The Guelph Storm brought back star forward Jeff O'Neill for a special ceremony Saturday night.
The Storm made O'Neill the first player in franchise history to have his number retired, and O'Neill was on hand to deliver a stirring speech and thank you to the Guelph fans. O'Neill had his whole family and former Storm Alumni in attendance to watch his #92 rise to the Sleeman Centre rafters.
O'Neill's career with the Storm is all about firsts. He is first overall in franchise career points with 329, in just 181 games played. The franchise selected him first overall in 1992. O'Neill became the first and only Storm player ever to win OHL rookie of the year. Now he is the first to have his number retired by the franchise.
Jeff went on to a stellar NHL career, amassing 496 points in 821 games. Hartford selected him fifth overall in the 1994 NHL draft, and he relocated with the franchise to Carolina in 1997, and stayed until July 30th, 2005, when he was traded to his favourite, the Toronto Maple Leafs. His best season came in the 2000-01 season with Carolina, where he scored 41 goals and 67 points.
O'Neill now plies his trade in the media world, on TSN's Leafs Lunch segment, where he has become a sports media icon for his straight to the point and honest delivery. He retired from hockey in 2008-09.