Michael Thomas O'Connell (born November 25, 1955) is the Director of Pro Development for the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. O'Connell was also a former 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 hock ...

player and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. He played 860

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) regular season games between 1977 and 1990 and later served as the general manager of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

from 2000 until 2006. He is the son of former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL)

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Tommy O'Connell Thomas B. O'Connell (September 26, 1930 – March 20, 2014) was an American collegiate and professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played in 1953 for the Chicago Bears and in 1956 ...

and brother of former

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) player Tim O'Connell.

Playing career

Youth and junior hockey

O'Connell was raised in Cohasset,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and grew up playing hockey and

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

at Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree. He moved to the

Ontario Major Junior Hockey League In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate indepe ...

Kingston Canadians The Kingston Canadians were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1973 to 1988. The team played home games at the Kingston Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. History The Kingston Canadians arrival in the Ontario ...

as a teenager, following the recommendation of

General Manager

Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of T ...

and was promptly named best OMJHL defenceman in 1974–75.

NHL career

O'Connell was chosen in the second round, 43rd overall, by the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in the

1975 NHL Entry Draft The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was the 13th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers made the most noise at the draft, trading Bill Clement, Don McLean, and t ...

. His professional career for the Hawks began in the minors with the

Central Professional Hockey League The Central Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league that operated in the United States from 1963 to 1984. Named the Central Hockey League for the 1968–69 season and forward, it was owned and operated by the Natio ...

Dallas Black Hawks The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in Dallas, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was a member of the Central Hockey League and played home games at State Fair Coliseum. Origins and relocation to Dallas The Blac ...

in 1976–77. He became the first Chicago native to play for the Black Hawks in 1978, but most of his career was spent in his adopted home state of

with the Boston Bruins, who obtained him in a trade for

Al Secord Alan William Secord (born March 3, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left wing who played in the National Hockey League for twelve seasons from 1978–79 until 1989–90. He's now a captain for American Airlines, flying Boein ...

in 1980. An excellent skater, O'Connell was a solid all-around player, being both reliable in the defensive zone and consistently effective on offense, with a hard, accurate shot from the point. His best years were spent in Boston, helping to make up a defensive squad that included

Brad Park Douglas Bradford "Brad" Park (born July 6, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A defenceman, Park played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. Considered to be on ...

and

Ray Bourque Raymond Jean Bourque (born December 28, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memorial ...

. He played in the

1984 NHL All-Star Game The 36th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, East Rutherford, home to the New Jersey Devils, on January 31, 1984. Uniforms The All-Star uniforms introduced in 35th National Hockey ...

while with the Bruins, also representing the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the

1981 Canada Cup The 1981 Labatt Canada Cup was the second best-on-best ice hockey world championship and involved the world's top six hockey nations. Tournament games were held in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Ottawa. The Soviet Union national ice hockey team ...

and 1985

Ice Hockey World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

tournaments. O'Connell finished his NHL career as a penalty killer and defensive specialist with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in 1989, who had obtained him in a trade for

Reed Larson Reed David Larson (born July 30, 1956) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and former captain of the Detroit Red Wings who played 904 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1976 and 1990. He is a member ...

in 1986. He also served as an

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

during his time with the Red Wings.

Management career

Following retirement as a player, O'Connell served as head coach of the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1990–91. Despite a losing record, Harry Sinden hired his protégé to coach the Bruins' top minor league affiliate, the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rh ...

. O'Connell was then named the Bruins' assistant general manager in 1994, also becoming vice president of hockey operations in 1998 and alternate governor in 2000. The Bruins named O'Connell vice president and general manager on November 1, 2000, and he later signed a five-year contract extension on June 21, 2002. He was however fired from the job on March 25, 2006 following a controversial number of player trades that did not work out well for the Bruins. Notably, O'Connell decided to trade high-scoring center

Joe Thornton Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He has previously played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the ...

. In 2003–04 season, under his direction, the Bruins finished first in the Northeast Division, second in the Eastern Conference and fourth overall in the NHL with 104 points. The NHL then locked-out its players for the 2004–05 season and the Bruins lost five players previously acquired by O'Connell ( Michael Nylander,

Brian Rolston Brian Lee Rolston (born February 21, 1973) is an American former professional ice hockey player who most recently played for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, and the Wo ...

Sean O'Donnell Sean O'Donnell (born October 13, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Drafted 123rd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, O'Donnell has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles ...

Mike Knuble Michael Rudolph Knuble ( , lv, Maikls Rūdolfs Knuble; born July 4, 1972) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). During his 16 NHL seasons, he played for the Detroi ...

and

Sergei Gonchar Sergei Viktorovich Gonchar ( rus, Серге́й Ви́кторович Гонча́р, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪdʑ ɡɐnʲˈtɕar; born 13 April 1974) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and a former assistant coach f ...

) to free agency. O'Connell blamed Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs for the decision to not re-sign the free agents. In 2005, O'Connell traded Bruins star center

to the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, receiving

Brad Stuart Bradley Stuart (born November 6, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in over 1,000 career games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Det ...

Marco Sturm Marco Johann Sturm (born September 8, 1978) is a German professional ice hockey coach and former winger who played in the National Hockey League and Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He is currently the Head Coach of the Ontario Reign. Sturm began his ca ...

and

Wayne Primeau Wayne Michael Primeau (born June 4, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the younger brother of Keith Primeau. Playing career Primeau was a first round draft pick of the O ...

in exchange. Thornton would ultimately win the

Hart Memorial Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donat ...

as the League's most valuable player and the

Art Ross Trophy The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, General Manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has ...

as scoring champion at the conclusion of the 2005–06 season. Many important players on the Bruins roster were drafted during O'Connell's tenure as general manager, including

Patrice Bergeron Patrice Bergeron-Cleary (born July 24, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bergeron played junior hockey with the Acadie–Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Ju ...

and

David Krejčí David Krejčí (, born 28 April 1986) is a Czech professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was part of the Bruins' Stanley Cup win in 2011 and led the NHL in points during t ...

, centerpieces of the team's

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

victory in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. O'Connell is currently the director of professional player development with the

. In this role he has won 2

Stanley Cups The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

NHL coaching record

Awards and achievements

OMJHL In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate indepe ...

First All-Star Team (

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

) * CHL First All-Star Team (1977) *Most Valuable Defenseman - CHL (1977) *Played in

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

(

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

) *

Championship (

and

)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
O'Connell's bio at Hockeydraftcentral.comO'Connell's bio at LAKings.comBoston Globe article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Mike 1955 births Living people Boston Bruins coaches Boston Bruins executives Boston Bruins players Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Chicago Blackhawks players Dallas Black Hawks players Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey coaches from Illinois Ice hockey players from Chicago Ice hockey people from Massachusetts Kingston Canadians players Los Angeles Kings coaches Los Angeles Kings executives National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League executives New Brunswick Hawks players People from Cohasset, Massachusetts Phoenix Roadrunners draft picks Providence Bruins coaches American men's ice hockey defensemen Archbishop Williams High School alumni Stanley Cup champions Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts Ice hockey people from Illinois