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.

O'Sullivan was born in Toronto, Ontario, but grew up in Detroit, Michigan with His father, John O'Sullivan, a Toronto native who played for the minor-league Winston-Salem Thunderbirds of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League, but never played in the NHL.

O'Sullivan has spoken openly about being emotionally and physically abused for years by his father. The abuse continued up to the time he started playing for the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League. 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. 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. 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. O'Sullivan later detailed the abuse in a book, "Breaking Away: A Harrowing True Story of Resilience, Courage and Triumph."

Amateur

Despite the abuse, O'Sullivan was a junior hockey league star, winning the OHL and 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.

Professional

He 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. He played his first season for their AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros, during the 2005–06 season. He had a strong season, scoring 47 goals, with a total of 93 points, breaking all Houston Aeros' rookie records.

During the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, he was traded by the Minnesota Wild along with their 17th overall pick (Trevor Lewis), obtained in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers for Dwayne Roloson, to the Los Angeles Kings for Pavol Demitra.

He began the 2006–07 NHL season with the Kings when he made his NHL debut on October 6, 2006, and became the first person from North Carolina to play in the NHL. O'Sullivan 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, he was assigned to the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' AHL affiliate. On January 25, 2007, he was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings from the Monarchs.

On March 4, 2009, O'Sullivan was traded by the Kings with Calgary's second-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for Justin Williams, then was traded by the Hurricanes along with a second-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers for Erik Cole and a fifth-round pick. He would play 19 games for the Oilers during the remainder of the season, scoring two goals to go with four assists.

On June 29, 2010, O'Sullivan was placed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers, along with Ethan Moreau and Robert Nilsson. After clearing waivers the following day on June 30, he was dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes, in exchange for Jim Vandermeer. His contract was then immediately bought out by the Coyotes, releasing him to free agency. On September 17, 2010, O'Sullivan signed a two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. O'Sullivan became the first native of North Carolina to play for the Hurricanes. After being a healthy scratch 10 times O'Sullivan was placed on waivers by the Hurricanes, and picked up by the Minnesota Wild.

On August 4, 2011, the Phoenix Coyotes signed him to a one-year, two-way contract. 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 on a one-year contract with Finnish team HIFK of the SM-liiga. He scored one goal in 8 games for HIFK, before he was released a month into the 2012–13 season.

• 2001: Jack Ferguson Award (OHL Top Draft Pick)
• 2001–02: Emms Family Award (OHL Rookie of the Year)
• 2001–02: Rookie of the Year (CHL)
• 2004: Gold Medal (2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships)
• 2005–06: Played in the AHL All-Star Classic for Planet USA
• 2005–06: AHL All-Rookie Team
• 2005–06: Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award (AHL Rookie of the Year)
• 2006–07: Named to roster for Planet USA in the AHL All-Star Classic (did not participate)

• 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

Regular season and playoffs

International