Prospect Info: Ryan O'Rourke, Defenseman, 39th overall

[Lapa]

Ryan O'Rourke at eliteprospects.com

On the puck, O'Rourke is mean, nasty, violent -- everything one wants from a durable, robust stay-at-home defender. His battle-level is unbelievably high. He never takes a moment off, never mind a shift, and much less an entire game. O'Rourke is a capable puck-mover, too. He consistently makes good decisions with the puck and boasts an absolutely lethal slap shot. -EliteProspects 2020 NHL Draft Guide

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[IceColdOx]

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.

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

 

[Digitalbooya]

Long term Suter replacement?

Brodin-Spurgeon
ROR-Dumba

?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Sound like a good pick to round out the defensive prospects. Already have Addison, Menell and Belpedio on the right side, and really only Marshall Warren on the left.

 

[nickschultzfan]

Good stuff

 

[Wild11MN]

Don't know much about the guy, but I like it a lot from what I'm seeing right now.

 

[TheeNorthStar]

A smart, heavy defenseman with some sandpaper to his game? Cool.

 

[IHaveNoCreativity]

Another kid with a high compete level... anyone seeing a better here ?

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

 

[StormFather]

We needed some grit. Too many weak p***yes. Love this pick!

 

[StateofCelly]

Cool article Russo just retweeted about ROR being the "steal of the draft" no coffee needed this morning. https://thehockeywriters.com/2020-nhl-draft-steal-ryan-orourke/

 

[AJ Thelen]

Great pick.

Billy and Judd tearing it up.

 

[a79krgm]

Like what I'm hearing ... Just imagine what a force Brodin would be if he played like a mean SOB?

 

[123TripleDoge]

Rhino Rourke yesh

 

[keppel146]

Seems like an awesome pick

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Ryan O'Rourke at eliteprospects.com

Description gives me Pulock vibes. Anybody?

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Description gives me Pulock vibes. Anybody?

The description does for sure. I saw him as more of a Slavin guy when I watched him though.

 

[AJ Thelen]

Mean, nasty, violent.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

I posted this in another thread already but this could have serious implications on O’Rourke’s development. If true hopefully billy is working on getting him to a euro team.

 

[MuckOG]

Will there be an AHL season? And if so, is it possible that the CHL/NHL could come up with a way to allow NHL teams to bypass the under-20 rule and allow prospects to play in their AHL/ECHL affiliates?

 

[Jbcraig1883]

Mark Edwards tweet: "Judd and Minny select again - very solid Dman Ryan O’Rourke. Played an absolute ton of minutes against the other teams best. Really like him. Smart player. 38th on our list"

 

[Jbcraig1883]

Brock Otten (longtime poster on these boards - believe he works for McKeens now) "In Ryan O'Rourke, the Minnesota Wild are getting a tough as nails and highly intelligent two-way defender. Great character and highly driven. Underrated offensively. Great vision and decision maker in his own end. Big point shot. A throwback"

 

[Brock]

Brock Otten (longtime poster on these boards - believe he works for McKeens now) "In Ryan O'Rourke, the Minnesota Wild are getting a tough as nails and highly intelligent two-way defender. Great character and highly driven. Underrated offensively. Great vision and decision maker in his own end. Big point shot. A throwback"

Correct, I do work for McKeens!

My thoughts on O'Rourke.

Had him ranked 6th among OHL players this year.
OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft - Part 4: 10-1

Many quotes on him from my media/scout polls.
OHL Prospects: Final Media/Scout Top 10 for the 2020 NHL Draft

 

[Al Lagoon]

Correct, I do work for McKeens!

My thoughts on O'Rourke.

Had him ranked 6th among OHL players this year.
OHL Prospects: My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft - Part 4: 10-1

Many quotes on him from my media/scout polls.
OHL Prospects: Final Media/Scout Top 10 for the 2020 NHL Draft

Thanks Brock - that 2nd link has some great stuff on Rossi as well. Looks like the
Wild scored on their top OHL picks for sure.

 

[57special]

Thanks, Brock!

EP now has him at 6'2", 182 lbs, but I have seen elsewhere that he is 192 lbs. Bottom line is that he is still young and has plenty of time to grow.