Standing in Myles Brosnan’s (Winchester, Mass.) kitchen after NHL Draft Day in June, it was impossible not to wonder why an NHL Draft prospect would spend their draft year in prep.
Brosnan, a 6-foot defenseman, was ranked as a fourth-round candidate by NHL Central Scouting. He had a fantastic winter with 51 points in 30 games, easily leading the region’s defensemen in production. Skating and offense were never an issue for him.
Yet the Harvard commit fell and fell and fell on draft day, finally being taken early in the seventh round by the Detroit Red Wings.
No prep skater had been taken before the fifth round since 2022. Deerfield’s Elliot Lennon was picked in the fourth round by the Ottawa Senators in June’s draft, but he’s a goalie. They’re different. There was a thought that Brosnan might finally be the one to buck the trend.
From chatting with NHL scouts over the summer and at the start of fall hockey, only one name playing in prep is consistently brought up and draws them to the rink.
Jack O’Dell.
The 6-foot-2, right-shot defenseman burst onto the scene with Phillips Andover last season. He followed that up by making USA Hockey’s Select 17 Camp and, after that, the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Camp.
The Chicago native followed that up by signing with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. In his first game of the fall with the Neponset Valley River Rats 18U team, he still had his Windsor helmet, gloves and pants. He had flown back from Windsor the night before.
So, why is O’Dell staying at Phillips Andover in prep when players typically go in the opposite direction?
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“I need to continue on the path that’s best suited for me,” O’Dell said. “And not be influenced or distracted too much by what others are doing around me. Just staying true to my path and my priorities will help me get to where I want to go.”
That mindset has served him well, especially when things weren’t going his way.
Growing up in Chicago and as a hockey player, O'Dell was a given to play for the Chicago Mission at some point. The Mission are widely regarded as the top Triple AAA youth hockey program in the Chicago area. So that’s where O’Dell played at 13 and 14 years old.
But it was only for two years.
“I’ve faced quite a bit of adversity in my career so far,” O’Dell said.
That adversity: He was cut from the team before his 15O season, a huge one, with junior teams, the U.S. National Team Development Program and colleges scouting that level heavily.
“It was kind of a shocker,” O’Dell said. “Being doubted wasn’t a great feeling.”
He had to quickly lick his wounds and move on, opting to play for the Windy City Storm for his age-15 year, putting up a strong year with 26 points in 49 games.
But academics were always a big focus for O’Dell, so his attention turned east for prep schools — and Phillips Andover became the favorite. The year he applied, the Big Blue won the Flood-Marr Tournament and were crowned Large School Tournament champions a few months later.
“The balance between the academics and the prestigious hockey program,” O’Dell said. “That was huge in the recruiting process.”
The comfort and rapport with head coach Paul Tortorella was also what drew O’Dell to Andover. Tortorella didn’t know a lot about O’Dell, but he liked what he saw from the defenseman at New England showcases throughout the summer.
“He was still big and strong,” Tortorella said of O’Dell. “But we had no idea really what he was going to turn into.”
See, even at the ages of 15 and 16, O’Dell channeled that anger from being cut from the Mission into motivation. He wanted to make sure he was never cut again.
“That was the best thing that ever happened to me,” O’Dell said. “It motivated me to keep working harder and to keep doing the right things. I knew it would all work out in the end.
“Getting cut made me play with a chip on my shoulder.”
The success wasn’t even immediate. After not making Select 15 Camp, he didn’t make Select 16s either. His name was never called in his first chance of being drafted by USHL and OHL teams.
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But by the time Andover’s season came around, the fruits of the labor were on display.
“He just seemed more ready,” Tortorella said. “He was in better shape. He was shooting the puck harder. He was playing hard.”
Tortorella felt O’Dell deserved an early chance as a top-four defenseman. So, the head coach paired the young newcomer with then-senior Tyler Miocevich.
O’Dell was an instant hit, scoring goals with his wicked shot and contributing offensively, while also playing a stout, physical defensive game.
“I knew I had put the work in the summer before coming to Andover,” O’Dell said. “But I had no idea that’s what it would bring.”
What it brought: a whole lot of attention. Suddenly, NCAA Division 1 coaches lined the stands at his games. Come Jan. 1, when schools can contact rising sophomores, his phone blew up.
It was still shocking to O’Dell, who just a few years earlier thought college hockey might not be in the cards. Along with being cut, he was undersized and hadn’t grown into the 6-foot-2 frame.
Pretty early on, O’Dell knew he wanted to pick an Ivy League program. Multiple Ivies put on a full press to get him.
Ultimately, he chose Princeton. O’Dell was impressed by head coach Ben Syer and his staff.
And then, of course, there was the school element.
“From an academic standpoint, it’s the top school in the country,” he said. “That kind of just speaks for itself.”
The next big milestone on O’Dell’s plate is the NHL Draft. Everyone has an opinion on where he might go, but at the very least, he looks like an NHL Draft pick.
The draft has been on his mind a little bit throughout the summer. He’s adamant that if he continues to improve on and off the ice, he’ll be in the best position possible to hear his name called. Grow as a leader, a student, a physical defenseman, an offensive defenseman — make NHL scouts bang the table for him in June.
But his draft year is a bit different than how things are trending. More players than ever are opting for junior hockey for (and before) their draft year.
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“Thinking about it with my family and my advisor and the people who support me, I feel like just another year of prep before juniors is the best for my personal development,” O’Dell said. “Because juniors can get stressful and take a toll on your body. I feel like being as patient as possible is definitely the biggest thing because you really don’t want to rush anything.
“Just take your time and see how it pans out.”
It’s worked for him so far. There’s no reason it can’t work again.
