Robert Dominick O'Gara (born July 6, 1993) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who retired following the 2021 season. He is currently an Assistant Coach for the men's Yale Hockey team. O'Gara was selected by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

in the fifth-round (151st overall) of the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars host ...

Playing career

O'Gara was born on Long Island, to parents Christine Rittmeyer and Brian O'Gara. As a youth, he played in the 2006

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the New York Islanders

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team. Rob grew up a die-hard

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

fan, a fact he shared during an interview wit
The Broadway Hat Podcast
Following two seasons at

Milton Academy Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, University-preparatory school, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lowe ...

, O'Gara enrolled at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

to play NCAA Division I hockey with the

Yale Bulldogs The Yale Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in m ...

. In his freshman season he helped the Bulldogs capture the 2012–13 NCAA Championship, the first national championship title for the team. The following season, O'Gara was named to the NCAA All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schoo ...

Second Team, and in his junior year his outstanding play was rewarded when he selected as ECAC Hockey's Best Defensive Defenseman and was named to the NCAA (East) First All-American Team. On March 29, 2016, the

signed O'Gara to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2016–17 season. The

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R ...

, the AHL affiliate to Boston, signed him to an ATO (amateur try-out) for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. On February 20, 2018, the Bruins traded O'Gara, along with a 2018 third-round draft pick, to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

in exchange for

Nick Holden Nick Holden (born May 15, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Holden began his hockey career in the St. Albert, Alberta area, playing alongside Ryan Stanton wit ...

. On August 20, 2019, as a free agent from the Rangers, O'Gara signed one-year AHL contract with the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sol ...

, the primary affiliate of the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. Entering the 2019–20 season, O'Gara was limited to just 5 scoreless games with the Rampage, serving as a depth option to the blueline. On December 6, 2019, O'Gara was traded to the

Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that began play for the 2016–17 season. They are the affiliate of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. Based in Springfield, M ...

, affiliate to the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and initially played their home game ...

, in exchange for future considerations. As a free agent from the Thunderbirds leading into the pandemic delayed

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, O'Gara was signed to a professional tryout contract to attend the Hershey Bears training camp on January 20, 2021.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OGara, Rob 1993 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Hartford Wolf Pack players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey players from New York (state) New York Rangers players Providence Bruins players San Antonio Rampage players Springfield Thunderbirds players Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans