Patrick William Flatley (born October 3, 1963) is a Canadian former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward who played in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

for 14 seasons between 1983 and 1997 for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

and

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

Playing career

Flatley was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1976

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

with the Toronto Shopsy's

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team. He attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

at Madison, where he played for the

Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey The Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The team plays at the Kohl Center and is currently coached by Mike Hastings (ice hockey), Mik ...

team for two seasons, helping the team capture the 1983 NCAA Men's ice hockey championship, and was himself named a tournament all-star, a WCHA first team all-star, and a 1983

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Flatley was drafted 21st overall by the

in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft, and scored on his first NHL shot on goal, against

Doug Soetaert Douglas Henry Soetaert (born April 21, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was selected by the New York Rangers in the second round (30th overall) of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 12 seasons in the National H ...

of the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

. Playing for the Canadian National Team in 1983–84, he scored 34 goals in 54 games. Rejoining the Islanders for the 1984-85 season, he was put on a line with

Brent Sutter Brent Colin Sutter (born June 10, 1962) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player and former head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. Selected by the New York Islanders 17th overall at the 1980 NHL entry draft, Sut ...

and

Clark Gillies Clark Gillies (April 7, 1954 – January 21, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League between 1974 and 1988. Gillies served as captain of the Island ...

, and scored 9 goals through the first three rounds of the playoffs, becoming a big contributor in the Islanders' drive for their fifth consecutive

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

. However, the Islanders lost in the finals to the

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

-led

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. Although he never emerged as a top scorer, Flatley did become a highly effective role player, adding smart positional play, strong defense, and grit to the Islanders teams in the late 1980s and 1990s. Flatley was sometimes referred to as "the chairman of the boards" because he rarely failed to dig the puck out in battles in the corners. In 1991 he was named the Islanders' fifth captain. Prior to the 1996-97 season, Flatley signed a one-year deal with the New York Rangers. He played 780 career NHL games, scoring 170 goals and 340 assists for 510 points. His best offensive season, points-wise, was the 1992–93 season when he scored 47 assists and 60 points.

Collegiate career

Flatley was a member of the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship team of 1983, and national finalist of 1982.

Awards and honours

Jan 15, 2012 Flatley was the 12th player inducted into the New York Islanders Hall of Fame. He was also named to the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Personal

His niece, Shannon Flatley competes for the

Brown Bears women's ice hockey The Brown Bears women’s ice hockey program is an NCAA Division I College ice hockey, ice hockey team that represents Brown University. The Bears play at the Meehan Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown women's hockey is the oldest wome ...

program.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flatley, Patrick 1963 births Living people Canadian ice hockey forwards Ice hockey people from Toronto Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for Canada NHL first-round draft picks New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players New York Rangers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Springfield Indians players Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans 20th-century Canadian sportsmen