O’Leary gaining ground with USHL’s RoughRiders

Jack O'Leary is finding his groove in the USHL. (Rick Boots, CR RoughRiders)

Jack O’Leary has had little trouble making up for lost time.

The 19-year-old forward from St. James, N.Y., is in his second season with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League, and is eighth on the team in scoring with 12 points (4-8—12) in 22 games. Last season, he finished seventh on the RoughRiders in scoring with 22 points (7-15—22) despite playing in just 45 games, as he was sidelined for almost two months after surgery to repair a broken orbital bone.

Those are impressive offensive numbers when you consider the 5-foot-6, 158-pounder didn’t start playing hockey until he was 12 years old. That's right: Just seven years ago.