Zach O’Brien is no stranger to any Newfoundland Growlers fan. The 31-year-old St. John’s native is the team’s all-time leader in points, goals and games played and holds most single-season scoring records. A perennial all-star at the ECHL level, Kelly Cup Playoff MVP in 2019, and three-time recipient of the league’s Sportsmanship Award, it was a shock to local fans when it was announced that O’Brien would be taking his talents to Europe for the 2023-24 hockey season.

O’Brien began this season in Slovakia with HC Slovan Bratislava and recorded 12 points in 16 games before the call to come home became too loud to ignore. He signed back with the Newfoundland Growlers on Nov. 10 after asking to be released from his contract in Slovakia.

“I was treated really well over there,” he said after his first game back in a Growlers uniform. “The city was great, the team was great, it just didn’t work out. I decided to come home, they understood why. At the end of the day, I just want to be happy, and this is where I’m happiest.”

In that first game on Nov. 12, O’Brien was announced in the starting lineup and the thunderous cheers from his hometown crowd nearly shook the very foundations of the Mary Brown’s Centre.

“It feels a little better to be here than before because I’ve been away,” O’Brien said. “When I left, I wasn’t really thinking about coming back. I figured I was done for a few years, maybe come back here when I’m older, finish my career off here. I was only gone for three months but it felt a lot longer. To hear the fans cheering for me like that in the starting lineup, it was definitely a good feeling.”

O’Brien has appeared in nine games since returning to the Growlers and continued to add to his scoring legacy by recording 13 points to date (three goals, 10 assists). O’Brien and the Growlers are back in action at home this weekend for three games against the Maine Mariners.