Ryan O’Reilly. That hockey player Avalanche Nation learns to hate every off-season, and learns to love every regular season.

The bearded guy known as Factor comes in at number four on our ‘Top 25 Under 25’ list, with an interesting spread among the six BSN Avalanche writers. A pair of writers rated O’Reilly third, another pair fourth, and a final pair at fifth, indicating there isn’t a clear-cut pecking order in the top-five amongst our staff.

Who is Ryan O’Reilly?

O’Reilly is a bit tricky to categorize, because as a hockey player, he is as unique as his persona off the ice. When he doesn’t have a hockey stick in his hands (which isn’t often), Ryan is probably wielding a guitar, or finding his inner peace with an afternoon of yoga. He’s the type of guy you like to run into at parties, because he just has an interesting, cool vibe.

On the ice, O’Reilly is a two-way forward who excels at making those around him better. O’Reilly drives possession for his line-mates while utilizing his defensive prowess, exquisite stick work, and great hockey sense to be a force on the defensive side of the puck. He regularly ranks at the top of the league in takeaways, and is a likely Selke trophy winner before his career is finished.

Offensively, O’Reilly relies on craftiness and hard work to gel with his teammates. Ryan likes to play a cycle game down low, and look for opportunities to set up teammates or play a give-and-go type game. He doesn’t have elite finishing skills, but has the smarts to get to areas where he can score goals, as evidenced by his career high 28-goal season in 2013-14.

O’Reilly has made impressive improvements in his passing ability since entering the league in 2009. Once thought to be a third-line center, O’Reilly has elevated himself into a top-six role with center/wing versatility, and continues to improve thanks to his second-to-none work ethic and competitive spirit.

After a slow start offensively last season, O’Reilly went on a tear starting in the middle of February through the end of March, racking up five goals and 19 assists for a total of 24 points in 21 games. He continued to showcase his offensive game at the 2015 IIHF World Championships, scoring two goals and 11 points en route to a gold medal and 10-0 team record with Canada.

What is the future for Ryan O’Reilly?

Although this series is focusing on young players, which Ryan O’Reilly certainly remains at 24 years of age, he is also entering his seventh season in the NHL next fall. Hard to believe he and Matt Duchene have already donned the burgundy and blue for that long.

With that tenure comes the impending potential of unrestricted free agency after next season. O’Reilly and the Avalanche have had a tenuous history when it comes to contract negotiations.

In the spring of 2013, following the 2012-13 NHL lockout, O’Reilly decided he wasn’t quite ready to return to the Avalanche unless they upped their offered salary. The Avs refused to budge, so Ryan remained overseas, until the Calgary Flames swooped in with a 2-year $10M RFA offer-sheet. Of course, the Avalanche matched the offer, but O’Reilly got the payday he wanted.

Last summer the Avalanche elected to exercise their right to take O’Reilly to team elected arbitration. In the event that a contract agreement couldn’t be reached, an unbiased party would award O’Reilly a 1-year contract based on the arguments of each side. Moments before the scheduled arbitration hearing, the Avs and Ryan agreed to a 2-year contract worth $12M, a raise over the cap-hit of his previous deal, but a pay-cut relative to the $6.5M he earned in 2013-14 (thanks Jay Feaster).

Avalanche fans rightfully have been apprehensive about committing their hopes to O’Reilly being an Avalanche player for the long-haul, given the fact that they have danced the hot coals of two stressful contract fiascos in as many calendar years.

At this point, I think most Avs fans are ready to forgive and forget, and have realized how special O’Reilly the hockey player is. This summer will be the tipping point, as the pressure is squarely on Avalanche management to find a way to keep O’Reilly in his number 90 burgundy sweater for years to come.

Without the fall-back options the Avs had when O’Reilly was an RFA, he could easily find another team to play for next summer if the Avalanche don’t satisfy his salary cravings, much like Paul Stastny did last summer.

If O’Reilly doesn’t have a shiny new long-term deal in place after this summer, the Avs better start working the phones to find trade partners, though it would be a shame if it came to this, and would be difficult to find equal value in a trade. I think I speak for Avs Nation when I say, I hope to see O’Reilly doing his thing in an Avalanche uniform for years to come.