SAN JOSE — As the NHL evolves at a breakneck pace, the floodgates are opening for smaller, faster players, such as Sharks prospect Danny O’Regan, a frontrunner to land a spot on the team’s roster in training camp this fall.
In generations past, a player of O’Regan’s stature — 5-foot-9, 175 pounds — would have struggled to get noticed in a league dominated by clutching, grabbing and beefy farm-bred defensemen, obstacles his father, Tom O’Regan, confronted in the1980s while suiting up for 61 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But as Danny O’Regan prepares to launch his NHL career after winning the AHL’s rookie of the year award with the Barracuda last season, Tom O’Regan is confident that changes to the modern game will allow his son’s skill to shine through as it has recently for other undersized players, like Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames, Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Cam Atkinson of the Columbus Blue Jackets.