Liam O'Brien (born July 29, 1994) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

forward. He is currently playing with the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). O'Brien is mostly known as an

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Playing career

O'Brien was drafted in the first round, 10th overall, by the

Rimouski Oceanic Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), the C ...

in QMJHL 2010 Draft. He scored his first QMJHL goal in his second game against the Lewiston Maineiacs. He played for the Oceanic until 2011 when he was traded to the

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League based in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada. The team plays its home games at the Aréna Glencore. The Huskies finished first overall in the QMJHL, durin ...

for draft picks. Passed over in the

NHL Entry Draft The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

, O'Brien received a training camp invite from the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

in 2014, and made the team, earning himself a three-year entry level contract on October 6, 2014. He made his NHL debut on October 9, 2014 in a game against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, in which he registered his first NHL fight against the Canadiens'

Brandon Prust Brandon Raymond James Prust (born March 16, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. Prust was drafted in the third round, 70th overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, and has played in the NHL for the ...

. On June 10, 2019, O'Brien agreed to return for his sixth season within the Capitals organization, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract extension. O'Brien was waived by the Washington Capitals on September 30, 2019 and loaned to the Hershey Bears the following day. On the completion of his sixth year with the Bears, O'Brien left the Capitals organization as a free agent. With the

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delaying the following North American season, O'Brien was belatedly signed to an AHL contract with the

Colorado Eagles The Colorado Eagles are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League. The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central Hoc ...

, primary affiliate to the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

, on November 27, 2020. In the 2020-21 season, O'Brien immediately contributed with the Eagles, adding 8 points through 12 games, before signing a one-year NHL contract with the Avalanche for the remainder of the campaign on March 30, 2021. He made his debut for the Avalanche, appearing in his first NHL contest in over three years, in a 4-2 victory over the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

on April 2, 2021. He recorded his first multi-point game with a career high 2 assists in a 4-3 victory over the Blues on April 14, 2021. Adding physicality in a fourth-line role for Colorado, O'Brien finished with 3 assists and 40 penalty minutes through 12 regular season games. As a free agent, O'Brien signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes on July 28, 2021.

International play

As a 16 year old, O'Brien was selected to compete at the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Liam 1994 births Living people Arizona Coyotes players Canadian ice hockey centres Colorado Avalanche players Colorado Eagles players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Rimouski Océanic players Rouyn-Noranda Huskies players Sportspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia Undrafted National Hockey League players Washington Capitals players