Jeff O'Neill

He retired from hockey after a September 2008 tryout with the Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he had previously played.\n', '

O\'Neill grew up in the community of King City, north of Toronto, playing minor hockey for the King City Kings MHA as a youth. He grew up with two older brothers, Don and Ryan, both of whom played hockey.[citation needed] O\'Neill played in the 1990 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Richmond Hill-Vaughan Kings minor ice hockey team from the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. As a 14-year-old, he played at the Midget level with his brother Ryan — almost three years younger than some of his peers.[citation needed] At 15, O\'Neill signed with the Thornhill Thunderbirds Jr. A club (OHA), whose coach Scott McLennan stated he had the skills to make it to the Ontario Hockey League. O’Neill’s number was later retired by the Thunderbirds in 2004. He fi…