In the midst of his first professional season with the Colorado Avalanche AHL affiliate, Colorado Eagles, former Denver Pioneers forward Logan O’Connor has been called up to the Avs’ active roster ahead of the New Years Eve showdown against the struggling Los Angeles Kings.
O’Connor, 22, was a Cinderella story during the offseason, as the undrafted forward came into Colorado’s rookie camp and was able to impress general manager Joe Sakic enough to earn himself a contract with the Avalanche.
“Logan O’Connor, for me, skates hard, moves the puck, and everything that he does is at a good pace, if not at top speed,” Jared Bednar said.
“He is a great skater, if not an elite skater. He is tenacious, and he is hard on pucks and he knows how to check and play the right way defensively. He is a guy who we are going to watch closely because, to me, he is in the fight to make our team.”
In 30 games played this season for the Eagles, O’Connor has recorded 16 points. Although he is not exactly leading the team in scoring, O’Connor has been playing alongside the successful line of AHL veteran Andrew Agozzino and 2018 Avalanche first-round draft pick, Martin Kaut.
The Eagles line has 57 points through the first half of the season.
“We complement each other really well and we really enjoy playing with one another,” Agozinno said.
“We have been together for a couple of months now, and the longer you play together the more chemistry and comfortable you are with one another. We communicate with each other a lot and we help each other out.”
During his three seasons with the Denver Pioneers, O’Connor recorded 43 points in 110 career games.
O’Connor will be in the lineup tonight for the Avs New Years Eve showdown against the Los Angeles Kings and will be on the fourth line with Gabriel Bourque and fellow rookie camp standout Sheldon Dries. Faceoff against the Kings will be at 6 p.m. tonight at the Pepsi Center and will be televised on Altitude TV.