Myles O'Connor

Myles O'Connor was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman from Calgary, Alberta, whose career ran from the minor hockey rinks of western Canada and the Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan to the University of Michigan, the National Hockey League and, finally, Japan. He played 43 regular season NHL games for the New Jersey Devils and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim between 1990 and 1994, scoring 3 goals and 4 assists, and he spent most of a decade as a hard-hitting, dependable blueliner in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League.

Born on 2 April 1967 in Calgary, O'Connor played his U18 AAA hockey with the Notre Dame Hounds in 1984 to 1985, putting up 55 points in 40 games. The New Jersey Devils selected him 45th overall, in the third round, of the 1985 NHL entry draft.

Rather than turn professional straight away, he went to the University of Michigan and played four seasons for the Wolverines from 1985 to 1989 under coach Red Berenson. He also appeared in eight games for the Canadian national team in 1985 to 1986. By his senior year he was the Michigan captain. According to Pro Hockey Rumors, his 138 points in 156 games ranked fourth among NCAA defencemen over that span, and his 353 penalty minutes were fourth in the league. In 1988 to 1989 he was named to the All-CCHA First Team and the AHCA West First-Team All-American.

O'Connor turned professional at the end of the 1988 to 1989 college season with one game for the Utica Devils, New Jersey's AHL affiliate. His first full professional season, 1989 to 1990, brought 47 points in 76 games for Utica, and that earned him a call-up. He played 22 games for New Jersey in 1990 to 1991, scoring 3 goals, then 9 more in 1991 to 1992 and 7 in 1992 to 1993, while spending the rest of those seasons with Utica.

In 1993 to 1994 he joined the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, playing 5 games for the new club in its inaugural season, and spent most of that year with the San Diego Gulls of the IHL. He went on to play for the Houston Aeros, including an 80-game 1995 to 1996 season, and the Cincinnati Cyclones in 1996 to 1997. He finished his career in Japan with the Nippon Paper Cranes of the Japan Ice Hockey League in 1997 to 1998 and then retired. Pro Hockey Rumors put his professional total at 195 points in 359 games.

Away from the rink, O'Connor made his home in Calgary. Sportsnet broadcaster Eric Francis wrote that he was one of the first people to welcome him to the city about 30 years ago. Hockey also became a family story. His son Logan O'Connor played college hockey at the University of Denver, made his NHL debut with the Colorado Avalanche in the 2018 to 2019 season, and was part of Colorado's Stanley Cup winning team in 2022. A family photo collage released by the Avalanche showed Myles with Logan at Denver and with his family over the years.

O'Connor's sudden death at the age of 59 was announced by the Colorado Avalanche on 8 October 2026. The club said it was "deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Logan's father, Myles O'Connor." The news came hours before Colorado played the Calgary Flames, the game in which Logan, recovering from a lower-body injury, might have made his season debut. Logan took a personal leave to be with his family. The cause of death has not been made public, and the exact date of death had not been confirmed in public reports at the time of writing.

Tributes came from Michigan hockey followers, the Cincinnati Cyclones fan community, former Devils fans and the Calgary hockey media, remembering a tough, popular defenceman and a proud hockey father.