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Potatoes and Beer: The Eoghan O'Donnell Story - Printable Version

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- The Sheriff - 02-25-2014

*********DO NOT MARK THESE, THIS IS AN OLD STORY I'M HOPING TO REHATCH*************


<div align="center">POTATOES AND BEER: THE EOGHAN O’DONNELL STORY

Part One: Origins

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It was a crisp fall morning in a local Dublin hospital, and there was another routine childbirth. A young couple, John and Miriam O’Donnell were sitting in a small hospital room. John was covered in sludge, and dirt from a rugby match. In the middle of the match, Miriam went into labour, and they were rushed to the hospital.

It was the couple’s first child, and it was a rather long, and painful birth. Miriam was in labour for 57 hours. In the wee hours of November 5th, 1993, the couple was blessed with a boy, weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces. The size was just a small look into the future of Eoghan O’Donnell.

When Eoghan was 4 years old, he saw a few boys playing an absolutely foreign game involving two nets, sticks, and an oddly shaped ball. He watched in amazement as he was soon discovering what he wanted to do with his life. To please his father, Eoghan also enrolled in Rugby, and Futball. His mother handed him a tennis racket, and he was expected to be a big sports star, and easily get a scholarship oversees. That was his dream, a dream he longed for, a dream that could make his parents very proud of him.

On a rainy September evening in 1999, Eoghan went for his first tryout. It was a routine sign-up and team designation. Everyone would get on a team, but what team was uncertain. There was the A squad, the B squad, and the C squad. Eoghan wanted to make the A squad like every boy there, but nothing was for certain. His father gave him a few words of advice that would stay with him forever,

“You are what you put into yourself. This is just the start, no matter what happens today, the work you put in will sit with you for the rest of your life. I believe in you, your mother believes in you. Go out there and show them what you can do.”

Not even six yet, Eoghan nodded his head, and smiled. He put on his helmet, and took to the ice. He was smaller than most of the boys on the ice, and like everyone else, was a clumsy skater. This didn’t deter Eoghan, as he was happier than anyone else there. After a few skating drills, the coaches decided to play a game of pick-up. It was a free-for-all, and Eoghan took advantage of the chaos. He saw a loose puck, and skated for it. He stumbled a bit, but picked it up in the process. Skating down ice, he dodged kids coming at him. All of the sudden, however, he tripped, and fell to the ice. As he was sliding, he swung his stick towards the puck. It made it’s way towards the net, and went in past a distracted goaltender.

The coaches saw something in Eoghan that they didn’t see in anyone else, determination. To his surprise, and to his father’s pleasure, Eoghan O’Donnell was placed on the A squad.


Part Two: Growing Up

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During a Peewee hockey game.

Grinning from ear to ear, Eoghan O’Donnell told his parents the good news. He was going to make his first steps to playing professional hockey. His mom was proud, but his father was a little disappointed that his son had chosen a sport foreign to the land they lived in. Despite his disappointments, his father was proud of what his son had already accomplished.

Eoghan went to practice everyday, and worked on his skating, and his ability to carry the puck on his stick. Everyone around him was developing at a fast rate, but Eoghan was a little slower. He routinely made bad passes, and fell down. However, this didn’t deter the young boy. He became the hardest working playing on the team; always staying hours after his team was done practicing. This work ethic would live with him forever, and he began to become a talented player.

His parents helped him every step of the way, and went to every one of his games. If he had a bad game, his parents were right there cheering him on. This gave him motivation, and eventually enough courage to try out for a peewee team. He was ten years old, and at 5’7 many of the children didn’t want to play against him. The organizers of the league decided to move O’Donnell up a weight class because they didn’t want anyone to get seriously injured as they had just allowed checking into his age group.

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O'Donnell routinely caused havoc for the goaltenders while playing with the Raiders.

O’Donnell moved away to Cork in order to play for the Cork Raiders. He lived with his aunt Christine, and her son, Rory. O’Donnell converted Rory from Football to Hockey in a matter of months. The two were like best friends, and they supported each other through thick and thin. Eoghan played for the Raiders for two years scoring 25 goals in 62 games, while adding 40 assists. He didn’t hit very often, but when he did, he hit with force.

At age 12, Eoghan was already six feet tall, and he continued to grow. At age fourteen, an opposing player injured O’Donnell after he was violently checked from behind, flying head first into the boards. This stalled Eoghan’s dream of making it big in hockey, and he decided to call it quits for a few years, opting for Tennis instead.

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He was a star.

He was a natural, quickly climbing up the rankings. He was declared to be the next big Irish sports star. After about a year of playing tennis and staying out of a game he loved with all his heart, O’Donnell couldn’t stay away any longer. He returned to hockey, talking to several teams in North America. He knew staying in Ireland wouldn’t help further his career. One team became very interested, and that team was the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League.

At the age of 16, O’Donnell was drafted by the Oshawa Generals 138th overall in the 2nd round in the 2009 CHL Import Selection. He said goodbye to all his family, and friends, packed his bags and moved to Canada to follow his dream of playing professional hockey.

”It’s a bittersweet day. On one hand I get to play hockey at a high level, but on the other hand I’m moving away from everyone I’ve ever loved. It’s a sad, but triumphant day for me. I’m looking forward to meeting my teammates, and forming new bonds.” – Eoghan O’Donnell told media after he arrived at Pearson International Airport.

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An instant fan favourite.

O’Donnell’s season was a triumphant one. He became an instant fan favourite with his grittiness, and his nose for the net. O’Donnell was brilliant in front of the net, and ended up getting 30 goals on the year, adding 42 assists in his rookie season. He also led the league in penalty minutes with 267 PIMs, most of which were fighting majors. However, O’Donnell had a falling out with the Generals after several underage-drinking incidents. He left the Generals in search of a new league, one that sounded too good to be true, the NWJHL.


Part Three: A True Outlaw

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O'Donnell talking about his off-ice issues after being dumped by the Generals

It was a rough road to the NWJHL after many teams had publicly shunned O'Donnell because of his issues in the OHL. He was always public about the problems he had, and in turn, that caused him to be untouchable since most teams didn't want a headache on their hands. He was determined to make it in hockey, but it seemed unlikely, at least for now. He returned to Ireland in the hopes of starting fresh, and to get away from the tabloids.

Quote:I felt like there was a giant hatred for me, for everything I did.  I'm a fucking sixteen year old.  Sure I've made some mistakes, and may have some growing up to do, but fuck the critics.  Fuck them straight up the ass.  I don't give a fuck if those cunts hate me, I just want to play hockey, I just want to start my life over.  They don't seem to want to let me do that.  Fuck them.
- O'Donnell posting on his blog shortly after returning to his home country.

O'Donnell didn't do himself any favours by posting angry rants on his blog, including inside information about CHL management. By the end of the week, the blog was shut down for misuse, the former hockey star attributed the ban to "petty bullshit by some higher-ups who didn't want me to express my damn opinion". He was known for his outspokenness before he had his falling out, but he was never this outspoken.

He decided to rejoin his old team, the Cork Raiders, in the hopes of gaining some much needed reputation, and confidence back. In his first game, he was kicked out of the game ten minutes into the first period for a vicious check from behind. Originally he was only getting a ten minute misconduct, and a double minor, but O'Donnell punched the referee trying to restrain him, and jumped on a player who was down on the ice.

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The player laying on the ice after the hit

Quote:It was disgusting, I love my him and everything, he's one of my best mates, but he just lost it.
-O'Donnell's cousin, teammate, and best friend, Rory O'Shea after the game.[/i]

The display made O'Donnell the target of one of the harshest penalties in league history, he received a total of 75 games, which would lead into the next season, and beyond. It was another roadblock in his hockey career, and O'Donnell returned to the Tennis scene.

His return to tennis was nothing to write home about, and he left the sports world completely, not knowing what he was going to do with his life.

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Throwing his racket after he a lost match

Quote:I don't know what to do.  I just don't know, I've made some mistakes, ruined big opportunities, fucked up beyond reason.  I've got some thinking to do, and I have no idea how I'm going to handle it.    Fuck me.  One thing's for certain, I need to grow the fuck up.
-O'Donnell's blog post after he quit sports.

After half a year of thinking, and attending a high school, with his mind set on the future, a unique opportunity arose. He saw a posting for a hockey league that could be his ultimate opportunity.

Quote:[b]ATTENTION:
Hockey players from every walk of life wanted
Are you an aspiring hockey player? 
Do you want to play at a high paced level?
Are you looking for your big break?

JOIN THE NORTH WEST JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE, AND SUCCESS COULD BE YOURS

contact: Taldon Shephard
207-555-1269
[email protected][/b]

O'Donnell decided to contact the league in hopes of making a come-back to the hockey world. He was determined to turn a new leaf in the hopes of playing in the NHL one day, and worked as hard as possible to make it, and show his critics he could be mature. He didn't want any more controversy, he wanted to be the player he used to be. It was time for Eoghan to return to hockey, and hope to be a better person, and an athlete.</div>

END OF DO NOT MARK SECTION

- Patches - 02-25-2014

Omg