Minot, ND – The Minot Minotauros have acquired defenseman Paul O’Connor from the Austin Bruins in exchange for forward Jack Murphy.
In O’Connor the Tauros add a veteran defenseman who has spent the five seasons moving between the NAHL and the USHL. O’Connor started his junior hockey career in 2012 with the USHL’s Cedar Rapid RoughRiders where as a 16 year-old he posted 4 assists in 37 games played. Since then O’Connor has gone on to play 66 games in the USHL posting 1 goal and 6 assists and 127 NAHL games posting 9 goals and 25 assists. O’Connor has also shown himself to be a playoff performer posting goals with the Bruins last postseason including the game winner in Game 5 against the Tauros last season.
In 90 games with the Tauros over the last season and a half Murphy has posted 21 goals and 30 assists. Despite his strong production he has at times been a victim of the Tauros depth at wing. With Derek Frentz, Alex Adams, Zack Bross, and Nate Pionk all firmly entrenched on the top lines Murphy became a movable piece.
Tauros Head Coach/G.M. Marty Murray said of the trade; “Jack was a strong player here for almost two years, trades are always hard to do, but we felt we needed to strengthen our D. O’Connor is a player we’re familiar with and we think he will solidify our top six D.”
With the trade deadline now passed the Tauros final roster is almost complete, the next step will be deciding which two tendered players will be eligible to join the team for the playoffs.