For Green Bay defenseman Andrew O’Sullivan, getting the chance to wear a Gamblers uniform inspires him to dedicate his work on the ice to the thousands of fans that pack the Resch Center on the weekend.
O’Sullivan will have a chance to showcase his talent at one of the highest-attended Gamblers games all season when Green Bay faces off against the Dubuque Fighting Saints on Saturday for Teddy Bear Toss Night.
O’Sullivan said he’s excited to be a part of the 27th edition of Teddy Bear Toss Night, where Gamblers fans toss hundreds of stuffed animals onto the ice after Green Bay’s first goal as part of a donation to local hospitals and children’s centers.
“Honestly, that [game] ranks probably the greatest part about [playing here],” O’Sullivan said. “I think coming here every day to this place and playing in front of the fans, it’s awesome.”
While O’Sullivan said he doesn’t know if he’ll be the one to get the goal that sends plushies flying over the boards, he has the most points out of any Green Bay defenseman with 28 off of six goals and 22 assists.
The 5-foot-11 Scituate, Massachusetts, native has already eclipsed his offensive stats from last season when he totaled 18 points in 54 games played on six goals and 12 assists.
O’Sullivan started off strong in his second full season in Green Bay by recording seven straight games with either a goal or an assist in October, and he continued his momentum into January, where he has had three points in his last five games.
O’Sullivan said he’s seen his confidence and his growing role on the squad help him progress as a player.
“This year it’s been kind of nice because I’ve been called upon more and it’s been nice to get it done,” he said.
The 19-year-old O’Sullivan said he views himself as an offensive-minded defenseman.
“We have a lot of good forwards, so our D-men don’t really have to do much, but I think it’s just taking what’s there on offense when it’s given to you,” he said. “I like to take pride in playing in all situations. I think it’s just playing hard in all three zones.”
O’Sullivan said his mindset is all about turning defensive situations into offense behind physical play in their own zone.
“It comes down to just working hard,” he said. “It’s when we’re hitting, when we’re physical, we’re turning pucks over and we get to play offense. So, the better defense we get to play, we’ll play more offense.”
O’Sullivan grew up around Anaheim, California, in an area where hockey is not the hottest sport in the wintertime. He spent a lot of time on the beach and was a baseball and football player growing up, so he focused on being outdoors and staying active when he wasn’t at his local rink.
O’Sullivan comes from a family of hockey players, his uncle won an NCAA title while his aunt was one of the last people cut from the U.S. women’s Olympic ice hockey team in the 90’s, and he said he knew hockey was his main sport at an early age.
“I was playing a lot of different sports growing up, which I think helped me in hockey and made me a better athlete and they kept me focused,” he said.
As a 14-year-old, O’Sullivan said he moved back to the east coast to play more competitive hockey.
“I think just with the hockey out there, you kind of have to move away at a certain time and I was fortunate enough to go to prep school at Kimball Union Academy,” he said. “Those were the best years of my life, so I kind of made the adjustment pretty easy.”
In his first season at Kimball Union in New Hampshire, O’Sullivan tallied 25 points on four goals and 21 assists through 33 games to catch the eye of the Gamblers, who drafted him in the third round of the USHL Futures Draft in 2022. The next year, he upped his numbers at Kimball to 55 points off eight goals and 47 assists in 34 contests.
Green Bay took notice of O’Sullivan’s development in just two years of prep school hockey and called him up to the Gamblers for two games near the end of the 2023-24 season.
O’Sullivan said it was a big transition for him to jump up to the USHL.
“Prep schools, you know, it’s a lot like college, and everything out here, it’s more of like a pro style of game,” he said. “It was pretty hard, honestly, but when you have guys like Brady O’Malley who were here from the start, when I came in, it made it really easy just to kind of get in here and be part of the team.”
After helping Green Bay to a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and a Clark Cup playoff berth last season, O’Sullivan said he learned to just take everything one day at a time.
“I think everything can change pretty quickly out here,” he said. “It’s just doing everything day-to-day to kind of take care of what you can, and the rest will play itself out.”
Midway through his second full season with the Gamblers, O’Sullivan said he’s gotten the opportunity to become a team leader within the squad.
“I think that when you’re called upon more it’s kind of on you to kind of talk to the young guys and teach them the ropes,” he said. “They might not have everything they want right now, but you know, they’ll have it next year. So, it’s just about staying patient.”
O’Sullivan and the Gamblers will look to keep the fans from waiting to throw their teddy bears onto the ice with an early goal when Green Bay faces off against the Dubuque Fighting Saints at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at the Resch Center.
