Top 25 under 25: #25 Rob O'Gara

Rob O'Gara, a 6'4, 205lb defenseman, was drafted by the Bruins in the fifth round in 2011 out of Milton Academy in Milton, MA (thanks Phony!). Following one more year at Milton in 2011-2012, he won a national championship with Yale in his first year of college.

O'Gara had seven assists and no goals for Yale as a freshman last year. In the Frozen Four against UMass Lowell, he registered one shot on goal, but wasn't very much a factor; however, against Quinnipiac in the finals, he had one assist and was on-ice for all four Yale goals, and helped limit Quinnipiac to zero goals in the championship game.

Obviously that's a very small sample size, but it helps paint a picture of what O'Gara is becoming good at - shutting down top opposing lines as a big, imposing blueliner. Over the course of last year, he has put on significant weight and has focused on key parts of his game; namely, his stick work and his battling in the corners.

Our Rankings:

(N/A denotes that the player fell outside that individual's Top 25 ranking)

We were all pretty much in general agreement on O'Gara - he definitely falls outside the Top 20 at this point, with a number of significant defense prospects ahead of him.

Although O'Gara is only an incoming sophomore, his resume at 19 is already pretty stacked -- from winning a championship with the Jr. Bruins in 2011 to the NCAA Championship in 2013, it seems like O'Gara is on a good track to success. If he has another solid year with Yale, expect to see his name rise up these rankings next offseason.

O'Gara and Yale kick their season off at the end of October; you can find their schedule here. Boston-based Bruins fans' best chance to see him in action isn't until February, when they come to town to play against Harvard.