talkingcanes
06-21-2003, 06:54 AM
Exciting that he's from NC, but a heartbreaking testimony to pressure and parental expectations :cry:
From N.C. roots to NHL prospect
By LUKE DECOCK, Staff Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Patrick O'Sullivan was one of many North Carolinians in Detroit for Game 2 of the 2002 Stanley Cup finals.
The Canes were in the midst of making hockey history then. On Saturday, O'Sullivan has the chance to make his own.
The native of Winston-Salem on Saturday will, as far as anyone can tell, become the first NHL draftee with serious roots in North Carolina. Without question, he is the first with first-round potential.
"It's just a thrill," said O'Sullivan, who played youth hockey in Winston-Salem before moving to Ontario at age 5. "It's something I never really thought about. Hopefully some little kid will see that on TV or read about it and it'll make them want to play hockey."
But the same odyssey that has taken O'Sullivan from North Carolina to the first round of the draft has made him one of the draft's biggest wild cards.
To develop O'Sullivan as a hockey player, his father John -- a veteran of the rough-and-tumble hockey minor leagues -- moved the family to Ontario, to Michigan and back to Ontario -- pushing O'Sullivan harder at each step.
Their relationship collapsed in January 2002, when the father beat up the son after a game in which the father believed the son had not played hard enough. The rest of his family moved back to Winston-Salem, and Patrick has spent the past 18 months trying to avoid his father.
O'Sullivan detailed his difficulties for a story in ESPN the Magazine but has said he'll no longer discuss them with the media.
He has no choice but to talk about his situation with NHL teams. O'Sullivan said he talked to 25 teams in Toronto two weeks ago. The Canes were not among them, but they sat down with him when he played for the United States at the World Junior Championships in January.
"I think those interviews really helped me," O'Sullivan said. "All that other stuff that was in the media -- no one really knows what's behind it. Whoever picks me will be a team that likes me."
O'Sullivan, 5 feet 11 and 185 pounds, has offensive skills as good as any North American player in the draft. He was the 2002 major-junior rookie of the year, and 13 of the 14 previous award winners made an impact in the NHL -- including Joe Thornton, Martin Gelinas, Yanic Perreault and Vincent Lecavalier.
O'Sullivan's father's hockey career took him to Winston-Salem. He met O'Sullivan's mother there, and Patrick was born in 1985. On skates by age 3, he started playing youth hockey around Winston-Salem.
In 1997, he joined the the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League in 2001.
In November 2002, O'Sullivan was suspended indefinitely -- then-Mississauga coach Steve Ludzik labeled it an "attitude adjustment" -- and sent back to Winston-Salem. Ludzik had been vocal about O'Sullivan's unwillingness to play defense.
O'Sullivan returned to the Ice Dogs in January and led them to their first playoff appearance, finishing with 40 goals and 41 assists.
From an NHL perspective, teams will be wary of his off-ice situation. But goal-scorers are hard to come by, and based on talent alone, he would be a top-10 pick. But raw talent isn't everything, as the Canes proved in 2002 with their improbable playoff run -- something O'Sullivan saw up close.
"I think it was great for hockey in this area," O'Sullivan said.
A native son playing in the NHL wouldn't hurt either.
From N.C. roots to NHL prospect
By LUKE DECOCK, Staff Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Patrick O'Sullivan was one of many North Carolinians in Detroit for Game 2 of the 2002 Stanley Cup finals.
The Canes were in the midst of making hockey history then. On Saturday, O'Sullivan has the chance to make his own.
The native of Winston-Salem on Saturday will, as far as anyone can tell, become the first NHL draftee with serious roots in North Carolina. Without question, he is the first with first-round potential.
"It's just a thrill," said O'Sullivan, who played youth hockey in Winston-Salem before moving to Ontario at age 5. "It's something I never really thought about. Hopefully some little kid will see that on TV or read about it and it'll make them want to play hockey."
But the same odyssey that has taken O'Sullivan from North Carolina to the first round of the draft has made him one of the draft's biggest wild cards.
To develop O'Sullivan as a hockey player, his father John -- a veteran of the rough-and-tumble hockey minor leagues -- moved the family to Ontario, to Michigan and back to Ontario -- pushing O'Sullivan harder at each step.
Their relationship collapsed in January 2002, when the father beat up the son after a game in which the father believed the son had not played hard enough. The rest of his family moved back to Winston-Salem, and Patrick has spent the past 18 months trying to avoid his father.
O'Sullivan detailed his difficulties for a story in ESPN the Magazine but has said he'll no longer discuss them with the media.
He has no choice but to talk about his situation with NHL teams. O'Sullivan said he talked to 25 teams in Toronto two weeks ago. The Canes were not among them, but they sat down with him when he played for the United States at the World Junior Championships in January.
"I think those interviews really helped me," O'Sullivan said. "All that other stuff that was in the media -- no one really knows what's behind it. Whoever picks me will be a team that likes me."
O'Sullivan, 5 feet 11 and 185 pounds, has offensive skills as good as any North American player in the draft. He was the 2002 major-junior rookie of the year, and 13 of the 14 previous award winners made an impact in the NHL -- including Joe Thornton, Martin Gelinas, Yanic Perreault and Vincent Lecavalier.
O'Sullivan's father's hockey career took him to Winston-Salem. He met O'Sullivan's mother there, and Patrick was born in 1985. On skates by age 3, he started playing youth hockey around Winston-Salem.
In 1997, he joined the the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League in 2001.
In November 2002, O'Sullivan was suspended indefinitely -- then-Mississauga coach Steve Ludzik labeled it an "attitude adjustment" -- and sent back to Winston-Salem. Ludzik had been vocal about O'Sullivan's unwillingness to play defense.
O'Sullivan returned to the Ice Dogs in January and led them to their first playoff appearance, finishing with 40 goals and 41 assists.
From an NHL perspective, teams will be wary of his off-ice situation. But goal-scorers are hard to come by, and based on talent alone, he would be a top-10 pick. But raw talent isn't everything, as the Canes proved in 2002 with their improbable playoff run -- something O'Sullivan saw up close.
"I think it was great for hockey in this area," O'Sullivan said.
A native son playing in the NHL wouldn't hurt either.