Hello everyone
 
Here is the BU/Chris OSullivan article that I worte. I found his answers to
be intelligent and interesting--therefore, I used a Q and A format. I hope
you enjoy it. It is, of course, owned/copyrighted by Hockey Ink! magazine and
the author, Sandi Trudo. For information in regards to reprinting this
article, contact Hockey Ink! at 1-800-4hocky4.
<printed in Hockey Ink! Magazine, Vol 3 issue #8>
all rights and reprint rights reserved
 
Chris O'Sullivan
1995 NCAA Tournament MVP
by Sandi Trudo
 
Chris O'Sullivan, a sophomore at Boston University, was named the  NCAA
tournament MVP after
his impressive performance ( 3 goals in 2 games) helped propel the Terriers
to the 1995 college title.
O'Sullivan was solid all season, he led BU in scoring during the regular
season (39 GP, 21 G, 33 A, 54 pts.),
and developed a reputation for his impressive play making skills. His
 triumphs on the ice are tempered by
personal triumphs including recovering from a fractured neck in his freshmen
season and the loss of both
his parents while still in high school. The Dorchester, MA native has already
been drafted by the Calgary
Flames, yet he indicated that he plans to return to BU for his Junior season.
O'Sullivan, while enjoying his
awards and honors, remains grounded. This is a young man who after answering
a few questions for ESPN
on the NCAA Championships telecast, requested  that he be allowed "to go join
his teammates and
celebrate." A young man who says "there isn't a day that goes by that I don't
think about my parents."
Mature for a college sophomore and talented on the ice, Chris O'Sullivan will
prove to be a player to watch
in the future. Here is a look at what O'Sullivan had to say on a variety of
topics, from the loss of his parents
to his on-ice success.
 
ST: You played a great series, how does it feel to win the MVP award?
CO: It's a great feeling and something I'll think about in the future. But
right now, I couldn't be happier for
the seniors. Three of the last four years they've been in the final four.
Getting here has taken hard work
from the whole team.  We've been on a mission since last year's championship
when we were emabarassed
9-1.  It's a great  feeling. It is a team thing and I'm really happy for the
boys.
 
 
ST: Last year, you played defense for the Terriers and this year Coach Parker
switched you to forward.
Tell me a little bit about why you made the change and how hard it was to
make the switch.
CO: We graduated two forwards and another, Mike Pomitcher, signed early with
the Chicago Blackhawks.
We had freshmen defensemen coming in and that gave us eight defensemen. I
played left wing about ten
games my senior year in high school, and we needed someone on the left side.
So, I decided to try it out.
Coach said it was something that I could try and if it didn't work out, I'd
 move back. But from the start I
played with Steve Thornton and Mike Grier and we clicked right away, so it
worked out.  I was always an
offensive minded defenseman and coach always joked about having four forwards
out there. So, it wasn't
too much of an adjustment.
 
ST: You are only a sophomore, and already you have become a key player for
the Terriers. Does that put
pressure on you as player to produce on the ice?
CO: It's a team game and Mike's a great goal scorer, a great finisher. And I
look at myself as more of a play
maker.  We've really jelled together. Also, with Stevie Thornton, he's a
great set-up man and goal scorer
himself so it's a great combination we have--all three of us.
 
ST: If you had to narrow it down to one thing, what would you say is your
strongest skill on the ice?
CO: I think I see the ice pretty well, but I've been a goal scorer too. I had
a lot of goals in the beginning of
the year and I am kind of in a slump now. But, I always knew I was more of a
play maker than a goal scorer.
And playing with a guy like Mike, he's a goal scorer and I like to feed it to
him, especially since he's been
hot all year. It's easy to just give him the puck. We've been together all
year long, right from the beginning
we jelled, we clicked right away.  I've been here a while and I've never seen
a line stay together so long
and it definitely has to do with us clicking right away and scoring goals.
 
ST: This is your second finals in two years. It must be exciting to make it
this far both years?
CO: Yes, it is. I don't know what it's like to not get to the final four. Its
a great experience but we have to
look at it as we're not going to be satisfied with anything less than winning
the national championship. After
what happened last year against Lake State, they were a hot team and we
didn't come ready to play. We
didn't give a full effort for 60 minutes, it's something we learned a lot
from.
 
ST: Last year you met Lake Superior State in the finals, and lost 9-1. What
happened in that game and did it
give the team a mental boost to beat the Lakers this year to advance to the
final four?
CO: It definitely  was a monkey off our backs. We had to beat Lake State to
advance to the championships
and it was a huge  win for us, especially because they were 15-1-1 in the
last 17 games coming into the
playoffs. They were  one of the hottest teams in the country. It was a big
 step for us and we played  well
the whole 60 minutes. So it was a great confidence booster for us.
 
ST: What is the difference in the team this year that put you over the top,
compared to the team you had last
year that enabled BU to win the championship?
CO: We have eight seniors on our team and it's definitely the leadership and
experience they bring to the
team. We also have a great group of sophomores and juniors and freshmen too.
We have Chris Kelleher,
Chris Drury and those guys are stepping up as freshmen and they took on big
roles. I think we definitely
have more leadership on the team than we did last year and that made the
difference.
 
ST: With so many talented sophomores and freshmen on the team this year, you
must be looking forward to
a successful season next year? Will you be returning next year?
CO: Definitely. Look at Mike Grier, he didn't get a lot of ice time last year
as a freshmen. and this year he
got 50 points. It's that hard work like that during the off-season  that
really...there  were a few suprises in the
way people performed this year...yes, I am looking forward to playing at BU
as a junior next year.
 
ST: You fractured your neck in  your freshmen year.  Tell me about the injury
and how you made your
comeback.
CO: It was at Providence college, it was in January. I went head first into
the boards and I ended up
fracturing my C-6 vertebrae. I sat down  for a couple of minutes, after I was
helped off the ice by the
trainer. At first, we thought it was just muscle  spasms. When I got into the
locker room, I put a brace on.
Two days  later I got the X-rays and they found out there was a crack. It was
disappointing for me, but it
was something that I learned a lot  from. I learned to appreciate the game
and that I have to do well in
school also. I think  it made me a better person actually because it  was
something really tough to deal with. I
was out eight months, I had the surgery in February and couldn't skate until
May. They took a bone graft
from my hip and fused it to my spine. It wasn't my favorite time. It took a
lot of hard work to come back, but
playing for BU was something I had wanted to do since I was little, so it
wasn't too hard to get up in the
morning and work hard at getting better.
 
ST: Why did you choose the college route over playing major Juniors?
CO: I always looked up to the guys that played at BU, I grew up watching the
Beanpot and Hockey East
Championships...and it was a dream come true to win the national
championship. I wanted to get an
education, plus in college hockey, you learn a lot about the game. There's
more practices then games.
Coach  Parker is a great coach, and the players he has produced here factored
into my decision also.
 
ST: I hate to bring up an unhappy subject, but how has losing your parents as
a teenager affected you as a
hockey player?
CO: I was 15 when I lost my mom and dad. There are 11 of us ... we were an
athletic family. My older
brother played for North Eastern, and I have two  sisters that play. One
plays ice hockey and the other
plays field hockey at providence college. We have an athletic family, we grew
up playing three or four
different sports. Hockey is something I can use as an escape, it is something
I can put a lot of time into and it
has helped me deal with the loss of my parents. I know, if they were here
they'd want to see me out there
having fun. I wish they could be around to see all this...I think about them
a lot. There's not a day that goes
by that I don't think about them. I know they'd be proud of me.
 
And in more ways than one, no doubt. Chris is not only an outstanding athlete
but an outstanding person as
well.