Newly Acquired Drew O’Connor Impresses in Debut with Canucks

Drew O’Connor played his first game with the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night and left a strong impression on his linemates and head coach with his debut performance.

The 6’3” forward was acquired in Friday’s trade with Pittsburgh and played on a line with Pius Suter and Kiefer Sherwood. O'Connor was on the ice for six shots on net and only one shot against in 13:27 of five-on-five ice time. He was also on the ice for 37 seconds during the Canucks’ only penalty kill.

Canucks’ General Manager Patrik Allvin called O’Connor an extremely strong skater with good size on Saturday when he met with the media. The GM believes that O’Connor is a player who can play up and down the lineup and bring speed on the forecheck.

“I thought OC was hounding pucks and was really good on the forecheck,” said linemate Kiefer Sherwood. "We're pretty simple players and we were able to read off each other, get pucks back, and just create those possession shifts. He's got a big frame. He likes to get to the front of the net and create a lot of havoc, and he's able to make plays with the puck too. I thought he fed me and Sutes a bunch, and his head was always up. I'm excited to keep going with him, and no matter which line he is on, he is a good addition to our team.”

Head Coach Rick Tocchet gave praise to his locker room for being welcoming to the new players and spoke about knowing the feeling of being traded and heading into a new locker room. The coach likes how players step up and help the new guys integrate into the group.

As for the line that he assembled for O’Connor’s first game, Tocchet appreciated the work that Sherwood and O’Connor did at putting pressure on the Detroit Red Wings.

“I like it, there's a lot of speed, a lot of good forechecking,” said Tocchet of the winger duo. “Drew O'Connor is a guy that there's a lot to work with. I know he hasn't scored a lot this year, but with that kind of speed, and his willingness to take the puck the interior, he'll get his goals. He's just got to stick with it.”

Suter played centre between Sherwood and O’Connor and was the man who scored the Canucks’ first goal of the game from a redirect off an Elias Pettersson (D-Petey) point shot.

D-Petey picked up his first point in the NHL and played a career-high 16:12 while being on the ice for 14 scoring chances for and only allowing two against. Sherwood picked up the second assist on the goal.

Suter spoke about what he immediately noticed from the new winger.

“He had patience with the puck with a guy on his back or close to him, he just kind of knows where the defender is at. We don't know much about each other yet, we haven’t even had a practice, but I think you can pretty quickly see if you can move your legs and hold on pucks, it makes you quite easy to play with,” said Suter.

Filip Chytil and Marcus Pettersson also made their debuts for the Canucks on Sunday.

Pettersson was second on the team for ice time; playing 25:57. He played on the top pairing with Tyler Myers and had a scoring chance, one hit, and two blocked shots.

Chytil scored the Canucks’ second goal of the game as he flowed to the net in the offensive zone and fired a wrist shot through Red Wings’ goaltender Alex Lyon.

Tocchet liked how his two new forwards attacked the middle of the ice, which showed with Chytil’s goal.

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Sherwood made history on Sunday night as he registered eight hits and became the Canucks’ leader for most hits in a single season.

The 29-year-old is now up to 281 hits on the season and said that he is not done throwing the body and playing physically.

“It is pretty special,” said Sherwood after setting the new record. “There have been a lot of really good players for this team over the years. I just try to help us win games and create an identity for us to just win. So that's pretty special, but I’m ready for more.”