The 26-year-old center, joins the club after spending the past six seasons playing for Carleton University Ravens in the USports league and last season, he iced in 28 games and recorded 15 points (4G, 11A) before going on to make two appearances with Fort Wayne Komets in the ECHL, at the end of the season.
Born in Prince George, British Colombia, Brogan made his professional debut back in 2018 as he featured in four games for Kansas City Mavericks in the ECHL, scoring one goal and assisting on one more, after finishing his major junior career.
O’Brien, who stands at 6-foot and 3-inches tall, played all three of his major junior seasons in the Western Hockey League with Prince George Cougars, where he totalled 133 points (46G, 87A) in 203 appearances.
The Canadian has also played two seasons in the British Columbia Hockey League with Prince George Spruce Kings and he accumulated 54 points (25G, 29A) through 121 matches.
LEFEBVRE ON O’BRIEN
After adding the two-way center to his roster, Stars Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre, said: “I think for me, Brogan is a real diamond in the rough and we wanted to get some depth at center through our line-up.
“He brings size, speed, he is enthusiastic and young, we are not looking for a lot from him offensively, it will still be great for him to chip in but what he really brings to the table is his defensive skills and face-off skills.
“We want to have puck possession all the time, so winning face-offs is the key to that and he is a key face-off guy, who can play in those key situations.
“Defensively, he is an excellent player with an excellent stick and he knows how to shut down guys.
“He plays the right way and he gets in on the forecheck and makes life miserable for a lot of teams and that is what we are looking to do.”
He continued: “I liked his enthusiasm from the moment I started talking to him and there are a lot of young guys who are signing NHL and AHL contracts right out of university or juniors and they go to the ECHL and get traded or end up on two or three teams in their first season and it is not a good experience for them.
“So, guys want to come over to Europe now and it is a different generation now, who want to experience life a bit and play in a very competitive league like ours and get their feet wet in European hockey, so we are just really happy to have Brogan coming to Dundee.”
LeFebvre also provided an update on the final stages of his recruitment process as he continues to find the last few players to complete his roster.
He said: “We have two more spots still to fill and one is our number one goaltender.
“We are narrowing down our list, talking to guys every day and this time of year guys are still looking to get those ECHL or American league contracts that they had before, but now they are starting to turn to Europe.
“We have been talking to guys and we think we are pretty close but only time will tell but as long as they are here for the start of the season then I am not too bothered about the timeframe, however I know a lot of people want to know who our starting goaltender will be but I am in zero rush right now because we want to make sure we get the right guy, who will be coming to Dundee to help us win hockey games.
“In terms of our last center, we are still talking to a number of players too and it is the same thing, where guys who thought they would get American league deals and we are coming to the end of July and they are not getting those, so they are turning their attention to Europe and looking at those options.
“If you look across Europe most teams have their rosters locked-in and set, so a lot of guys have their eyes set on the UK.
“Those are the last two spots and as I said, we are not in a panic or a rush because we want make sure we get the right people to help us win.”
O’BRIEN ON HIS EUROPEAN DEBUT
Once his first move across the pond was confirmed, Brogan said: “I was really excited when Marc reached out and I have had a lot of interest in the Elite League for a while now, so I am really excited to be coming to Dundee.
“It is just a good fit for me, I think the club were looking for some more centermen, who can play both sides of the puck, so I try to be influential in the face-off circle as well and it just fits well for both of us and it was a good opportunity.”
Describing how he likes to play the game, Brogan added: “I would say I am good two-way forward, I have a lot of offensive upsides as well but I try to be very responsible in my own end and good in the face-off circle.
“I can play up and down the line-up if needed, whether that is penalty kill or powerplay and I am pretty comfortable with that and I like to bring some physicality and get in on the forecheck as well.”
Sharing what he knows of the Stars and the Elite League so far, he said: “I played against Keanu Yamamoto in juniors and college so I am familiar with him but what I have heard about the league so far is that it is a lot similar to North American hockey and there is a lot of North Americans over there.
“So, it is a similar game to back here but obviously you have to adjust to the bigger ice, which I think also suits me well as it gives you some extra time and space with the puck.”
Finally, Brogan shared a message for the Stars fans now that he will be joining the team for the upcoming season.
He commented: “I am really excited to be coming to Dundee, I have heard from a few people now that the building is really fun to play in.
“So I am definitely looking forward to getting there and playing in that building, but also to experience the culture in Dundee and to meet the fans.
Listen to the full interview with Brogan and Stars TV below!
O’BRIEN’S CAREER
Brogan’s career started back in 2013 with Cariboo Cougars U18 AAA side in the British Columbia U18 League and after icing only twice and scoring six points, he moved up to spend the rest of the year with BCHL outfit, Prince Geroge Spruce Kings.
Through the 2013-2014 season, the Canadian scored 20 points in 54 games for the Spruce Kings and would stay for a full season the following year and he improved his point production to 34 points from 67 matches.
That summer, O’Brien was invited to the CJHL Top Prospect game and impressed his hometown WHL team, Prince George Cougars who had just acquired his rights from Kelowna Rockets, who had originally selected him in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft.
He then signed up to play the next three years with the Cougars and the power forward would find himself ranked #97 in North American-born skaters by the NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft after scoring 18 goals and adding 39 assists across 75 games in his rookie season.
In the 2016-2017 campaign, he contributed a further 35 points in 76 games and in his third and final year of major junior hockey, he recorded 41 points in 52 regular season contests, but his season did not end there as he signed an amateur try-out contract in the ECHL with Kansas City Mavericks and on his professional debut he netted a shorthanded goal and also an assist, before being selected as the ‘Second Star of the Game’.
In the summer of 2018, Brogan then committed to playing for Carleton University and would spend the next six seasons with the Ravens, ranking in the top three for points on the team in three of his first four years.
In his first year with the Ravens, Carleton qualified for the national championships and O’Brien recorded 27 points from 36 games, before posting 27 more the next year in 31 games.
The COVID-19 Pandemic then halted his career for a year and when they resumed play in the 2021-2022 season, the forward would feature only 12 times that year and notched eight points during that time.
In the 2022-2023 campaign, it was back to normal with Brogan playing 29 games for Carleton and scoring 22 points before adding 15 more to his USports total this past season from 28 games, before then making a return to the ECHL with a two-game stint with Fort Wayne Komets.
In his 11-year-career so far, Brogan has featured in 425 matches, recorded 102 goals, 173 assists and collected 339 penalty minutes, while also playing in 43 playoff games, where he tallied 19 points (10G, 9A) and 26 penalty minutes.
Brogan is our 18th signing of the summer and joins Drydn Dow, Ben O’Connor, Jonathan McBean, Xavier Pouliot, Craig Garrigan, Kris Inglis, Kyle Pouncy, Brett Gravelle, Craig Moore, Keanu Yamamoto, Brendan Harms, Jake Elmer, Alex Tonge, Cole MacDonald, Domenic Alberga, Zach Tsekos and Jarrett Fiske on the roster for next season.
O’ Brien will wear #95 for the Stars and you can sponsor his equipment for this season right now, click HERE.
To see Brogan’s career stats on Elite Prospects click HERE.
Banner image: Prince George Cougars & James Doyle Photography.
