Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey at Clarkson on November 15, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1
Final
Men's Ice Hockey
at Clarkson
3
1
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
O’Connor Proves There are a Lot of Reasons to Come to Dartmouth
9/7/2023 8:00:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey, Peak Performance
Former men's hockey standout Drew O'Connor left Dartmouth to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins following his sophomore season in 2019-20.
All the while, O'Connor didn't forget about the place in the woods of Hanover, New Hampshire and the value of an Ivy League degree.
O'Connor has slowly worked towards his sociology degree and this summer, returned to campus and trained at Thompson Arena.
"Getting the degree is the biggest thing that drew me back to campus," he said. "When I left school originally after my sophomore year, a lot of the conversation with my parents and coaches emphasized making it a priority to get back here and finish."
That stuck with O'Connor. The COVID-19 pandemic actually expedited the process, allowing him to take a number of online classes over that time.
"Being back here for the summer has been a lot of fun," said O'Connor. "It's great to finish."
Coming back was also easy for O'Connor since Dartmouth holds a special place in his heart.
"Coming to a place like this was awesome for my development," he said. "I really improved the two years I was here; it set me up for a lot of success heading into the professional level. The coaching staff was great and they were awesome in preparing me, helping me get to the next level."
Over O'Connor's two years with the Big Green, he posted 17 goals and nine assists as a freshman before tallying 21 goals and 12 assists as a sophomore. It caught the attention of NHL scouts and despite not being drafted, the Pittsburgh Penguins came calling.
"It was not an easy choice to leave, just because my time here was so great," said O'Connor. "I didn't know if I was 100 percent ready to leave, but it was ultimately an opportunity I felt ready for."
Entering Dartmouth, leaving school early for the NHL wasn't on his mind coming in.
"I was hoping I could have a good college career and see after that, but I didn't really have plans of leaving school early and playing in the NHL," said O'Connor. "When I got here, it was a really competitive atmosphere and I was pushed every day, which really helped me develop."
O'Connor takes a lot of pride in his development at Dartmouth.
"This was the place I really wanted to go to school," said the native of Chatham, N.J. "When I came here, I committed right on my visit. It definitely ended up meeting, and exceeding, all my expectations."
What's also awesome is the foothold O'Connor has made at the National Hockey League level. During the 2020-21 season, he played 20 games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, posting seven goals and 12 assists. He also played 10 NHL games for Pittsburgh, tallying an assist.
O'Connor then split time between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh each of the last two seasons, including playing 46 of his 66 games in the NHL for the Penguins in 2022-23.
O'Connor will have an opportunity to continue building, as he signed a two-year contract extension with the Penguins during the offseason. Also this summer, O'Connor represented Team USA at the World Championships, scoring multiple goals.
One way O'Connor was doing that was working out at his old stomping grounds, Thompson Arena. While on campus, he utilized the Big Green staff, with Troy Thibodeau on the ice and Schuyler Harting in the weight room.
"Doing the classes and the training that comes along with my summer program, I had everything I needed to get prepared," he said.
O'Connor's time at Dartmouth brought back great memories that will stick with him.
"The Boston University game my sophomore year was a really cool one," he said. "We were down 3-0 and ended up coming back. We had a big crowd and ended up coming back and winning, 5-4. That was a crazy game and a lot of fun.
"Another of my best memories was probably the Princeton game on the road my sophomore year," O'Connor continued. "I'm from New Jersey, so that was a fun one; I had a lot of family there. I scored in overtime, so that was really cool."
Speaking of family, O'Connor also found a family at Dartmouth.
"I was here for two years, but the guys I was here with are friends for life," he said. "I'm still super close with all those guys and will continue to be. Anything like the golf outing [this summer] where you get to see everyone back together is awesome."
O'Connor knows how much of an impact Dartmouth men's hockey played in where he is today.
"You have all the resources you need here to grow your hockey career and obviously academically, you can't really beat being a Dartmouth student," he said.
"There are a lot of reasons to come to Dartmouth."
All the while, O'Connor didn't forget about the place in the woods of Hanover, New Hampshire and the value of an Ivy League degree.
O'Connor has slowly worked towards his sociology degree and this summer, returned to campus and trained at Thompson Arena.
"Getting the degree is the biggest thing that drew me back to campus," he said. "When I left school originally after my sophomore year, a lot of the conversation with my parents and coaches emphasized making it a priority to get back here and finish."
That stuck with O'Connor. The COVID-19 pandemic actually expedited the process, allowing him to take a number of online classes over that time.
"Being back here for the summer has been a lot of fun," said O'Connor. "It's great to finish."
Coming back was also easy for O'Connor since Dartmouth holds a special place in his heart.
"Coming to a place like this was awesome for my development," he said. "I really improved the two years I was here; it set me up for a lot of success heading into the professional level. The coaching staff was great and they were awesome in preparing me, helping me get to the next level."
Over O'Connor's two years with the Big Green, he posted 17 goals and nine assists as a freshman before tallying 21 goals and 12 assists as a sophomore. It caught the attention of NHL scouts and despite not being drafted, the Pittsburgh Penguins came calling.
"It was not an easy choice to leave, just because my time here was so great," said O'Connor. "I didn't know if I was 100 percent ready to leave, but it was ultimately an opportunity I felt ready for."
Entering Dartmouth, leaving school early for the NHL wasn't on his mind coming in.
"I was hoping I could have a good college career and see after that, but I didn't really have plans of leaving school early and playing in the NHL," said O'Connor. "When I got here, it was a really competitive atmosphere and I was pushed every day, which really helped me develop."
O'Connor takes a lot of pride in his development at Dartmouth.
"This was the place I really wanted to go to school," said the native of Chatham, N.J. "When I came here, I committed right on my visit. It definitely ended up meeting, and exceeding, all my expectations."
What's also awesome is the foothold O'Connor has made at the National Hockey League level. During the 2020-21 season, he played 20 games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, posting seven goals and 12 assists. He also played 10 NHL games for Pittsburgh, tallying an assist.
O'Connor then split time between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh each of the last two seasons, including playing 46 of his 66 games in the NHL for the Penguins in 2022-23.
"Wherever I was the last few years, whether it was in Wilkes-Barre or Pittsburgh, I tried to continue to focus on my development and work on the little things every day," said O'Connor. "The biggest thing this year was gaining a bit more confidence in games. That carried over, and I'm looking to build off that."Deflection perfection from Drew O'Connor 👏 pic.twitter.com/opDKg18rP9
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 26, 2023
O'Connor will have an opportunity to continue building, as he signed a two-year contract extension with the Penguins during the offseason. Also this summer, O'Connor represented Team USA at the World Championships, scoring multiple goals.
"Pittsburgh is the place that I'd really like to be," he said. "It was nice to establish myself a bit more this past season, but you have to earn it every year. My mindset is always to never take anything for granted and continue to work hard. I want to continue to grow my role as a player in the NHL."🇺🇸 @usahockey take the lead! Drew O'connor finds the slot!
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 12, 2023
1-2 #IIHFWorlds #FINUSA pic.twitter.com/SRBULo6fif
One way O'Connor was doing that was working out at his old stomping grounds, Thompson Arena. While on campus, he utilized the Big Green staff, with Troy Thibodeau on the ice and Schuyler Harting in the weight room.
"Doing the classes and the training that comes along with my summer program, I had everything I needed to get prepared," he said.
O'Connor's time at Dartmouth brought back great memories that will stick with him.
"The Boston University game my sophomore year was a really cool one," he said. "We were down 3-0 and ended up coming back. We had a big crowd and ended up coming back and winning, 5-4. That was a crazy game and a lot of fun.
"Another of my best memories was probably the Princeton game on the road my sophomore year," O'Connor continued. "I'm from New Jersey, so that was a fun one; I had a lot of family there. I scored in overtime, so that was really cool."
Speaking of family, O'Connor also found a family at Dartmouth.
"I was here for two years, but the guys I was here with are friends for life," he said. "I'm still super close with all those guys and will continue to be. Anything like the golf outing [this summer] where you get to see everyone back together is awesome."
O'Connor knows how much of an impact Dartmouth men's hockey played in where he is today.
"You have all the resources you need here to grow your hockey career and obviously academically, you can't really beat being a Dartmouth student," he said.
"There are a lot of reasons to come to Dartmouth."
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