A brand new American Hockey League season begins Saturday night when the Pirates return to their refurbished home in downtown Portland to take on the Providence Bruins.
Many of the names on the backs of the sweaters will be familiar to fans who trekked to Lewiston for last winter’s home games. A handful of Pirates have been with the team long enough to have played at the Cumberland County Civic Center in 2013 or earlier, before its recent change to Cross Insurance Arena.
Ten forwards, five defensemen and two goalies all skated for the Pirates at some point last season. In addition, goalie Mike McKenna and center Alex Bolduc have returned after an absence of six seasons and one season, respectively.
If you’re looking for someone fresh and exciting, the hockey equivalent to Sea Dogs Mookie Betts or Henry Owens, your best bet is Henrik Samuelsson, a No. 1 draft pick with a hockey pedigree. His dad, Ulf, is a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
However, if it’s a diamond in the rough you seek, you could do worse than keep tabs on Dan O’Donoghue, an undrafted forward from Mercyhurst University.
A liberal arts college located in Erie, Pennsylvania, Mercyhurst is not exactly a hockey factory. Its most notable stick-wielding alum is Meghan Agosta, a three-time Olympic gold medalist for the Canadian women’s team.
O’Donoghue, who graduated last spring with a degree in criminal justice, is the first Laker forward to sign a pro contract. He was ignored in the draft, stands 6-foot-5, and feels like he has something to prove.
“Over the years, I really haven’t had anything given to me,” said O’Donohue, who grew up in Port Jefferson, New York, and didn’t consider hockey a career option until he was nearly done with high school. “I’ve always had to work for what I had. So (being undrafted) was just another thing, a little chip on the shoulder throughout my college career just to prove people wrong.”
O’Donoghue actually has played in Maine before. As a junior at Mercyhurst, he faced the University of Maine in a two-game series in January 2013, losing 2-1 at the Civic Center before traveling up I-95 for a 5-2 victory in Orono.
That game at Alfond Arena was particularly memorable because O’Donoghue had a hand in all five goals. He scored three and assisted on the other two.
His lone preseason goal with the Pirates was another that stood out. Bearing down on the net, O’Donoghue got off a shot before a Manchester defenseman knocked him off balance. While falling, O’Donoghue managed to corral the rebound and flick it into the net.
“That’s what we’ve got to get from him,” said Pirates Coach Ray Edwards. “Just driving the net hard, playing with his big frame and getting to the net.”
Coaches in the Atlantic Hockey Conference, of which Mercyhurst is a member, voted O’Donoghue the best defensive forward. The ability to play both ways is what attracted Portland’s parent club, the Arizona Coyotes, enough to offer a contract.
“I consider myself a two-way player who likes to take care of the D zone,” O’Donoghue said. “So I felt I could fit in with their system.”
O’Donoghue spent the final week of last season with the Pirates, flying to Manchester to meet the team and then skating for two games in Lewiston and the season finale in Saco.
“I really didn’t know why they were bringing me out here for the last week, but I’m glad that they did,” O’Donoghue said. “It gave me a chance to meet the players and get acclimated to that style of play, to see what I had to do over the summer to prepare myself for this year.”
A 76-game regular-season schedule awaits. A team that finished last in the standings and last in attendance has returned to a refurbished building with new ownership, new leadership and a stronger, steadier presence on the ice.
“We’re bigger through the middle ice,” Edwards said. “We want to be a team that possesses the puck more. We want to be a team that can win a territorial game. We want to be a team that’s tough to play against.”
There will be surprises as well. O’Donoghue has a chance to be one of them.
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