At 40, Hawks’ O’Donnell joins elite group

When Blackhawks defenseman Sean O’Donnell celebrates his birthday next week, he will join a select group of NHL players.

O’Donnell, Tampa Bay goalie Dwayne Roloson, Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Anaheim right wing Teemu Selanne will be the only 40-year-olds in the league. Philadelphia’s Jaromir Jagr turns 40 in February.

Not only that, O’Donnell will become the first Hawk to play at the age of 40 since Hall of Fame goalie Tony Esposito in 1984.

O’Donnell has appeared in 1,173 games in 16 NHL seasons with now his eighth team. His first game as a pro was in the American Hockey League in 1991 — the year before Hawks teammate Brandon Saad was born.

O’Donnell probably won’t play every night for the Hawks, but you never know. Last season he appeared in 81 of Philadelphia’s 82 games.

“I’m pretty confident in my ability to get ready for the games,” O’Donnell said. “In my mid- to late-20s I started learning and my diet got better. When you’re 24 or 25 and the season ends you can take a month and do whatever you want, eat whatever you want, and it bounces back very quickly.

“It’s more of a 12-month thing now, 365 days as opposed to taking that one month off and then get going again. It’s hard to get going again. You never want to let yourself get too far out of shape.”

O’Donnell is proud he has lasted this long in an NHL that just gets faster and faster.

“I don’t think you would see a big difference between my game now and my game at 28,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I’m proud of my career. It’s been steady and accountable and I’m proud of that part.

“There are things out there that I do that have kept me playing a long time: reading the play, anticipating the play, stick positioning, things like that. I’m not going to give any skating pointers, but more positioning, reading players and getting to know who you’re playing against.”