2025 Top 25 Under 25: Casey O'Brien (6)

After adding her third NCAA National Championship and a Patty Kaz award to her resume, O'Brien made a giant jump from 25th last season to sixth!

Last Season

It's safe to say that a season capped with winning the Patty Kazmaier Award and the NCAA Championship is a pretty darn good one.

Returning to the University of Wisconsin for a final season, O'Brien co-captained the team to its eighth national championship. Her 88 points were the most ever by a Badger in one season, and her 62 assists were the most in school history. She led all NCAA players in assists, points, and points per game, cementing her status as one of the top collegiate players in the country.

Despite playing on a Badgers team with many other players on our list (Simms, Harvey, and Edwards), O'Brien still put up 14 more points than any other teammate last season.

On top of her Patty Kaz Award and her National Championship, O'Brien was also named WCHA Player of the Year and Forward of the Year.

Casey O'Brien also earned her first chance with Team USA since taking home a silver medal with the U18 team in 2019. She had zero points in the two November games of the Rivalry series.

At the 2025 PWHL Entry Draft, the New York Sirens traded Ella Shelton to the Toronto Sceptres in exchange for the third overall pick, which they used to draft Casey O'Brien. Safe to say, if they're trading Ella Shelton for you, you've got to be a pretty important piece to the team. Although she's yet to sign with the team, we'll likely see her in teal and orange this season.

Career

After lighting it up in high school at Shattuck St. Mary's and taking home two medals at the U18 World Championships, O'Brien started her five-year career at the University of Wisconsin.

In her shortened freshman year, O'Brien's 10 points weren't much to talk about, but she was instrumental in getting the team to the Frozen Four finals by assisting on the semi-final goal that put the Badgers past Ohio State. The Badgers also took home the National Championship, earning O'Brien her first of three.

It was her sophomore season that O'Brien started to find her stride, producing at over a point-per-game pace. Her 9 game-winning goals were the most of any player in the league, and this production earned her a look at the Patty Kazmeier Award, finishing in the top ten.

Taking on the assistant captain role in her junior year, O'Brien led her teammates in goals, assists, and points. She earned her 100th point as a Badger and carried the team to their second National Championship in three years.

Once she'd started lighting up the league and leading her team in points, she never looked back, moving on to lead the league in assists during her senior year. The 50 assists she posted that season were the most in a single season in Badgers history. Although the team lost in the finals of the National Championship, it was the best season of O'Brien's career, putting up a career-high 73 points.

Still wanting another shot at the championship, O'Brien opted to return for a fifth season, where she and co-captain Caroline Harvey were able to lead the Badgers to another national title.

Now, O'Brien will face her biggest challenge yet: professional women's hockey.

Future

O'Brien will join a still-rebuilding New York Sirens team this season as one of their newest key pieces. She will join Kristýna Kaltounková, the 2025 first overall pick, and Anne Cherkowski, New York's third pick (9th overall), as the team's newest rookies. And while New York had a strong draft, they did lose some big names, including Shelton, Schroeder, Carpenter, and Eldridge. Can O'Brien be the saviour they are looking for?

One thing we have seen is that even the best college players often find it hard to get their footing in their PWHL rookie season. O'Brien was in a similar boat, making the jump from high school hockey to NCAA hockey, but found her stride again after dealing with the rookie season woes.

New York will need her to step up, though, and she has the chance to carve out a strong rookie season, possibly challenging her own teammate for rookie of the year honours.

With it being an Olympic year, we'll also see if Casey O'Brien can earn herself a spot on the roster for Team USA.

Too high or too low?

I will be the first to admit that I am not a college hockey expert, so I defer to the decisions of my much more knowledgeable colleagues on this one. I did have O'Brien eighth on my list, so I don't think sixth is a bad slot for her. Above her on my list was Hannah Bilka, who we collectively ranked eighth, and Nela Lopusanova, who ranked 20th.

Last season, O'Brien was ranked 25th overall, which was far too low, so this placement in the top 10 is well warranted, and I expect we'll hear her name many times this season.