Look no further than the Eli Manning carnival to know that the sports media tends to overestimate the importance of pedigree when a new player of famous stock arrives on the scene.
But in the case of Tufts freshman Greg O'Connell, a closer look at the gene pool might reveal a thing or two about why a first-year player is third on the hockey team in scoring and was a starting defensive midfielder for the soccer team.
Greg's father, Mike O'Connell, is the current general manager and vice president of the Boston Bruins. He is also a fifteen-year veteran of the NHL and holds an honored place in the pages of Boston sports history.
The elder O'Connell played most of his career in Boston, where he amassed three straight 50-plus point seasons and was a member of the All-Star team in 1984. He also set a club record for Boston defensemen by scoring a goal in seven straight games in the 1983-84 season. He finished an 860 game career in 1990 with a total of 439 points.
"Growing up in Boston, such a hockey rich town, it was definitely a different kind of childhood," Greg says. "I was always looked at as Mike's son."
"It could be hard sometimes in that aspect, because my brother and I were always expected to do more," he added, referring to his 17 year-old brother, Matt. "But [my father] never pressed upon me anything like 'you've got to do this or that' or anything. He's just always been there."
Growing up in an NHL family was a unique experience, and one that led to a childhood in which hockey was not just a sport, but a part of life.
"Dad would bring us in to the rink a lot, and we'd skate around before the team went in," Greg said. "We went on road trips, met a lot of the players."
"All the guys were really nice, but I guess they had to be when you're the boss's son and all," he joked.
Athletics is something of a family tradition for the O'Connell's, as both of Greg's uncles played college hockey. Tim O'Connell held the scoring record at the University of Vermont until it was recently broken by Martin St. Louis, a current member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and last year's NHL scoring leader. Greg's grandfather played in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns, and so it seemed only natural that Greg ended up in the world of sports.
"My dad's career definitely influenced me. My father and his brothers excelled so well in sports. I guess it's kind of in my blood. Not necessarily on my mother's side, but I guess dad makes up for that," he added with a laugh.
In the face of those Shaq-sized shoes to fill, Greg has managed to avoid feeling too much pressure to live up to his family's athletic careers. One way in which he's accomplished this is his soccer career, which began shortly after he put on his first pair of skates.
"I felt like I had to do a lot. But that's what's great about soccer. They never played soccer, so I never felt any pressure or anything with that."
At Tufts, Greg played defensive center midfielder this year for the soccer team, playing in 11 games and starting in 10. Although the Cohasett, MA native scored a goal on the season from a position not noted for its scoring opportunities, his real value was as a solid defensive anchor.
Greg's soccer skills may also be benefiting him in the current hockey season, in which the freshman has already amassed 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists. Eleven of the points have come in conference play, tying senior Jason Boudrow for the team lead in that category.
"He's adjusted really well [to collegiate hockey]," hockey coach Brian Murphy said. "Soccer is a sport that can really help. European [hockey] players all play soccer. You see it all the time in their skills, kicking pucks off their feet, moving well in traffic. I think you see some of that in Greg."
"My father says all the European [pros] are out there juggling before every game," Greg said. "So I guess it does help in some situations, being able to use your feet well."
Greg's just happy to be able to continue his career as a two-sport athlete.
"I don't know how it would be if I didn't play two sports," he said. "I've been doing it my whole life."
Multi-sport college athletes have diminished in recent years, but some standouts have remained at Tufts and other Div. III schools.
"I think one of the attractive things about Div. III sports is that athletes can have an opportunity to play multiple sports," Tufts Athletic Director Bill Gehling said. "At the Div. I level, you're not allowed to do that."
Currently, though, the focus for the freshman is all hockey, all the time. After an impressive and eye-opening five game unbeaten streak which included games against nationally ranked Colby and Bowdoin and eight O'Connell points, the Jumbos have lost two straight to Southern Maine and Salem St. In order to make a playoff run, the team will need to get back on track soon, and this weekend's upcoming games against UMass-Boston and Babson will provide an opportunity.
Despite O'Connell's increasingly important role in the team's offense, the grounded freshman claims to be unfazed by the pressure.
"Like any freshman, you're glad to be able to help the team and be as productive as you possibly can," O'Connell said. "The pressure comes as a sophomore or a junior when you need to show it wasn't a fluke."
And while DNA doesn't always tell the whole truth, statistics never lie, and the numbers point towards a continued successful Tufts career for O'Connell.
