Jake O’Brien is the reigning OHL Rookie of the 12 months. After main all OHL rookies with 64 factors in 61 video games final season at 16, he’s chasing 100 factors and a top-10 end in OHL scoring at 17 this season.
He’s bought an opportunity to be a top-10 decide within the 2025 NHL Draft, too. NHL Central Scouting slotted him eighth amongst North American skaters on their midterm rankings.
And he has ascended to the highest of the 2025 class as a middle, as one of many youngest prime prospects within the draft due to his June 16 birthday, as an alternate captain and with out his Brantford Bulldogs operating mate, Blackhawks first-rounder Marek Vanacker, for a lot of the season.
Jay McKee, the Bulldogs’ head coach, advised The Athletic that O’Brien has been “unbelievable” in his two years within the OHL. He talks about an “elite, elite hockey IQ,” about how video games simply “circulate and decelerate for him,” and about how he “sees performs creating earlier than they occur.” He talks about his passing capability, his deceptiveness, his unpredictability, how coachable he’s, a shot that has improved and his management.
However most of all, he talks about his love for the sport.
And that half he comes by actually.
Jake O’Brien taking part in within the 2024 CHL/USA Prospects Problem. (Eric Younger / CHL)
Hockey was at all times going to search out Jake O’Brien.
His dad, Dan O’Brien, performed 4 seasons at Clarkson College and one within the ECHL.
His mother, Amy Turek, was a captain at Laurier College and reached the top of the sport as a member of the Canadian nationwide girls’s group from 1999 to 2000. She additionally represented Canada on the 2003 and 2004 Inline Hockey World Championships, successful a gold and a silver. After her taking part in profession, she opened Victory Hockey Faculty, providing summer season, vacation and March break hockey applications to ladies from an all-female teaching employees. Her dad performed for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and received a Gray Cup.
The Tureks on the fiftieth anniversary of Ed Turek successful the Gray Cup. Left to proper: Jake’s sister Maddy O’Brien, Ed Turek, Jake O’Brien, Amy Turek, and Adele Turek. (Courtesy of Amy Turek)
O’Brien grew up in Brooklin, Ont., a suburb northeast of Toronto, they usually billeted former NHLer Christian Thomas after he bought traded from the London Knights to the Oshawa Generals and Dan reached out to Thomas’ dad, former NHLer Steve (a childhood good friend of his), providing to have him at their place.
The movies of Jake and Christian’s mini sticks video games dwell on.
Although Amy’s hockey college didn’t settle for gamers till age 6 and was initially only for ladies, he spent his summers on the ice at her camps beginning at 3. Finally, when O’Brien grew adamant about hockey, she began a boys division they usually’d cut up the ice with boys on one facet and ladies on the opposite.
“He’d be there all day, each day, all summer season lengthy with the older youngsters on the ice,” Amy stated.
When he wasn’t on the ice together with her, he was taking part in mini sticks, floorball or road hockey at house. At 2, he may sit and watch a full Generals recreation.
“So long as I can keep in mind, as quickly as Jake may stroll and speak, he had a hockey stick in his hand. He would take slapshots with this mini stick and a puck in our lounge and that’s all he did,” Amy stated.
A younger Jake O’Brien. (Courtesy of Amy Turek)
By 7 and eight, he was on the streets of Brooklin beating youngsters in video games of highway hockey, and Dan and Amy began to sense it.
In his first recreation for the AAA Whitby Wolves, they bought blown out by a Toronto group however he dominated and scored the lone purpose. That season, coaches from the GTHL groups would attempt to discover him after their video games. After they ultimately moved to Toronto, he later joined the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. In spring hockey, minor hockey, and ultimately internationally, he at all times received.
At 14, he received the GTHL title. At 15, he completed his minor hockey profession by registering 17 factors in seven video games on the 2023 OHL Cup, successful event MVP and main the Jr. Canadiens to the title. That efficiency made him the eighth decide within the 2023 OHL draft.
“Ever since Jake was this excessive,” Dan stated, decreasing his hand to his knee throughout the intermission of a current recreation, “you may inform. I believe the entire approach alongside we type of knew. … He has at all times been that child who has carried the group. And I’m not simply saying that from a dad’s perspective. I performed school and professional and I coached junior, and from a hockey man he’s at all times had that mentality and the need.”
Jake O’Brien with the GTHL atom AAA 2017-18 common season champions trophy. (Courtesy of Amy Turek)
At 16, O’Brien adopted in his mother’s footsteps, representing Canada for the primary time on the Below 17 World Hockey Problem. Final summer season, shortly after his seventeenth birthday, he received gold with Hockey Canada on the Hlinka Gretzky Cup — a singular second for Amy.
“It was at all times an incredible feeling to put on the jersey, and to see him have the identical experiences is actually particular and to see him standing on the blue line for ‘O Canada’ with the jersey on is such a reminiscence for me and now I get to expertise watching him,” Amy stated.
Quickly, she’ll get to expertise watching him get drafted into the NHL in Los Angeles in June.
“It’s a particular time to see the development and be a part of the journey. To expertise it as a guardian, I simply can’t wait to be there for him,” Amy stated.
Ask O’Brien in regards to the individuals who’ve had an impression on his younger hockey profession, and after his mother and father and his sister Madison (a pupil at Queen’s College), he goes to his expertise coaches, Dan Sisca and Leland de Langley, and his energy and conditioning coach Matt Nichol.
Sisca coached the 2006 Jr. Canadiens AAA group and O’Brien was at all times one in every of his call-ups from the 2007 age group when somebody missed a recreation via damage, sickness or suspension. As a result of the 2007s at all times performed earlier than the 2006s, Sisca watched O’Brien’s video games, too. The group invited him to their practices as effectively. Finally, Sisca began working with him via the on-ice improvement work he does along with his CAD Sports activities Group, with O’Brien coming by after college and within the summers for skates.
At an early age, Sisca was at all times struck by how targeted and decided to get higher O’Brien was each time he was on the ice.
In atom and peewee, earlier than any of the gamers had hit puberty, O’Brien was “that particular participant” who made “everyone round him higher.” He at all times had the skating and the IQ, too.
There was a time, although, into the bantam years, when his teammates and opponents all grew, he stopped dominating fairly as a lot and other people questioned, “When’s he going to hit puberty and get that man energy?” He didn’t begin rising till minor midget, and he and that Jr. Canadiens group didn’t actually take off till after Christmas. However as soon as he grew (he’s now virtually 6-foot-2 and a lean 172 kilos), he pushed them to that OHL Cup win, in line with Sisca.
A letter Jake’s grandfather, Jack, despatched to a good friend. (Courtesy of Dan O’Brien)
All through, Sisca credited Amy and Dan for by no means being overbearing hockey mother and father.
“They’ve been via it already in order that they weren’t overly involved about the whole lot, they have been like ‘All proper, let it take its path when he grows and will get larger,” he stated. “He has all the instruments, it’s clearly going to return.’ And when you might have all the instruments and then you definately truly hit that progress spurt, then it will get to the place it’s.”
And the place it’s at the moment, Sisca insists, is that “the whole lot that he does (stands out).” At their summer season skates, individuals cease on the glass to observe him do drills due to how expert he’s.
“His edge work is elite. His shot’s elite. His stickhandling capability in sophisticated drills and taking pucks off the wall,” Sisca stated. “Regardless of who he’s skating with, whether or not he’s skating with NHL gamers now or different OHL gamers, his ability set in a expertise session is sort of a wow issue.”
de Langley has seen the identical issues of their skates, too. He noticed O’Brien play a couple of occasions with the Jr. Canadiens however final summer season was their first full offseason skating collectively: two to a few occasions every week for 4 months.
Watching him in U16 play, de Langley noticed the flexibility but additionally the demeanor and perspective to excel on the subsequent degree. Now he has seen the apply habits and maturity firsthand as effectively.
“I used to be like, ‘Oh, OK, s—, this man’s focus is laser sharp, laser sharp.’ And in summer season coaching numerous guys can take it straightforward, however he’s at all times seeking to get higher and he’s a sponge the place he’s capable of do issues and be taught from errors in practices, and he can simply preserve constructing off of it. That’s why he’s a frontrunner on his group. That’s why he was a frontrunner on the (OHL) prospects recreation. And that’s why I really imagine he’s going to have an extended profession and doubtlessly be a future captain sooner or later,” de Langley stated. “So I’m not stunned in any respect by the season he’s been having. Nothing appears to overwhelm or faze him.”
On the ice, O’Brien is a minimize above in de Langley’s small-area video games and decision-making drills.
“He has this knack for time and house,” de Langley stated. “He’s very easy. He’s easy. His two-way recreation proper now’s distinctive. The sky actually is the restrict for him. He’s actually going to have the ability to produce offensively but it surely’s his two-way recreation and that defensive side that’s actually going to assist him excel. I do know lots of people evaluate him to a Ryan O’Reilly or an much more high-end Phillip Danault the place you may simply belief these guys in all conditions. There’s nonetheless a lot room for him to develop into his physique from a bodily maturity standpoint, too, and that’s solely going to assist him.”
O’Brien on the 2024 CHL/USA Prospects Problem. (Eric Younger / CHL)
Over the past two years, O’Brien has labored on that bodily piece with Nichol each via the Bulldogs and within the offseason.
“He’s muscular and robust and match, however he does have a really slight body and he’s fairly conscious of that so it’s at all times been one thing that’s on his radar,” Nichol stated. “Everybody’s bought their areas of focus and it’s been one and can most likely proceed to be one for him.”
Nichol’s additionally fast to level out, although, that “it’s not bodybuilding, it’s hockey,” and that he shouldn’t simply add weight for the sake of including weight.
And whereas weightlifting remains to be a giant a part of the work Nichol and O’Brien do collectively, so is different athletic coaching. And after they do issues outdoors of the fitness center, the physique management and spatial consciousness that folks speak about in hockey phrases additionally stand out in different settings and sports activities.
“Some individuals simply have slightly bit extra (athleticism) to start out off with than others and he’s undoubtedly bought that,” Nichol stated.
Nichol has additionally seen him come out of his shell.
“As happy with him as I’m for his statistics on the ice, I believe the factor that I’m much more proud to see is that he has taken on a management position along with his group,” Nichol stated. “(O’Brien) has at all times been a beautiful child and intensely coachable and hardworking and well mannered and respectful, and I by no means wish to label individuals as shy as a result of I don’t know if I’m certified for that, however he was undoubtedly a quieter child. And he has actually come into that and his play has at all times spoke for itself and his management by instance has at all times been there however he has additionally taken on a extra vocal management position throughout the group and you’ll see that within the fitness center as effectively, encouraging others and he’s bought some guys that he’s bringing alongside and pushing and that’s cool to see.”
The main target that Sisca, de Langley and Nichol all speak about is one thing Amy stated he has had since he was little.
Although he by no means noticed her play, she stated he has at all times been quite a bit like her in that approach. He’s the identical approach with the whole lot that he does, whether or not it’s hockey or staying out all day muskie fishing to attempt to catch that 50-incher.
“He’s actually routine-oriented. And he has at all times had actually good habits. Like at a younger age he had actually good habits so far as consuming correctly, and dealing laborious, and being the toughest employee on the ice, and setting objectives and striving to realize these objectives, so I by no means needed to bug him to attempt to work further on his shot or anything. He was at all times doing the additional stuff,” Amy stated, smiling.
“Something he does he jumps in with two toes. He simply desires to be nice at something he does.”
(High picture: Brandon Taylor / OHL Pictures)
