Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Ryan O'Marra Struggling

During training camp, I had written this piece on O'Marra. Now is a follow up on this prospect.




Above is a picture illustrating Ryan O'Marra as a Champion.

These days, he is anything but one

20 year old Ryan O'Marra, the central piece of the Ryan Smyth deal is struggling.

In the ECHL.

After playing only 3 games and going pointless with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL, he was demoted to a lower tier league in the ECHL. He has posted 6G, 1A, 7 PTS in 11 games, 8th on his team in scoring.

For a 15th overall pick, it's a disappointment, especially considering he went 4G, 1A, 5PTS in 8 games as an 18 year old kid in the AHL. In the past, he's received rave reviews of his play and style:

Ken Morrow on his play in the AHL as an 18 year old kid

"I watched (O'Marra) in the World Junior tournament this year and he's just a steady two-way guy who shows up to play every shift," said Ken Morrow, the Islanders' Director of Pro Scouting.

"As you saw, he can score you some goals, he can kill penalties, he can check, and he can hit...he does a little bit of everything," explained Morrow, adding that O'Marra "doesn't look out of place (at the AHL-level)."

"He looks like a ten-year pro the way he handled himself...he's 18-years-old but he plays like a 25 or 26-year-old," said Morrow.

"I think we have a good one," pronounced Baseggio.

Is it just a confidence issue, or did his 2 major injuries kill his career as a professional hockey league player?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hopefully he's just finding his game after the injuries. I'm sure getting demoted was a bit of a mind-f*ck for him given he's been a highly touted prospect.

He's exactly the type of player the Oilers need, I hope he can turn it around. I dunno, though, lots of players are highly-touted, get injured, and never develop.