
O'Connell has had a nice career as an elite ECHL-level defender, and has seen some spot duty in the AHL. Cichocki and Kevin Prendergast had nice words for the new hire today.
Cichocki - "Throughout his playing career, Tim exemplified character, a winning track record, natural knowledge for the game and he commanded respect in a leadership role - those were qualities we were looking for in an assistant coach. His great levels of repoire among his peers make a valuable asset in recruiting and he'll very instrumental in working with our defenseman, who can learn from his experience."
Prendergast - "Tim knows what it takes to get to next level and his experience with Chris Cichocki's system make two valuable qualities in helping players advance in their career. Tim is a proven leader who has valuable on-ice experience, he's played with character over the years and he'll benefit even further by meshing with the Oilers coaching staff in training camp."
The 31-year old defenseman seems like he should be a good fit; he played four years at the University of North Dakota (I'm not sure what he studied) and the fact that he's gritted his way through a fairly long ECHL career is a testament to his character; his return from retirement to the Thunder's lineup in December was largely about providing a mentor for younger players, so he likely played the role of player-coach to some degree already.
At the very worst, he'll be better than no assistant coach.