Wes O'Neill
Encyclopedia
Wes Samuel O'Neill is a Canadian
professional ice hockey
defenseman who is currently playing with the Kalamazoo Wings
of the ECHL
. He has previously played with the Colorado Avalanche
organization of the National Hockey League
.
by the New York Islanders
. Originally from the Green Bay Gamblers
of the USHL
he was to play for Canada
at the World U18 Championships in 2004
. He then committed to play four years of collegiate
hockey at Notre Dame
culminating in a conference championship in 2007.
O'Neill signed as a free agent
by the Colorado Avalanche
on August 20, 2007. He made his professional debut in the 2007–08
season with the Avalanche's affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters
. O'Neill spent the majority of the year with the Monsters before he was sent to the Johnstown Chiefs
of the ECHL
for their playoff run.
In the 2008–09
season, O'Neill received his first NHL recall on March 27, 2009. He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche on the same day, in a 4-1 defeat to the Vancouver Canucks
. He was sent back down to the Lake Erie Monsters on April 4, 2009.
Wes was assigned to Lake Erie and recorded a career-high 15 points in the 2009–10
season. Wes became the Monsters franchise leader in games played with 159 and appeared in a further two games for the Avalanche in a brief stint in January.
O'Neill was not retained by the Avalanche and was rendered a free agent at seasons end. Unable to attract an NHL offer prior to the 2010–11 season, O'Neill accepted a try-out to the reigning AHL Champions, the Hershey Bears
, training camp but failed to attain a contract. With the season underway, Wes signed with Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL on a one-year contract on October 18, 2010. As Captain of the K-Wings, O'Neill appeared in 13 games before he was signed on a professional try-out contract by AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, on November 19, 2010.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
defenseman who is currently playing with the Kalamazoo Wings
Kalamazoo Wings
The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Eastern Conference, North Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Stadium....
of the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
. He has previously played with the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
organization of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
.
Playing career
O'Neill was drafted 115th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft2004 NHL Entry Draft
The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 26 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout which canceled all the games scheduled for the 2004–05 NHL season.- Selections by round :Listed...
by the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. Originally from the Green Bay Gamblers
Green Bay Gamblers
The Green Bay Gamblers are a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team in the East Division of the United States Hockey League. They play in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center.-History:...
of the USHL
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...
he was to play for Canada
Canada national junior hockey team
The Canadian men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Canada. The team represents Canada at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Hockey Championship, held annually every December and January...
at the World U18 Championships in 2004
2004 IIHF World U18 Championships
-Quarterfinals:-Semifinals:-Fifth place game:-Bronze medal game:-Gold medal game:-Final standings: and are relegated to Division I for the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships.-Scoring leaders:-Goaltending leaders:...
. He then committed to play four years of collegiate
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey college athletic conference that operates mostly in Michigan and Ohio, although it also has members in Alaska and Indiana. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. It holds its championship...
hockey at Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
culminating in a conference championship in 2007.
O'Neill signed as a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
by the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
on August 20, 2007. He made his professional debut in the 2007–08
2007–08 AHL season
The 2007–08 AHL season is the 72nd season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Chicago Wolves won their second Calder Cup, defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Calder Cup Final.-Team changes:...
season with the Avalanche's affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters
Lake Erie Monsters
The Lake Erie Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They began play in the 2007–08 AHL season at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio...
. O'Neill spent the majority of the year with the Monsters before he was sent to the Johnstown Chiefs
Johnstown Chiefs
The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1988 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League when that league was formed...
of the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
for their playoff run.
In the 2008–09
2008–09 NHL season
The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation of the National Hockey League . It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the season, following three seasons where teams only played against two divisions in the...
season, O'Neill received his first NHL recall on March 27, 2009. He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche on the same day, in a 4-1 defeat to the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
. He was sent back down to the Lake Erie Monsters on April 4, 2009.
Wes was assigned to Lake Erie and recorded a career-high 15 points in the 2009–10
2009–10 NHL season
The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation of the National Hockey League , and the 100th season since the founding of the predecessor National Hockey Association . It ran from October 1, 2009, including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the 2010...
season. Wes became the Monsters franchise leader in games played with 159 and appeared in a further two games for the Avalanche in a brief stint in January.
O'Neill was not retained by the Avalanche and was rendered a free agent at seasons end. Unable to attract an NHL offer prior to the 2010–11 season, O'Neill accepted a try-out to the reigning AHL Champions, the Hershey Bears
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of...
, training camp but failed to attain a contract. With the season underway, Wes signed with Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL on a one-year contract on October 18, 2010. As Captain of the K-Wings, O'Neill appeared in 13 games before he was signed on a professional try-out contract by AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, on November 19, 2010.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Chatham Maroons Chatham Maroons ----The Chatham Maroons are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.-History:... |
GOHL | 51 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Chatham Maroons | WOHL | 51 | 9 | 36 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Green Bay Gamblers Green Bay Gamblers The Green Bay Gamblers are a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team in the East Division of the United States Hockey League. They play in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center.-History:... |
USHL | 50 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I... |
CCHA | 39 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Notre Dame | CCHA | 38 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Notre Dame | CCHA | 35 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Notre Dame | CCHA | 42 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 2007–08 AHL season The 2007–08 AHL season is the 72nd season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Chicago Wolves won their second Calder Cup, defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Calder Cup Final.-Team changes:... |
Lake Erie Monsters Lake Erie Monsters The Lake Erie Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They began play in the 2007–08 AHL season at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
51 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Johnstown Chiefs Johnstown Chiefs The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1988 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League when that league was formed... |
ECHL ECHL The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States... |
6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 2008–09 ECHL season The 2008-09 ECHL season was the 21st of the ECHL. The league welcomed one new franchise, the Ontario Reign, which will relocate from Beaumont, Texas and will play at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA. Two teams, the Columbia Inferno and the Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz, will voluntary... |
Johnstown Chiefs | ECHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 2008–09 AHL season The 2008–09 AHL season is the 73rd season of the American Hockey League. 29 teams each played 80 games in the regular season, which ran from October 8 until April 12.-Team and NHL affiliation changes:... |
Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 54 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 2008–09 NHL season The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation of the National Hockey League . It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the season, following three seasons where teams only played against two divisions in the... |
Colorado Avalanche Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise... |
NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 2009–10 AHL season The 2009–10 AHL season was the 74th season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 regular-season games each from October 2 to April 11... |
Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 54 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 2009–10 NHL season The 2009–10 NHL season was the 93rd season of operation of the National Hockey League , and the 100th season since the founding of the predecessor National Hockey Association . It ran from October 1, 2009, including four games in Europe on October 2 and 3—until April 11, 2010, with the 2010... |
Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 2010–11 ECHL season The 2010–11 ECHL season is the 23rd season of the ECHL. The regular season schedule runs from October 15, 2010 to April 2, 2011. The Kelly Cup playoffs followed the regular season, with the first playoff game held on April 4, 2011, all the way to late May or early June... |
Kalamazoo Wings Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Eastern Conference, North Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Stadium.... |
ECHL | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 39 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 2010–11 2010–11 AHL season The 2010–11 AHL season is the 75th season of the American Hockey League. An all-time high of thirty teams will play 80 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on October 8, 2010 and ended on April 10, 2011... |
Bridgeport Sound Tigers Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Sound Tigers are an ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. It has been the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who also own the franchise, since its inception, and use the same team colors as the parent Islanders do. The team is based in... |
AHL | 33 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships -Quarterfinals:-Semifinals:-Fifth place game:-Bronze medal game:-Gold medal game:-Final standings: and are relegated to Division I for the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships.-Scoring leaders:-Goaltending leaders:... |
Canada | WJC18 IIHF World U18 Championships The IIHF World U18 Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is usually played in April and is organized according to a system similar to Ice Hockey World Championships and World... |
7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Junior int'l totals | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||