rourke has also had the opportunity to play on the international stage. Last summer, he was part of Team Canada at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, helping the team to a silver medal. O’Rourke scored one goal in the five-game tournament. He was also part of Team OHL for one game in last fall’s Canada-Russia Super Series. Last season, O’Rourke played for Team Canada Black at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored three goals and three assists in five games, leading all defencemen in scoring at the tournament. He was also named to the Tournament All-Star Team.

Our full report
Ryan O'Rourke Scouting Report: 2020 NHL Draft #38

 

[docbenton]

I really liked this guy at the TPG, just a brick on defense, really strong and can play too.

 

[Marky9er]

I really liked this guy at the TPG, just a brick on defense, really strong and can play too.

He really impressed a lot of people in that game. Foerster I think was player of the game but O'Rourke actually had a lot to do with both his goals. Puck retrieval and outlet pass on the 1st, and led the rush on the 2nd I believe. Looks like he can play in all situations and I think the fact he's captain of SSM at 17 says a lot about his character.

 

[Scintillating10]

He'll go in 2nd round.

 

[Llamamoto]

He'll go in 2nd round.

I have a feeling he'll go early 2nd, potentially even late first.

 

[Scintillating10]

I have a feeling he'll go early 2nd, potentially even late first.

He looked slow in Hlinka/ Gretzky. But haven't seen him since. Do you think he can be a #4?

 

[Llamamoto]

He looked slow in Hlinka/ Gretzky. But haven't seen him since. Do you think he can be a #4?

I see his upside as a solid second pairing defensemen.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Does anyone else like him better than the other two highly touted shutdown guys out of the CHL this season, Guhle and Schneider?

I think O’Rourke plays with more hockey sense, a quieter type of game. He’s not as athletic, but I think he has more hockey talent than these guys, and being the captain of a CHL team as a 17 year old speaks to his intangibles.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

Does anyone else like him better than the other two highly touted shutdown guys out of the CHL this season, Guhle and Schneider?

I think O’Rourke plays with more hockey sense, a quieter type of game. He’s not as athletic, but I think he has more hockey talent than these guys, and being the captain of a CHL team as a 17 year old speaks to his intangibles.

He's close to Guhle for me but I prefer Schneider by a fair bit.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He's close to Guhle for me but I prefer Schneider by a fair bit.

I think the NHL is going too much towards athletes. These players such as Sanderson, Guhle, Schneider have limited hockey skills. They are super athletes. Tall, strong, great speed, physical, but their ability to defend with hockey sense, passing ability, stick skills is not anything I'd project as above average once they reach the NHL. You need a variety of types of players on your team, but I would be more willing to pick a lesser athlete who had better hockey skills, while the NHL GM's seem to be going towards picking these super athletes with limited hockey skills higher and higher each year.

And I don't want to rehash all these discussions about the individual players because they've already been had and we'll see who ends up being right, but I think I probably have those three guys lower than almost anyone. A player like O'Rourke is a more intriguing player, in my opinion, due to how he plays the game.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

I think the NHL is going too much towards athletes. These players such as Sanderson, Guhle, Schneider have limited hockey skills. They are super athletes. Tall, strong, great speed, physical, but their ability to defend with hockey sense, passing ability, stick skills is not anything I'd project as above average once they reach the NHL. You need a variety of types of players on your team, but I would be more willing to pick a lesser athlete who had better hockey skills, while the NHL GM's seem to be going towards picking these super athletes with limited hockey skills higher and higher each year.

And I don't want to rehash all these discussions about the individual players because they've already been had and we'll see who ends up being right, but I think I probably have those three guys lower than almost anyone. A player like O'Rourke is a more intriguing player, in my opinion, due to how he plays the game.

I think for the most part athleticism is more valuable in defensemen than in forwards. Possessing good skating, reach, and physicality goes a long way in making an effective defenseman, and they can get away with not having great offensive instincts or talent. The same can't be said about forwards, in my opinion.

I do somewhat agree with your point though. It's more that I haven't seen more "hockey skills" in O'Rourke than in Schneider, Sanderson, and Guhle.

Overall I have Schneider and Sanderson around 20th in my rankings, Guhle around 30, and O'Rourke around 40.

 

[Scintillating10]

I see his upside as a solid second pairing defensemen.

Montreal has St.Louis 2nd, should be around 60th, or our 3rd, around 70th. If he still there they may take him.

 

[newfy]

I have a feeling he'll go early 2nd, potentially even late first.

Hes a guy I've seen enough of to have a good idea of his game and hes a guy I'm hoping Detroit lands at 32. I dont think that would be a steal or a big fall for him or anything but thats a solid spot to take him and I like his chances of being a top 4 D

 

[Daneurism]

I'd take him top 20. No holes, thinks the game at a high level, high character guy. Nothing not to like. I think his floor is a second pairing guy.

 

[HockeyPops]

 

[Bluesnatic27]

I really like this guy.

If Wallinder isn't available, I would hope the Blues take him with their 1st.