Connect with us

Philadelphia Flyers

WATCH: Flyers prospect Jay O’Brien scores hat trick in Boston University’s 5-1 win

Published

on

Jay_OBrien_Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jay O’Brien is off to a strong start in his sophomore season at Boston University. The 2018 first-round pick added to that hot start with a hat trick in Saturday night’s 5-1 win against the University of Vermont.

Vermont scored the first goal of the game, but it was all Boston after that. O’Brien had a big hand in the victory.

He scored the Terriers’ first goal of the game to tie things up just a minute after Vermont took a 1-0 lead. O’Brien positioned himself in front of the net and redirected home a great pass by his captain, Islanders prospect Logan Cockerill.

Later in the first period, it was O’Brien that broke the tie. This time he did it all himself.

O’Brien stole the puck from the defensemen and skated in down the wing. He fired a shot from below the dot that found its way past the goalie for his second of the game.

The Terriers added on another one for a 3-1 lead after the first period. They added yet another in the second for a 4-1 lead through two frames. In the third period. O’Brien put the cherry on top of the victory with his hat-trick goal.

This one also just squeaked through the goalie and O’Brien actually had to follow up and tap it in. He displayed a nice toe-drag deke right before shooting.

O’Brien’s hat trick gave him four points over the two-game sweep of Vermont. He also had an assist on the game’s lone goal on Friday night.

O’Brien has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 10 games this season. He has not gone longer than two games without scoring a point and has multiple shots on goal in six of 10 games, including five on Saturday night.

The 2018 first-round pick (19th overall) has had a wild ride since being drafted. He spent the 2018-19 season with Providence College, only recording five points in 25 games. He took a step down last season to the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). Playing against lesser competition, he found his scoring touch. O’Brien was fifth in the league with 66 points (25 goals, 41 assists) in 46 games with the Penticton Vees.

O’Brien has been one of the Flyers’ not-so-promising draft picks over the past few years. Most of their first-round picks have panned out, or at least look like they are going to. It also hasn’t helped that drafted just five picks ahead of O’Brien was Joel Farabee. Farabee has been making an impact at the NHL level for over a year and recently picked up his first NHL hat trick.

Nevertheless, O’Brien could be back on the path to the NHL. If he can continue to perform at a near point-per-game pace in the NCAA, he could have a chance of joining the Flyers in the coming years.


Make sure you follow me (@RGilbertSOP) and Philly Hockey Now (@PhillyHockeyNow) on Twitter and like us on Facebook to keep up with all of the latest happenings surrounding the Philadelphia Flyers!

While our first week of content has been free, we will start mixing in some premium content behind our paywall: Philadelphia Hockey Now +, or PhHN+ for short. You can subscribe here!

Photo Credit: Heather Barry Images

Get PHHN+ today!

Ryan is a proud graduate of Monmouth University. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers for the better part of a decade at various outlets, including Sons of Penn and Broad Street Hockey. Ryan has also worked for NHL.com and NBC Sports Regional Networks. Whether it's a GIF, quick stat, analysis, or long-form column, he's got you covered.

Get PhHN in Your Inbox

Enter your email address to get all of our posts sent directly to your inbox.

Trending

Copyright © 2023 National Hockey Now and Philadelphia Hockey Now. In no way affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers or the National Hockey League.