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Ice Lab

Centre · #38

Liam O'Brien

Washington Capitals Colorado Avalanche Arizona Coyotes Utah Mammoth(traded during the season)
Age
32
Shoots
Left
Height
185 cm
Weight
98 kg
Born
Halifax, CAN
Draft
Undrafted

Career · 9 seasons

Games
265
Goals
14
Points
39
TOI per game
9:38
xGF% (5v5)
45.5%
Goals above expected
−13.4
ShowAll teamsWashington CapitalsColorado AvalancheArizona CoyotesUtah Mammoth

Season by season

The regular-season line for each season, with the total, by team for traded players.

2014–15WSH13112+47:33166.3%01.051.5%
After a break: 2016–17WSH100006:080–00.069.3%
2017–18WSH300006:5510.0%00.030.6%
After a break: 2020–21COL12033+16:3460.0%00.461.1%
2021–22ARI39213+19:29365.6%03.636.5%
2022–23ARI563811−511:26397.7%04.238.4%
2023–24ARI75591409:44726.9%08.948.1%
2024–25UTA28022+19:18340.0%04.553.1%
2025–26UTA38314−69:09358.6%04.750.0%
Total4 teams265142539−49:382395.9%027.445.5%

Form

Rolling averages smooth out single games so the trend shows.

Form, ten-game rolling

Points and individual expected goals per game (left scale), averaged over the previous ten games. Ice time is on the second chart.

Points per gameixG per gameTOI per game (minutes)
00.10.20.30.40.50.650100150200250
6m8m10m12m14m50100150200250Game

Player card

Model-based

How 9 seasons compares with everyone else at the position over the same seasons, and the players with the most similar profile.

Overall rating

Extra / AHL

3rd percentile among qualified forwards, blending scoring 40%, play-driving 40%, usage 20%.

  1. 1st line
  2. 2nd line
  3. 3rd line
  4. 4th line
  5. Extra / AHL

Scoring

Extra / AHL
  • Goals /600.3312th pct
  • Assists /600.5923rd pct
  • ixG /600.6437th pct
  • Goals above expected−13.47th pct

Play-driving

Extra / AHL
  • xGF% (5v5)45.5%23rd pct
  • CF% (5v5)44.3%11th pct
  • Relative xGF%−3.724th pct
  • Penalty diff /60-0.663rd pct

Usage

Extra / AHL
  • TOI per game9:388th pct
  • PP time share1.0%7th pct
  • Offensive zone starts49.0%36th pct
  • Quality of competition23.1%15th pct

Percentiles among forwards with 200+ minutes at 5-on-5 and 20+ games. Ratings rank each column's average percentile among the same players and read it as a role on a depth chart (how).

Most similar players this season

  1. Matt Rempe0.98
  2. Nicolas DeslauriersANA/PHI/CAR0.96
  3. Michael Pezzetta0.95
  4. Ryan ReavesPIT/NYR/MIN/TOR/SJS0.95
  5. Adam KlapkaCGY0.93
  6. Tanner Glass0.92

Faceoffs

How often O'Brien wins the draw over 9 seasons, against whom and where, and what a win leads to. Ranked among players with 1763+ draws over the same seasons.

Win rate

31.4%

22–48 · below the 1763 draws of a regular

Against an average centre

31.0%

Opponents won 49.6% of their draws; an average centre would have won 50.4% against them.

Wins above average

−13

Draws won beyond what an average centre facing the same opponents would have won.

Draws per game

1.2

70 draws in all.

By dot, attacking to the right

36%14 · +2.039%18 · +4.618%11 · +6.340%5 · +0.10%1 · –50%2 · 0.033%3 · 0.033%9 · +2.114%7 · +3.3Attacking zone →← Defending zone

Win rate at each dot; the small numbers are draws and the xG swing (×100) of winning rather than losing there.

By zone

  • Offensive zone31.0% 9–20
  • Neutral zone36.0% 9–16
  • Defensive zone25.0% 4–12

By strength

  • Even strength31.3% 21–46
  • Power play0.0% 0–1
  • Shorthanded50.0% 1–1

What a win leads to

Shot attempts in the next 20 seconds, for minus against, per 100 draws: +32 after a win, −31 after a loss. Each win was worth 3.0 expected goals per 100 draws more than a loss.

Most-faced opponents

Season by season

SeasonDrawsWin rateAgainst average
2014–15250.0%49.3%
2017–1820.0%-1.9%
2021–221050.0%49.4%
2022–231526.7%27.4%
2023–242821.4%21.3%
2024–2540.0%-5.3%
2025–26966.7%65.9%

Finishing

Model-based

Did the goals match the chances?

Goals against expected goals

Cumulative goals (solid) and individual xG (dashed) through the season. The gap is finishing: above the dashed line, the player scored more than an average shooter would from the same chances.

−13.4 goals above expected

-505101520253050100150200250Game

Goals above expected, everyone at the same position with 20+ games

−60−40−200+20+40+60+80+100

Speed and tracking

From the NHL's EDGE tracking system (2021–22 on): skating speed, shot speed, distance and zone time, for the selected seasons and then every tracked season, to show improvement or decline.

Tracking data (NHL EDGE)

Values from the NHL's puck and player tracking, with the NHL's own league percentile for each. Missing values mean the player wasn't tracked enough.

Tracking

  • Top skating speed35.4 km/h39th pct
  • Speed bursts over 20 mph3234th pct
  • Hardest shot131.4 km/h29th pct
  • Distance skated92 km29th pct
  • Offensive-zone time40.4%27th pct
Tracking, season by season

Each season against the other forwards that season with 20+ games. A season in progress appears once half its games are played, as provisional: season bests only grow. Bursts and distance are per 60 minutes of ice time, so seasons with fewer games still compare. Percentiles are on these rates, so they can differ from the NHL's, which are on season totals.

This playerMedian forwardMiddle half (25th–75th percentile)Hollow dot: too few games to rank, or a season in progress (*, dashed). Dotted line: no NHL games that season.

Top skating speed

35.4 km/h27th pct

▼ −0.3 km/h since 2024–25

343536373821–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 34.4 km/h, 7th percentile (39 games)2022–23: 35.8 km/h, 42nd percentile (56 games)2023–24: 35.2 km/h, 23rd percentile (75 games)2024–25: 35.7 km/h, 33rd percentile (28 games)2025–26: 35.4 km/h, 27th percentile (38 games)

Bursts over 20 mph per 60

5.553rd pct

▼ −1.2 since 2024–25

24681021–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 3.6, 28th percentile (39 games)2022–23: 4.1, 41st percentile (56 games)2023–24: 5.7, 57th percentile (75 games)2024–25: 6.7, 63rd percentile (28 games)2025–26: 5.5, 53rd percentile (38 games)

Distance skated per 60

15.8 km68th pct

▼ −0.0 km since 2024–25

14.51515.51616.521–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 15.5 km, 47th percentile (39 games)2022–23: 15.4 km, 50th percentile (56 games)2023–24: 15.5 km, 49th percentile (75 games)2024–25: 15.8 km, 64th percentile (28 games)2025–26: 15.8 km, 68th percentile (38 games)

Hardest shot

131.4 km/h16th pct

▼ −0.6 km/h since 2024–25

12013014015016021–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 137.0 km/h, 23rd percentile (39 games)2022–23: 130.9 km/h, 8th percentile (56 games)2023–24: 131.6 km/h, 10th percentile (75 games)2024–25: 132.0 km/h, 16th percentile (28 games)2025–26: 131.4 km/h, 16th percentile (38 games)

Offensive-zone time

40.4%30th pct

▼ −0.5 points since 2024–25

36%38%40%42%44%46%21–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 37.7%, 6th percentile (39 games)2022–23: 37.5%, 5th percentile (56 games)2023–24: 37.7%, 8th percentile (75 games)2024–25: 41.0%, 35th percentile (28 games)2025–26: 40.4%, 30th percentile (38 games)