Ht/Wt: 6' 2"/177 lbs
Position: C
Team: Brantford (OHL)

Jake O'Brien's Player Profile

Corey Pronman - The Athletic - June 10th: "He's extremely skilled with the puck, showing the soft touch and quick hands to create a lot of scoring chances and improvise on difficult plays often. He's a decent enough skater. His game can lack pace at times in part because he pulls up to make his skilled plays too much, but when he gets going, he moves well."

Adam Kimelman - NHL.com - June 9th: "… elevated his game during the second half of the season with his poise, vision, playmaking ability, and willingness to play hard all 200 feet. The 17-year-old can slow the game down in the offensive zone and find scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates, can check other teams' top players and play in all situations."

Mike Morreale - NHL.com - June 9th: "The right-handed shot (6-2, 172) was tied for seventh in the OHL with 98 points (32 goals, 66 assists) in 66 games and had 50 power-play points (nine goals, 41 assists). O'Brien, named OHL Rookie of the Year in 2023-24, has good hands, creativity and can read the ice well with the puck."

Scott Wheeler - The Athletic - June 2nd: "He’s a finesse player with tons of feel, poise and craftsmanship on the puck and as a passer (he seems to know where guys are even when they’re in his blind spot). The IQ and passing ability are high-end tools. He’s got an ability to put pucks into spaces for both his linemates but also himself."

Steven Ellis - Daily Faceoff - May 27th: "O’Brien has the skills and the smarts to be a very impressive center in the NHL. His off-puck play is great, and he’s always out-thinking his opponents."

Tony Ferrari - The Hockey News - May 12th: "He has just about everything you want from a middle-six center at the next level. He’s got great size, good mobility and excellent vision as a playmaker. He’s become more and more creative as the year wore on."

Jason Bukala - Sportsnet - March 26th: "Desnoyers thinks the game at an elite level. He’s calculating off the rush and displays an ability to attack with speed or pull up, take stock of his options, and distribute. It’s nearly impossible to teach forwards to play the game the way Desnoyers does."

Smaht Scouting - March 23rd: "An adept passer and very smart offensive zone player who also initiates contacts and resists physical pressure remarkably well, Desnoyers fills most of the boxes when it comes to what NHL teams look for in a center. To us, him being sold as this two-way force doesn’t really track, as he’s often not as involved as he could be in defensive zone, and we also don’t think the skill level is at a top 10 level."

Jake O'Brien's Stats

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