Leading by example, O'Reilly puts in the extra work to be better than days that are his best

Blues center, reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner a stickler for staying on 

ice after a practice to continuously work at his craft rubs off on teammates 

By LOU KORAC
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- He just scored two goals and assisted on another in a scrimmage that sent everyone else to the showers afterwards.

The day was over for 31 players.

Not the 32nd. Not Ryan O'Reilly.

Instead, the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy finalist grabbed a bag of pucks, dumped them on the ice to the right of the goal and began stick-handling and taking quick shots. He wanted more hand touches with the puck.

Then, in what was roughly a 25-minute session alone, O'Reilly was doing wind sprints to conclude his day before going into an interview room for a Zoom session with the media.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues center Ryan O'Reilly (right) leads by example on and off the ice for 

the Blues with his work ethic.

Ho-hum, right?

Well, for those that watch O'Reilly on a consistent basis, it really is ho-hum because it's become the norm. For those that don't see it on a regular basis, it's rather eye-opening.

Not so much when one understands the kind of workaholic the Blues have on their hands.

"That's O'Ry," Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said. "That's why he's one of the best in the business. You're not going to beat that work ethic. That's why he continues to get better. That's why we love him as a player and that's why he's had the success that he's had."

Whether it's something he catches during practices and feels like he needs to get some extra work in, or something he's thinking about on his drive to the rink, O'Reilly finds a way to more times than not, remain on the ice, whether it be alone or when some teammates decide they want to join in.

But working at his craft is something common for the 29-year-old center iceman, who led the Blues this season with 61 points (12 goals, 49 assists).

And with the NHL Return to Play Plan unlike anything these players have ever seen with trying to get in roughly three weeks of skating and planning before beginning playoff competition, it goes from practicing to playoff all-time high intensity.

Oh, and O'Reilly somehow didn't get enough puck touches during the scrimmage Saturday even though he seemed to be around it each time he was on the ice. Maybe the two goals and an assist weren't enough.

Always strive to be better than before seems to be the motto. 

"Every day, I try to have a little reflection to kind of see what areas kind of needs work on," O'Reilly said. "I feel like these games are going to come quicker than we think and for myself, this is where I kind of want to build that confidence and you've got to take advantage of this ice time. If I'm struggling at something, (or) just like today, if I'm not having a lot of puck touches, I'm wanting to kind of get feeling good again, doing a few drills to give me some more confidence there. 

"Every day I try to internally scan and kind of see what I need, if I need a little more conditioning or need shooting more or stick-handling. It's just kind of scanning myself and sorting it out from there. It's going to feel like a long time, but I feel it's going to come quick when we're getting into these super intense games. It's not a regular season. You're jumping into a couple round robin and then playoffs, and we all know playoffs is the most intense hockey there is and I just feel I've got to use this time to be as confident as I can be."

When O'Reilly was traded to the Blues July 1, 2018 for -- it still boggles to write -- three forwards (Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka and Tage Thompson) a first-round pick in 2019 and a second-round pick in 2021, those that weren't aware of his practice habits before were taken aback a bit. 

Not anymore.

And many times, O'Reilly isn't alone. He'll pull a willing David Perron into the fire. He'll pull Zach Sanford in, Robert Thomas, Sammy Blais. He had defensemen Robert Bortuzzo and Derrick Pouliot out there on the ice a couple days ago, stick-handling, skating, shooting, doing whatever it takes to elevate one's game. Even a guy who's one of the best at face-offs (55.5 percent for his career) takes extra time to work.

"I think all guys at times want to work on different things and this is the NHL," O'Reilly said. "I feel like guys want to work and they find a way to put in the time and some guys need more time in the gym or sometimes it's on the ice. I think we have a good group of guys that do work hard and push themselves in all different areas. Not necessarily on the ice, but different ways the way they take care of themselves and get ready. Everyone's different and I think we have a good group that will always take the time to work on those things. It's nice that we have a group, not just myself, after on the ice to feed off each other and push each other that way."

How often does a coach have to go to a player and tell him NOT to go on the ice? Not often, but Blues coach Craig Berube does.

"There's times during the year that we have to maybe talk to him about staying off the ice a little bit here and there because he does play a lot and he does work extremely hard," Berube said of O'Reilly, who . But right now, he's doing what he has to do to get ready to compete at a high level here. He knows that it's coming up quick and we're going to be into some meaningful games here. He's doing what he has to do. He looked great out there, I thought. He works extremely hard."

Ask O'Reilly's linemates Perron (106 points, 48 goals, 58 assists in two seasons with him) and Sanford (career-high 16 goals this season about O'Reilly's about O'Reilly's impact. 

He's up for the Lady Byng again (10 penalty minutes in 71 games; averaging 0.13 penalty minutes per game in 804 regular-season NHL games) and is a past winner (2014) and runner-up the past two seasons.

"He takes pride in playing hard and playing the right way, taking a lot less penalties than most players, which is really impressive because he does play down low a lot," Perron said. "It's two plays for you. When you play down low defensively or forechecking offensively, that's the two only times that can happen and he's in both situations a lot. It's very impressive.

"He's awesome. I got to know him a lot over the last couple years. He wants to do things well at all times on the ice. He's just a good guy to have around, a good leader. What we did last year, you need guys to be hungry and want more. The way he works on the ice, even in practice, him and I do the goalie warmups on the ice. We get on the ice 15-20 minutes before (practice) and just to see a guy like that, everything he's done in his career so far. He still wants to go out there early and stays long after when guys are off the ice, so it's impressive."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Ryan O'Reilly (right) led the Blues in point (61), assists) and time on ice

among forwards (20:40) this season.

Oh, and repeating: the guy had two goals and an assist Saturday but wasn't satisfied. 

Let that sink in. Let that be a lesson for those that are content. This, coming from a guy who has averaged 19:39 time on ice for his career, 20:40 in two seasons with the Blues. 

"The first day of scrimmage and it was nice to get a (couple goals) there, but I didn't really touch the puck a whole lot compared to when I normally do in a practice," O'Reilly said. "I just feel like I need my hands feeling a little bit better. I just wanted to do a couple little things after to kind of get some control in."