Penguins prospect Drew O'Connor loaned to Manglerud Star in Norway
Penguins forward prospect Drew O’Connor has been loaned to the Manglerud Star, a team based in Norway’s Eliteserien league.
According to a translated release from the team, O’Connor joined the Manglerud on Oct. 26 but has yet to play a game for that organization.
O’Connor, 22, joined the Penguins as an undrafted free agent signing when he agreed to a two-year entry-level contract on March 10 after opting to leave Dartmouth following his sophomore season of 2019-20.
A native of Chatham, N.J., O’Connor (6-foot-3, 200 pounds), appeared 31 games last season and led Dartmouth in goals (21) and points (33). His goal total was the fifth highest in all of the NCAA during the 2019-20 campaign.
With the NHL and American Hockey League on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, many leagues in Europe started their 2020-21 campaign many weeks ago. As a result, several NHL teams have loaned prospects to European clubs in order to get them some much-needed playing time.
O’Connor becomes the eighth player signed to an NHL contract with the Penguins who has been loaned to a team in Europe. His predecessors include:
• Defenseman Niclas Almari with Pelican’s in Finland’s Liiga.
• Kasper Bjorkqvist with Kookoo of the Liiga.
• Jan Drozg with HK Olimpija Ljubljana, a Slovenian team based in the multi-country Alps Hockey League.
• Goaltender Emil Larmi with HPK of the Liiga.
• Defenseman Cam Lee with HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga.
• Defenseman Jesper Lindgren with MODO in Sweden’s Hockey Allsvensken.
• Forward Radim Zohorna with BK Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic’s ELH.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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