Patrick William Flatley (born October 3, 1963) is a Canadian former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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 who played in the

NHL 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 ...

for 14 seasons between 1983 and 1997 for the New York Islanders and

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

Playing career

Flatley was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1976

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Toronto Shopsy's

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team. He attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, where he played for the

Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey The Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The team plays at the Kohl Center and is coached by Tony Granato. The Badgers ice hockey tea ...

team for two seasons, helping the team capture the 1983 NCAA Men's ice hockey championship, and was himself named a tournament all-star, a

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

first team all-star, and a 1983 All-American. Flatley was drafted 21st overall by the New York Islanders in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

, and scored on his first NHL shot on goal, against

Doug Soetaert Douglas Henry Soetaert (born April 21, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was selected by the New York Rangers in the second round (30th overall) of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 12 seasons in the National Ho ...

of the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, p ...

. Playing for the Canadian National Team in 1983–84, he scored 34 goals in 54 games. Rejoining the Islanders for the 1984-85 season, he was put on a line with

Brent Sutter Brent Colin Sutter (born June 10, 1962) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player and former head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. Selected by the New York Islanders 17th overall at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, Sut ...

and

Clark Gillies Clark Gillies (April 7, 1954 – January 21, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League between 1974 and 1988. Gillies served as captain of the Island ...

, and scored 9 goals through the first three rounds of the playoffs, becoming a big contributor in the Islanders' drive for their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup. However, the Islanders lost in the finals to the

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

-led

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. Although he never emerged as a top scorer, Flatley did become a highly effective role player, adding smart positional play, strong defense, and grit to the Islanders teams in the late 1980s and 1990s. Flatley was sometimes referred to as "the chairman of the boards" because he rarely failed to dig the puck out in battles in the corners. In 1991 he was named the Islanders' fifth captain. Prior to the 1996-97 season, Flatley signed a one-year deal with the New York Rangers. He played 780 career NHL games, scoring 170 goals and 340 assists for 510 points. His best offensive season, points-wise, was the 1992–93 season when he scored 47 assists and 60 points.

Collegiate career

Flatley was a member of the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship ''NCAA men's ice hockey championship'' refers to either of the two tournaments in men's ice hockey – one in Division I and one in Division III – contested by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) since 1971. The NCAA Divisio ...

team of 1983, and national finalist of 1982.

Awards and honours

Jan 15, 2012 Pat Flatley was the 12th player inducted into the New York Islanders Hall of Fame. Pat Flatley was named to the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Personal

His niece, Shannon Flatley competes for the Brown Bears women's ice hockey program.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flatley, Patrick 1963 births Living people Canadian ice hockey forwards Sportspeople from Toronto Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of Canada National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players New York Rangers players Springfield Indians players Ice hockey people from Ontario Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans