The wait was worth it for Acadie-Bathurst Titan forward Zach O’Brien

By Peter Assaf – Originally drafted by the Moncton Wildcats in the fourth round of the 2008 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League entry draft, the St. John’s, Nfld. native chose to remain home until he completed his high school education.

After receiving his diploma last June, O’Brien packed his skates and headed to Bathurst, N.B. to suit up with the Titan who acquired him in a trade just over a year ago.

As of Feb. 8, O’Brien sat tied for first in the league’s rookie scoring race with 47 points, including 18 goals, in 48 games.  The 18-year-old was also a plus 24 and had yet to spend any time in the penalty box this season.

“I think it worked out pretty good,” he said of his decision to wait until after high school before making the jump full time to the QMJHL.  “It took me a few games to adjust, but I think I’m adjusted now and things are going great.”

O’Brien has never had trouble putting points on the board. 

This time last year he was lighting up the scoresheet playing with the St. John’s Fog Devils of the Newfoundland and Labrador Major Midget Hockey League.  In 49 games with the Fog Devils, he picked up 176 points, including a staggering 110 goals.  Those numbers include 11 goals and six assists in seven games at the 2010 Telus Cup, where he led his team to a surprise third place finish and was named the National Midget AAA Championship’s most valuable player.
That effort also earned him an invitation to attend training camp with the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks last September.

Despite having that experience under his belt, O’Brien said he knew the jump to Major Junior hockey wasn’t going to be an easy one.

“I knew it was going to take time to adjust,” he said.  “I understood that and I was patient.  I adjusted to the speed and I feel good now.”

“It is a lot harder (here),” he added.  “I think the hardest thing is the speed.  Back home you had a lot more time to do stuff with the puck.  You had more time to think.  Here you have to make your decisions really quick.   Everyone is fast in this league, and everyone is strong and physical, so it is definitely harder to get points here.”

O’Brien has spent most of the season playing on Acadie-Bathurst’s top line with centre Gabriel Levesque and winger Sebastien Trudeau.  The trio has combined for 181 points, including 75 goals, and as a unit are a plus 76.

“We’ve been playing with each other now for quite a while and we know where each other are most of the time on the ice,” he said.  “We just try to get down low and use our skill and put pucks to the net.  I think we are three smart players and we try to make good decisions with the puck.”

Although in his rookie season, the Titan are actually O’Brien’s third Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team.  The Wildcats traded the forward to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for a fifth round draft pick prior to the 2009-2010 season.  He suited up for just two games with the Huskies, registering one assist, before returning home to Newfoundland.

In December 2009 he was traded again, this time to the Titan, as part of a deal that saw goaltender Nicholas Champion end up in Rouyn-Noranda.  After playing three games with Acadie-Bathurst, and registering another assist, he headed back to Newfoundland to finish high school.  With a record of 34-17-1-1, including a nine-game winning streak last month, Acadie-Bathurst sat second in the Maritime Division and in sixth place overall heading into action on Feb. 9.

O’Brien said he likes his team’s chances this season, and says the Titan know what they have to do to be successful.

“When we went on that nine-game winning streak we were doing everything right,” he said.  “We were keeping things simple, putting pucks in deep, throwing pucks on net and driving and we ended up getting a lot of wins.  We’ve just got to stick to our game plan.”

“I just try to play my game,” he concluded.  “I really like it here.  I’m learning a lot (and) I’m feeling good.”