Liam O'Brien (ice hockey)

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This article is about the Canadian ice hockey player. For other uses, see Liam O'Brien (disambiguation).
Liam O'Brien
O'Brien with the Arizona Coyotes in 2023
Born (1994-07-29) July 29, 1994 (age 29)
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Utah NHL team
Washington Capitals
Colorado Avalanche
Arizona Coyotes
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present

Liam O'Brien (born July 29, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Utah NHL team of the National Hockey League (NHL). O'Brien is mostly known as an enforcer.

Playing career[edit]

O'Brien "Spicy Tuna" was drafted in the first round, 10th overall, by the Rimouski Oceanic in the 2010 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Draft. He scored his first QMJHL goal in his second game, against the Lewiston Maineiacs.[1] He played for the Oceanic until 2011, when he was traded to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for draft picks.[2]

Passed over in the NHL Entry Draft, O'Brien received a training camp invite from the Washington Capitals in 2014, and made the team, signing a three-year entry level contract on October 6, 2014.[3][4] He made his NHL debut on October 9, 2014 in a game against the Montreal Canadiens, in which he registered his first NHL fight against the Canadiens' Brandon Prust.[5]

O'Brien with the Bears in 2015

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.[6] 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 COVID-19 pandemic delaying the following North American season, O'Brien was belatedly signed to an American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Colorado Eagles, primary affiliate to the Colorado Avalanche, on November 27, 2020.[7] 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.[8]

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 on April 2, 2021.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] On October 25, 2021 O'Brien scored his first NHL goal since the 2014–15 season when he beat Spencer Knight in a 5–3 loss to the Florida Panthers.[12] In his first season with the Coyotes, he established new career highs in games played in the NHL, goals, points, penalty minutes and shots. On March 6, 2022 O'Brien signed a two-year contract extension with the Coyotes.[13]

Liam's nickname was changed from Big Tuna to Spicy Tuna. This name was changed by him after he told fans in Utah that they should call him Spicy Tuna during the team introduction on April 24, 2024 in the Delta center.

International play[edit]

As a 16 year old, O'Brien was selected to compete at the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[14]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Notre Dame Hounds SMHL 41 13 25 38 98 13 4 3 7 30
2010–11 Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL 61 2 8 10 45 5 0 0 0 6
2011–12 Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL 40 7 9 16 67 — — — — —
2011–12 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 27 3 7 10 69 4 1 0 1 11
2012–13 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 65 10 14 24 164 12 2 1 3 17
2013–14 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 68 20 15 35 148 9 1 3 4 12
2014–15 Washington Capitals NHL 13 1 1 2 23 — — — — —
2014–15 Hershey Bears AHL 45 4 4 8 121 10 3 3 6 14
2015–16 Hershey Bears AHL 59 7 9 16 120 20 4 2 6 65
2016–17 Hershey Bears AHL 64 10 20 30 117 6 0 0 0 13
2016–17 Washington Capitals NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2017–18 Hershey Bears AHL 69 17 9 26 79 — — — — —
2017–18 Washington Capitals NHL 3 0 0 0 5 — — — — —
2018–19 Hershey Bears AHL 74 15 13 28 118 8 1 0 1 21
2019–20 Hershey Bears AHL 59 10 19 29 83 — — — — —
2020–21 Colorado Eagles AHL 12 4 4 8 15 — — — — —
2020–21 Colorado Avalanche NHL 12 0 3 3 40 — — — — —
2021–22 Arizona Coyotes NHL 39 2 1 3 106 — — — — —
2022–23 Arizona Coyotes NHL 56 3 8 11 114 — — — — —
2023–24 Arizona Coyotes NHL 75 5 9 14 153 — — — — —
NHL totals 199 11 22 33 441 — — — — —

International[edit]

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Canada Atlantic U17 5th 5 1 1 2 8
Junior totals 5 1 1 2 8

References[edit]

  1. ^ O'Brien, Liam (September 26, 2014). "Liam O'Brien's journal: The CHL is a business". Sportsnet. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  2. ^ "Liam O'brien échangé à Rouyn-Noranda" [Liam O'brien traded to Rouyn-Noranda]. oceanic.qc.ca (in French). December 30, 2011. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  3. ^ "Capitals sign Liam O'Brien to three-year entry-level deal". The Washington Post. 2014-10-06. Archived from the original on 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2014-10-06.
  4. ^ "Capitals rookies O'brien and Burakovsky to make NHL debuts". The Washington Post. 2014-10-09. Archived from the original on 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  5. ^ "Trotz pleased with Capitals feistiness vs Canadiens". The Washington Post. 2014-10-10. Archived from the original on 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  6. ^ "Capitals re-sign O'Brien". Washington Capitals. June 10, 2019. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Eagles add toughness, scoring with O'Brien". Colorado Eagles. November 27, 2020. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "Avalanche signs Middleton and O'Brien". Colorado Avalanche. March 31, 2021. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "Avalanche clinch playoff berth in win over Blues". ESPN. April 28, 2021. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  10. ^ "Avalanche use 3 goals in second period to down Blues". ESPN. April 14, 2021. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "Coyotes sign Liam O'Brien to one-year contract". Arizona Coyotes. July 28, 2021. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  12. ^ "Coyotes' Liam O'Brien: Nabs first goal since 2014-15". CBS Sports. October 25, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  13. ^ Romero, José M. (March 6, 2022). "Coyotes sign forward, top enforcer Liam O'Brien to two-year contract". AZcentral.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  14. ^ "Le seul 16 ans de l'Océanic, choisit pour une importante compétition !!!". oceanic.qc.ca (in French). November 23, 2010. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.

External links[edit]

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