Patrick O'Sullivan

Patrick O'Sullivan (born February 1, 1985) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and Phoenix Coyotes.

This article is about the Canadian ice hockey player. For other uses, see Patrick O'Sullivan (disambiguation).

Patrick O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan with the Edmonton Oilers in 2009
Born (1985-02-01) February 1, 1985
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Los Angeles Kings
Edmonton Oilers
Carolina Hurricanes
Minnesota Wild
Phoenix Coyotes
HIFK
National team  United States
NHL Draft 56th overall, 2003
Minnesota Wild
Playing career 2005–2012

Early life

O'Sullivan was born in Toronto, Ontario, but grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[1] His father, John O'Sullivan, a Toronto native played for the minor-league Winston-Salem Thunderbirds of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League.

O'Sullivan has spoken openly about being emotionally and physically abused for years by his father.[2] The abuse continued up to the time he started playing for the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Some notable acts were mainly verbal and physical abuse when Patrick had an off-game. O'Sullivan's father whipped him with a heavy leather jump rope or sometimes an electrical cord.[3] There were also reports of John threatening and intimidating him. O'Sullivan was also sometimes locked out of the house in his pajamas during winter.[3] The abuse escalated at an OHL game where John was screaming, cursing and pounding on the glass. The abuse reached a point where Patrick pressed charges against his father and filed a restraining order against him.[4] O'Sullivan later detailed the abuse in a book, Breaking Away: A Harrowing True Story of Resilience, Courage and Triumph.[2]

Playing career

Amateur

Despite the abuse, O'Sullivan was a junior hockey league star, winning the OHL and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) rookie of the year awards in 2002 and setting records for games, goals, assists and points for the Mississauga/Niagara IceDogs that, as of 2015, were still unbroken.[2]

Professional

O'Sullivan was drafted in the second round, 56th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild after having been projected as a top-five talent.[2] He played his first season for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Houston Aeros, during the 2005–06 season. He had a strong season, scoring 47 goals and 93 points to break all Houston Aeros' rookie scoring records.

During the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, O'Sullivan was traded (along with their 17th overall pick, eventually used to select Trevor Lewis) to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Pavol Demitra.

O'Sullivan began the 2006–07 season with the Kings when he made his NHL debut on October 6, 2006, to become the first person from North Carolina to play in the NHL. He became the second NHL player, behind Jeff Halpern, to have been raised in the American South. O'Sullivan, along with Halpern, Jamie Fritsch, Jared Ross, Blake Geoffrion and Jarred Tinordi, are the only NHL players to date to come from the region. On November 2, 2006, O'Sullivan was assigned to the Kings' AHL affiliate at the time, the Manchester Monarchs. On January 25, 2007, he was recalled to the NHL.

On March 4, 2009, O'Sullivan (along with the Calgary Flames' second-round draft pick) was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Justin Williams, following which he was immediately traded (along with a second-round pick) to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Erik Cole and a fifth-round pick.[5][6] He would play 19 games for the Oilers during the remainder of the season, scoring two goals and four assists.

On June 29, 2010, O'Sullivan (along with Ethan Moreau and Robert Nilsson) was placed on waivers by Edmonton.[7] After clearing waivers the following day, on June 30, he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Jim Vandermeer. His contract was then immediately bought-out by the Coyotes, resulting in his free agency.[8] On September 17, 2010, O'Sullivan signed a two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes[9] to become the first native of North Carolina to play for the Hurricanes. After being a healthy scratch ten times, O'Sullivan was placed on waivers by the Hurricanes and acquired by the Minnesota Wild.

On August 4, 2011, O'Sullivan signed a one-year, two-way contract with Phoenix. Unable to earn a regular position, scoring 4 points in 23 games to begin the 2011–12 season, O'Sullivan was reassigned to the Coyotes' AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. On March 2, 2012, the Coyotes loaned O'Sullivan to the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL in exchange for Brett Sterling.

On September 26, 2012, O'Sullivan signed his first European contract, agreeing to a one-year deal with HIFK of the Finnish SM-liiga.[10] He scored one goal in eight games for HIFK before he was released one month into the 2012–13 season.[11]

Records
  • Edmonton Oilers franchise record for worst +/- regular season (2009–10) minus 35
  • Mississauga IceDogs franchise record for most regular season assists: (2004–05) – 59
  • Mississauga IceDogs franchise record for most regular season points:(2001–02) – 92
  • Houston Aeros franchise record for most regular season goals by a rookie: (2005–06) – 47
  • Houston Aeros franchise single season record for most goals: (2005–06) – 47
  • Houston Aeros franchise record for most regular season assists by a rookie: (2005–06) – 46
  • Houston Aeros franchise record for most regular season points by a rookie: (2005–06) – 93

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1999–2000 Strathroy Rockets GOJHL 54 25 30 55 44 — — — — —
2000–01 U.S. NTDP U18 NAHL 56 22 35 57 57 — — — — —
2000–01 U.S. NTDP U17 USDP 8 8 10 18 12 — — — — —
2001–02 Mississauga IceDogs OHL 68 34 58 92 61 — — — — —
2001–02 U.S. NTDP Juniors USHL 1 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
2002–03 Mississauga IceDogs OHL 56 40 41 81 57 5 2 9 11 18
2003–04 Mississauga IceDogs OHL 53 43 39 82 32 24 12 11 23 16
2004–05 Mississauga IceDogs OHL 57 31 59 90 63 5 0 4 4 6
2005–06 Houston Aeros AHL 78 47 46 93 64 8 5 5 10 4
2006–07 Manchester Monarchs AHL 41 18 21 39 12 16 8 9 17 10
2006–07 Los Angeles Kings NHL 44 5 14 19 14 — — — — —
2007–08 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 22 31 53 36 — — — — —
2008–09 Los Angeles Kings NHL 62 14 23 37 16 — — — — —
2008–09 Edmonton Oilers NHL 19 2 4 6 12 — — — — —
2009–10 Edmonton Oilers NHL 73 11 23 34 32 — — — — —
2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 10 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 21 1 6 7 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Houston Aeros AHL 36 19 29 48 22 24 4 14 18 16
2011–12 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 23 2 2 4 2 — — — — —
2011–12 Portland Pirates AHL 26 10 20 30 16 — — — — —
2011–12 Peoria Rivermen AHL 17 5 8 13 36 — — — — —
2012–13 HIFK SM-l 8 1 3 4 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 334 58 103 161 116 — — — — —

International
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  United States
World Junior Championships
2004 Helsinki
IIHF U18 Championships
2002 Piešťany
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 United States WJC18 8 7 8 15 37
2003 United States WJC 4th 7 1 2 3 10
2004 United States WJC 6 3 0 3 12
2005 United States WJC 4th 7 2 6 8 14
2006 United States WC 7th 3 1 0 1 0
2008 United States WC 6th 7 3 3 6 2
2009 United States WC 4th 9 4 3 7 6
Junior totals 28 13 16 29 73
Senior totals 19 8 6 14 8

Awards and honours
Award Year
OHL
Jack Ferguson Award 2001
Emms Family Award 2002
CHL Rookie of the Year 2002
AHL
All-Star Game 2006, 2007*
All-Rookie Team 2006
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award 2006

References
  1. Alter, David (October 21, 2015). "'The game is the only thing that kept me alive': Ex-NHL player Patrick O'Sullivan shares story of abuse at hands of his father". National Post. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  2. "Former NHLer Patrick O'Sullivan opens up about abuse – Sportsnet.ca". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  3. "Black & Blue". The Players' Tribune.
  4. "Patrick O'Sullivan's Story". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. March 17, 2004. Archived from the original on April 28, 2004. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  5. "Hurricanes re-acquire Cole". National Hockey League. March 4, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2009.
  6. "O'Sullivan, Kotalik headed to Edmonton on deadline day". National Hockey League. March 4, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2009.
  7. "Oilers cut Captain". Edmonton Journal. June 29, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  8. "Oilers trade O'Sullivan to Coyotes for Vandermeer". TSN. June 30, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  9. "O'Sullivan signs two-way contract with Hurricanes". The Sports Network. September 17, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  10. "Press Release – O'Sullivan". HIFK (in Finnish). September 26, 2012. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  11. "O'Sullivan released". HIFK (in Finnish). October 24, 2012. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
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