Drew O'Connor Details His Hectic Arrival In Vancouver And First Impressions Of The Canucks Locker Room

Friday, January 31, 2025, will be a day that Drew O'Connor remembers for the rest of his life. Late that evening, he, along with Marcus Pettersson, was traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Vancouver Canucks in a package that included a first-round pick going the other way. While the trade is only two weeks old, it already looks like a significant win for the Canucks organization, as O'Connor is fitting in well both on and off the ice.

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Getting trading in the NHL is chaotic. It involves changing organization and, in O'Connor's case, playing for a Canadian team for the first time in his career. It also can involve some late-night phone calls, as was the case with O'Connor.

"We had a game the next day scheduled for Saturday," said O'Connor. "I'm getting ready to fall asleep. I think it was around 11, and I saw a call from Kyle (Dubas), so I kind of knew right away that it was a trade. Told me that Petey (Marcus Pettersson) and I were gonna be headed to Vancouver, and they would reach out and figure out stuff, how everything's gonna work, but that's how I found out."

After the trade was complete, O'Connor packed his stuff and headed to the airport to catch his flight. With no direct option to Vancouver, O'Connor had to make a stop in Denver before getting to the West Coast. Not only was it a long day of travel, but his suits also didn't arrive, adding to what was already a stressful situation.

O'Connor arrived in Vancouver close to Midnight on February 1, 2024. That means he had approximately 17 hours between getting off the plane and playing his first game with the Canucks. As O'Connor explains, jumping into the lineup right away was actually helpful as it allowed him to learn how his new teammates react in a game situation.

"They had had a car service waiting for us. Brought us over to the arena, where we dropped our bags off and then went over to the hotel. Came in early the next day, got a little skate in, met everybody, got our gear situated and all that. Had a five o'clock game that day. It's nice to get the first game out of the way quick and get to know all the guys. Only been here a few days now, but it's been good so far."

Another complex part of being traded is learning a new system. While there is a lot of overlap between the two organizations, Pittsburgh and Vancouver do have different play styles and game plans. Ultimately, learning a new system can be challenging, but according to O'Connor, the Canucks coaching staff has done a good job of keeping it simple during his first week with the team.

"It's a unique situation. It was new for me being the first time on a new team, but I think the coaches were great with giving us just enough video to understand the system but not overload us. They just stressed the importance of just playing on your instincts and not trying to overthink too much. I think it was good to get a little baseline of what we were supposed to do out there. They said not too much that we were kind of bogged down with those details. I thought they handled it really well. It's kind of a weird situation for everyone, having four new guys in here at once. I think they handled it really well. The guys have handled it awesome and have been super welcoming. It's great to be in here."

On top of learning a new system, O'Connor is entering a locker room that has had some major issues this season. The rift between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson is well documented and became a story not just in Vancouver but across the NHL. When asked if he knew any details about what had happened before his arrival, O'Connor chose to focus on the future rather than speculate on the past.

"There was a lot of stuff out there. We would see some of the reports and things like that going around. You know, you never really know what's true and what's not being on the outside. Being here, I can say everyone in here has been awesome to deal with so far. The guys are great. I can't really speak to what was going on before I was here, but it's been an awesome room to be in so far."

Despite only being with the organization for two weeks, O'Connor has already become a fan favourite. He has two goals in four games which includes scoring just the second overtime penalty shot goal in franchise history. Based on first impressions, it is clear why Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin were keen on bringing him to the Canucks, and why there are already reports that Vancouver has plans on extending O'Connor before he hits free agency this summer.

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