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O'Brien's Continuing Education

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By CARTER GADDIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 18, 2007

Updated: 12/17/2007 11:47 pm

TAMPA - Shane O'Brien's NHL education with the Lightning is progressing. There have been some good-to-great moments for the 24-year-old defenseman from Port Hope, Ontario.

And there have been some bad-to-awful moments.

Somewhere in between the bursts of brilliance and the momentary lapses, the Lightning hope - and believe - there exists a happy medium for O'Brien to develop into a defensive mainstay for years to come.

O'Brien hopes and believes that, too.

"Coming into the year, I don't like to set goals on points or stuff like that because who knows?" O'Brien said. "But my goal was to be one of the guys that they go to. You want to be the guy on the ice in the last five minutes when you're down a goal, situations like that. ... I'm just trying to continually get better so they can use me in any situation."

When the Lightning sent a first-round draft pick and minor-league goalie Gerald Coleman to Anaheim on Feb. 24 for O'Brien and a third-round pick, they knew they were getting a big (6-foot-2, 228 pounds), physical (319 penalty minutes in the AHL in 2004-05), good-skating defender whose full potential might not ever have been tapped by the more conservative style of play employed by the Ducks.

"In the system they played in Anaheim, he was never encouraged to freewheel with it," Lightning general manager Jay Feaster said. "We knew he could skate, but we didn't know he could do so many things like he's demonstrated since he's been here with his skating."

Even before he dreamed of being traded from the organization that made him an eighth-round pick in 2003, O'Brien pondered from afar what it might be like to play in a system like the one employed by Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella. His defensemen are free to join the fray in the offensive zone as long as their defensive responsibilities don't suffer.

"We came in here last year with Anaheim and Paul Ranger was up ice all game," O'Brien said. "I remember I didn't play much in that game. I watched their system and I was like, 'That looks like fun.'"

After an 18-game indoctrination into the system last year as a rookie, O'Brien has begun to get the hang of things offensively this year. In a span of four games in November, he twice scored two goals (against the Thrashers on Nov. 3 and the Hurricanes on Nov. 8).

On Thursday in a 9-6 loss to Calgary, he recorded a career-best three assists.

Those were the flashes of brilliance. But with youth comes inconsistency, and with only 113 NHL games to his credit, O'Brien is still extremely young for an NHL defenseman.

Which is why he still is as apt to commit a costly penalty - like the high-sticking call Saturday against the Capitals in the third period of a tie game. Washington scored the game-winning goal on the ensuing power play.

Neither O'Brien nor Tortorella shied away from the costly nature of the penalty. As is his habit, after the 3-2 loss O'Brien took full responsibility for the mistake that turned out to be the game's major turning point.

And Tortorella didn't mince words, either.

"He has just got a terrible habit of having that stick up in the air," Tortorella said. "We're trying to cure him of it."

O'Brien is aware of his habits. Right now, it's about reinforcing the concept of what not to do.

And so his education continues.

"There's days where I think the coaching staff is maybe all over me or whatever, but at the end of the day, they're just trying to make me a better player," O'Brien said. "Associate Coach Mike Sullivan is doing a good job. He pulls me in, shows me video, works on the details, the little things of the game.

"As long as they continue to be patient with me and continue to work with me, I want to get better every day."

Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com.

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