Will O'Neill (born April 28, 1988) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who most recently played with EC Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL). O'Neill was selected by the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

in the 7th round (210th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

As a junior, O'Neill played with the Omaha Lancers of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL) where he helped his team to win the Clark Cup as the 2007–08 USHL Champions. He then attended

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

where he played four seasons of NCAA Division I ice hockey with the

Maine Black Bears The Maine Black Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maine. A member of the America East Conference, the University of Maine sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's Col ...

, where he was recognized for his outstanding performance during his senior, 2011–12, year, when he was named the New England Division I All-Star team by the New England Hockey Writers. On March 26, 2012, the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) signed O'Neill to a three-year,

entry-level contract An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline and typically does not require prior experience in the field or profession. These roles may require some on-site training. Many entr ...

. On July 2, 2015, O'Neill left the Jets as a free agent and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

. On July 1, 2016, O'Neill signed a two-year, two-way contract as a free agent with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. In the 2016–17 season, O'Neill spent the entirety of the year with AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, recording 28 assists and 31 points in 57 games. During his second year under contract with the Flyers in the 2017–18 season, O'Neill was recalled from the Phantoms and belatedly made his NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center on November 2, 2017. He was returned to Lehigh following the game, finishing the season in the AHL with 19 points in 59 games. As a free agent from the Flyers, O'Neill opted to return on a one-year AHL contract to former club, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on July 9, 2018. In the following 2018–19 season, O'Neill was unable to recapture his previous success in Wilkes/Barre/Scranton, limited to 8 assists in 28 games from the blueline before opting to be released from his contract with the club on January 25, 2019. O'Neill decided to continue his career abroad, promptly agreeing to his first European contract in signing for the remainder of the season with Austrian club, EC Red Bull Salzburg of the EBEL, on January 29, 2019.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1988 births American men's ice hockey defensemen 21st-century American sportsmen Atlanta Thrashers draft picks Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Lehigh Valley Phantoms players Living people Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey players Omaha Lancers players Philadelphia Flyers players EC Red Bull Salzburg players Sportspeople from Salem, Massachusetts Ice hockey people from Essex County, Massachusetts St. John's IceCaps players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players {{US-icehockey-defenseman-stub

Playing career

Career statistics

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links