Logan O'Connor spoke publicly Friday for the first time since his father died, and the Avalanche winger held nothing back.
Myles O'Connor died on October 6 while Colorado was in Calgary. The Avalanche played the Flames the next night, and Logan stepped away to be with his family.
He rejoined the team on October 23, then flew back to Calgary the following week for the funeral and missed a home game in Denver. He's been with his teammates on the road since.
O'Connor had started the season on the sidelines with a lower-body injury and was close to a return when the news came. He has played 6 games this season and has 1 point.
He told reporters that coming back had to happen on his own terms. He admitted he could have stayed away for months, but the game he shared with his dad pulled him back, and he described grief as exhausting in ways he never expected.
"He was my hero," O'Connor said of his father. "I wanted to be just like him."
The hardest stretches come before and after games. He used to call his father after every game, and that missing call hits hardest around puck drop.
How the Avalanche locker room is carrying O'Connor
Parker Kelly, who has skated beside O'Connor often in recent seasons, said he just wants to give his teammate whatever he needs: conversation, laughter, normalcy or space. Kelly and his wife, Kiarra, have offered to walk the dogs or watch O'Connor's young son, Brooks.
Josh Manson knows this ground. He lost his mother, Lana, to cancer in August of 2023, and he said the job is reading the room day by day and being a friend first, a teammate second.
The ceremony at Magness Arena may have been the toughest moment of all. Myles captained Michigan in his senior year, Logan won a national title at Denver in 2017, and when the Wolverines visited last month a pregame ceremony for both O'Connors had been planned long before.
Logan walked to center ice with Brooks on his arm for the ceremonial puck drop. "We were supposed to go to the game together," he said. "It felt like a way to honor him, something I know he'd still want me to do with my son."
Colorado is a good team to be around right now, and that matters more than any standings number. But the Avalanche are 9-6-2 and have lost two straight, so the room needs the boost O'Connor's presence gives it.
Before this season he used his pregame warmup to appreciate the life he was living. Now he spends that moment thinking about his dad, and he'll do it again tonight when Colorado hosts Detroit.
Quick hits
LOS ANGELES KINGS: Alex Turcotte is off injured reserve and set to play tonight against the Penguins. Good timing for a team that can use the help.
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STARTING GOALIE: The Devils confirmed Jake Allen will start tonight at the Islanders, not Connor Hellebuyck or David Rittich. Interesting choice with those names in the room.
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ST. LOUIS BLUES: A 3-1 loss at Nashville was their third straight defeat and capped a 1-2-1 finish to the four-game road trip. A hot start feels like a long time ago.
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MINNESOTA WILD: Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno have been activated and are expected to play tonight against the Lightning. The Wild lineup gets a real shake-up.
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FLORIDA PANTHERS: Paul Maurice gave the first update on Sandis Vilmanis' injury, and there's no diagnosis yet. Panthers fans will have to wait.
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Was Logan O'Connor right to return to the Avalanche this quickly after his father's death?
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