O'Donoghue Shines In Islanders Prospect Game

Dan O'Donoghue may now have a new highlight of his already impressive hockey career. On Saturday night, in front of 5,000 fans and nearly 20 friends and family members, the Port Jefferson native scored a goal in the Islanders prospect scrimmage at Nassau Coliseum.

"We ended up forcing a turnover, [the puck] got stuck on the net, so I popped it off, and the goalie didn’t know where it was so I just put it home," he said, recalling the goal that gave his White team a 5-2 lead in an eventual 6-5 victory.

The sophomore at Mercyhurst College enjoyed hearing his name announced over the public address system in the arena, which was met with cheers from many of his close friends and family.

"It’s a good feeling scoring here," he said. "On pretty much on home ice for me."

O'Donoghue was one of seven Long Islanders participating in the camp this week, which brought together many of the Islanders' top prospects and highly-touted draft selections.

The road to the Islanders' camp was not an easy one for O'Donoghue, but his tireless work on and off the ice has finally allowed things to start going his way.

"Growing up I was overlooked a lot, but I kept working hard," he said.
"Eventually I started catching some breaks and getting some looks. Now I find myself here, so I’m going to continue to do what I’ve been doing and just work hard. Put the time in and hopefully it pays off."

O'Donoghue was one of seven Long Islanders attending the prospect camp, including Ben Rosen of Syosset, who assisted on his goal in the scrimmage.

"It’s pretty special," he said of the camp. "It’s a good experience for myself and my family as well. They get to come out to the game and watch me skate here with talent so it’s a pretty good feeling."

"For the kids that are here, obviously it’s a thrill to come to the Coliseum and play with our guys," said Islanders head coach Jack Capuano.

The prospects, who skated as two separate units throughout the week, took part in a scrimmage and skills competition on Saturday night. The White team, which featured six of the seven Long Islanders at the camp, won the scrimmage 6-5, though eventually lost the overall competition later on.

"I think it’s great," Capuano said of having local players at camp. "I think I mentioned earlier, it’s a tribute to the parents who dedicate themselves, going to the rink very early in the morning, taking these kids to practice, to their youth hockey coaches, to their high school coaches."