Down on the Farm: O'Rourke learning on the job in Iowa

Iowa Wild defenseman Ryan O'Rourke wasn't even supposed to be in Iowa this season.
A second-round pick of the Wild in the 2020 NHL Draft, O'Rourke is supposed to be in the middle of his third season as a member of the Soo Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League, and his second wearing the 'C' for that club.
But with the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the start of the OHL season on three different occasions this winter, Greyhounds players haven't even been summoned back to begin training camp yet.

That has allowed the 18-year-old O'Rourke to gain further seasoning in the American Hockey League with Iowa, an opportunity that wouldn't even be possible without the presence of the pandemic.
Barring exceptional circumstances, 18-year-olds aren't even allowed to play in the AHL, but with the pandemic wreaking havoc on Canadian junior leagues, COVID-19 certainly qualifies as exceptional.
Entering 2020, a year where he knew he was likely to be drafted, he couldn't have imagined how everything would shake out. He didn't get to attend his draft in person, get the honor of having his name called in an arena, leaning over to hug his family and then meet all of his new team's brass and scouts ... the traditional trappings of a new NHL draft pick.
Even after he was drafted back in October, he had no idea what the future would hold regarding his immediate future. But seven months into the pandemic by that point, O'Rourke said he just did his best to go with the flow.
"A lot of uncertainty," O'Rourke said. "I wouldn't have really said that I thought I'd be playing here or even back in the OHL. Obviously, I'm still waiting for that. But I think whatever was thrown at me, I was ready for it and I knew that there was a possibility of a training camp or something with the Wild, so I always kind of kept myself ready for that."
O'Rourke believes that he'll head back to the Greyhounds at some point this spring, but when exactly, he doesn't know when. He acknowledges that every day that goes by, the chances of him sticking around in Iowa for the duration of this season becomes greater and greater.
Even then, O'Rourke assumes there will be a more normal 2021-22 season back in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. If so, he expects to captain that team. For now, he'll continue to soak up all the experience he can playing in one of the top hockey leagues in the world.
"I hope we will be [back this spring], but at this point, we haven't really been told anything," O'Rourke said. "You hear rumors that they may be making an announcement about something, but then it never really happens. So I think at this point, it's kind of up [in the air] whether we do have a season or not, but me being here helps a lot, and for me right now, I'm playing here. So just focusing on that is what I'm going for."
While O'Rourke would be one of the top defensemen in the OHL this season, playing in the American League is a completely different animal.
For one, he's playing against bigger, stronger, faster and in some cases, much older players than he.
As one of the youngest players playing in the AHL, he's going against guys that have been playing professional hockey for more than half of O'Rourke's life.
One of his teammates in Iowa Cody McLeod, is literally a man twice O'Rourke's age. At 36 years old, McLeod was playing in the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winter Hawks when O'Rourke was born. He made his NHL debut with the Colorado Avalanche when O'Rourke was five.
And here they are now, together as teammates in Des Moines. O'Rourke insists it isn't strange, however. If anything, it feels completely normal.
"I was thinking about that a few weeks ago, and it's funny, because with guys like him and with [Gabriel] Dumont, honestly, it feels no different than junior," O'Rourke said. "Obviously they're older, but I think once you're at the rink, we're all just a bunch of kids, really. I would say almost every guy on the team is like that.
"Talking with the guys, and even some of the older d-guys, you don't really see the age gap. I think you just try to learn as much as you can from them because they've played for so long."
Just 18, but with the maturity of someone much older, O'Rourke said he is determined not to let this opportunity be wasted.
Wherever he ends up playing next season, getting a chance to play in the AHL - one of the top professional leagues in the world - will make him a better player, and hopefully prepare him for a long career in the NHL one day down the road.
It took a few games for O'Rourke to adjust to the higher level of play, but over the past several weeks, he's looked far more comfortable in his surroundings.
At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, O'Rourke plays a big, physical style that may be more suited for the kind of game played in the AHL, as opposed to the run-and-gun OHL.
So often for young defensemen, they struggle to adjust to the defensive aspects of professional hockey. O'Rourke is getting a crash course in it this season with Iowa, and he believes it will pay dividends in the future.
"This year, or half of year, of pro is definitely going to help me when I go back, and then when I end up coming back here again," O'Rourke said. "I think I was really lucky with how the cards fell, so I couldn't be happier. I'm playing hockey, so I don't have much to complain about."