Jeff O'Neill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Right Wing |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg/13 st 13 lb) |
| NHL Team F. teams |
Toronto Maple Leafs Carolina Hurricanes Hartford Whalers |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | February 23, 1976 , Richmond Hill, ON, CAN |
| NHL Draft | 5th overall, 1994 Hartford Whalers |
| Pro career | 1995 – present |
Jeffrey O'Neill (Born - February 23, 1976 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional hockey Right Winger in the National Hockey League who has played for the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, and most recently the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is currently an unrestricted free agent.
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[edit] Minor Hockey
O'Neill grew up in the village of King City, north of Toronto, playing minor hockey for the King City Kings MHA as a youth. O'Neill grew up with two older brothers, Don and Ryan, both of whom played hockey. O'Neill moved up to the AAA level at age 13 with the Richmond Hill-Vaughan Kings of the OMHA where he was a linemate with older brother Ryan. He played Bantam AAA as a 13-year old - almost three years younger than some of his peers.
At 15, O'Neill signed with the Thornhill Thunderbirds Jr. A club (OHA) where he finished second in the Metro Junior Hockey League in scoring as a rookie.
[edit] Junior Hockey
O'Neill was the first overall selection of the Guelph Storm in the 1992 OHL Priority Selection, held at Maple Leaf Gardens in June of 1992.
He was named OHL Rookie of the Year that year after scoring 79 points in 65 games with the upstart Storm. His point total of 79 for a 16-year old was the second highest total by a 16-year old OHL'er since Kirk Muller recorded 112, ironically with the Guelph Platers in 1982–83.
O'Neill spent three years in the OHL with the Storm before jumping to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers as a 19-year old underage in 1995.
[edit] Playing career
O'Neill was drafted in the 1st round, 5th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, He played for the Whalers/Hurricanes until he was traded to Toronto. He went with the Carolina Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup finals before losing to Detroit. He ranks first or second in almost every Hurricanes scoring record. He was traded from Carolina to Toronto on July 30, 2005 in exchange for a conditional pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He also played in the Ontario Hockey League for the Guelph Storm, and American Hockey League for the Springfield Falcons. O'Neill was also selected to the Eastern Conference team for the 2002–03 NHL All-Star Game.
[edit] The Toronto-Carolina trade
O'Neill was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 30, 2005 for a conditional 2006 draft pick. The 29`-year-old had expressed a desire to play for the Maple Leafs before the signing of the CBA. It was a fortunate move for O'Neill in part for the traditional reasons of teams improving themselves, but also because his brother, Donny O'Neill, 33, had died nine days before in a road accident in Vaughan, Ontario. The move allowed O'Neill to be closer to his family. Due to the passing of his brother Donny, as well as resultant offensive struggles and a long-documented fear of flight, the 2005–06 season was a hard one for O'Neill, and he reportedly considered retirement.[citation needed]
[edit] 2006–07 Season
Re-united with former Carolina Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice, O'Neill enjoyed a resurgence early in the season and, benefiting from playing on the top line with Mats Sundin and Alexander Steen, was briefly one of the top scorers. However, towards the end of the season, O'Neill had been benched for the remaining games due to poor offensive performance.
[edit] Post Toronto Maple Leafs
As of June 6th, 2008, Jeff O'Neill has yet to sign a contract with an NHL team. However, no announcement has been made regarding retirement.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 65 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1996–97 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 72 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1997–98 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 74 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 67 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1998–99 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 75 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 66 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1999–00 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 80 | 25 | 38 | 63 | 72 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2000–01 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 41 | 26 | 67 | 106 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2001–02 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 76 | 31 | 33 | 64 | 63 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 27 | ||
| 2002–03 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 30 | 31 | 61 | 38 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2003–04 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 67 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 60 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2005–06 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 64 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2006–07 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 54 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| NHL Totals | 821 | 237 | 259 | 496 | 670 | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 37 | ||||
[edit] References
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | O'Neill, Jeffrey |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jeff |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | ice hockey player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 23, 1976 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Richmond Hill, Ontario |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
