O'Brien leaves U, signs contract with Ottawa

Jim O'Brien, who was set to switch from forward to defense this season for the Gophers men's hockey team, signed instead with the Ottawa Senators on Monday.

He is the third Gophers player with eligibility left to sign with an NHL team this offseason, following defensemen Alex Goligoski (Pittsburgh) and Erik Johnson (St. Louis).

The Senators took the Maplewood product with the 29th pick in the first round of the NHL draft in June after he scored seven goals and had eight assists as a freshman.

Ottawa General Manager Bryan Murray said O'Brien probably will play for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League this season. The Gophers issued a news release saying O'Brien was leaving the team to join the Thunderbirds, which means he would not be eligible to play college hockey.

"We want him to get ice time, we want him to develop," Murray said. "I'm never one to take a kid out of school. We did not encourage him to leave, but Jim felt this was the best road for him at this point in his development.

"He was a young player on a good hockey team at the University of Minnesota last year. And playing on the fourth line, five, six minutes a game was not enough time for him to be a top guy down the road."

O'Brien did not return phone calls Monday.

Murray said Russ Farwell, his counterpart at Seattle, assured him Monday that O'Brien, who turned 18 on Jan. 29, would get plenty of ice time and the chance to be one of the Thunderhawks' top players.

"We're OK with that unless [O'Brien] comes to camp and knocks our socks off," Murray said. "Then we might have a different point of view."

The 6-2, 184-pound O'Brien, who signed an entry-level contract, will be invited to the Senators' rookie camp, which runs from Sept. 4-11, and their main camp, which opens Sept. 13.

Last week, Gophers coach Don Lucia said O'Brien told him he planned to return. On Monday, Lucia said he did not want to comment on O'Brien's decision, but was quoted in the release: "Jim and his family have made a decision that they believe is in his best interests. Although I am disappointed by the decision and the timing, Jim's departure opens the door for another player to get more ice time and advance in his development as a hockey player."

O'Brien's loss leaves the Gophers with only seven defensemen, three of them freshmen.

Roman Augustoviz • raugustoviz@startribune.com