Claimed: Thomas O'Malley - Hall of Fame Article [1/2]

[Advantage 2,899]

 

C - Thomas O'Malley
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs
Jersey Number: 14
Drafted: 1st OA, Cologne (S40)
Username: @Green

 

For quite some time, Scotty Campbell has been mentioned as the greatest player in league history with little challenge.  Little did we know in Season 40, but there was a player being drafted who was about to have a career good enough that we can honestly say he may have been better than Scotty Campbell.  Given that Thomas O'Malley didn't play in an era littered with so many horribly developed players, as Campbell did, it is quite tremendous how successful he would become.  After a long and absolutely breathtaking career, Thomas O'Malley would finish up a four-time League Champion, three-time League MVP, four-time Most Outstanding Player, four-time Scoring Champion and even a Playoff MVP.  While we could spend days debating if he is indeed the greatest of all-time, two things are for certain: First, he is definitely the greatest of his generation.  And second, he is most definitely a first-ballot Hall of Fame talent.  

 

Career Awards:

S40 Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy - Top Rookie
S41 Mikka Virkkunen Trophy - Most Sportsmanlike
S42 Continental Cup - VHL Championship (COL)
S42 Terence Fong Trophy - EU Conference Champions (COL)
S43 Terence Fong Trophy - EU Conference Champions (COL)
S43 Brett Slobodzian Trophy - Most Outstanding Player
S43 Mike Szatkowski Trophy - Most Points
S43 Kevin Brooks Trophy - Most Goals
S44 Terence Fong Trophy - EU Conference Champions (COL)
S44 Scotty Campbell Trophy - League MVP
S44 Brett Slobodzian Trophy - Most Outstanding Player
S44 Mike Szatkowski Trophy - Most Points
S44 Kevin Brooks Trophy - Most Goals
S44 Alexander Beketov Trophy - Most Assists
S45 Continental Cup - VHL Championship (HSK)
S45 Terence Fong Trophy - EU Conference Champions (HSK)
S45 Victory Cup - Best Regular Season Record (HSK)
S45 Scotty Campbell Trophy - League MVP
S45 Brett Slobodzian Trophy - Most Outstanding Player
S45 Daisuke Kanou Trophy - Playoff MVP
S45 Mike Szatkowski Trophy - Most Points
S46 Continental Cup - VHL Championship (HSK)
S46 Terence Fong Trophy - EU Conference Champions (HSK)
S46 Victory Cup - Best Regular Season Record (HSK)
S46 Scotty Campbell Trophy - League MVP
S46 Brett Slobodzian Trophy - Most Outstanding Player
S46 Mike Szatkowski Trophy - Most Points
S47 Continental Cup - VHL Championship (NYA)
S47 Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy - NA Conference Champions (NYA)
S47 Victory Cup - Best Regular Season Record (NYA)

 

Season 40 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S40(COL) 72GP | 38G - 72A - 110P | +71 | 6 GWG | 58.0FO%

Playoffs:
S40(COL)  4GP | 1G -  0A -  1P | -2 | 0GWG | 40.0FO%

 

Thomas O'Malley entered the Victory Hockey League with quite a lot of expectation, along with fellow Cologne rookie, Mason Richardson.  O'Malley was joining a pretty strong Cologne team led by veterans Wesley Kellinger, Karsten Olsen and Logan Laich.  The Express had a strong season and O'Malley and Richardson both dominated rookie performances with O'Malley recording 110 points and Richardson having a strong 98 point season to go along with 124 hits and 137 blocked shots.  In a very tight vote, Thomas O'Malley pulled out the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy with his tremendous rookie season setting the tone for the rest of his career.  While the Express were a strong club, O'Malley and company did not pull their weight in the playoffs losing quickly to the Riga Reign after receiving a bye to the European Conference finals.  Nevertheless, with his offensive performance standing out as much as it did, Thomas O'Malley was already well on his way to a Hall of Fame career already.

 

Season 41 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S41(COL) 72GP | 39G - 52A -  91P | +43 | 7GWG | 61.8FO%

Playoffs:
S41(COL)  5GP | 3G -  3A -  6P | 0 | 0GWG | 63.0FO%

The Cologne Express took a step back in Season 41 with the loss of Kellinger and Olsen, and O'Malley and Richardson simply could not keep their paces up from their rookie campaigns.  While O'Malley's ninety-one point season was hardly anything to be ashamed about, the sophomore was disappointed about regressing statistically along with the rest of his team.  However, with a prime opportunity to still do damage in the playoffs, there was hope in Cologne that they could get revenge for last year and catch fire at just the right time.  This time the Express did not have the bye and had to beat the Helsinki Titans in the first round, in order to get their chance to get revenge against the Reign.  However, the team never caught fire and instead perished in just five games to the Titans who were led by both Naomi Young and Jake Wylde.  There were some improvements for O'Malley though, as he showed he still could contribute at an elite level offensively despite being the main catalyst and not having veterans like Kellinger helping him along.  Additionally, he also showed improve play on faceoffs as he climbed almost four whole points.  

 

Season 42 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S42(COL) 72GP | 40G - 38A -  78P |  -4 | 10GWG | 62.9FO%

Playoffs:
S42(COL) 16GP | 8G - 10A - 18P | +9 | 1GWG | 64.5FO%

The steady decline would continue for O'Malley as he would have easily the worst regular season of his career in Season 42.  The Express themselves would finish at a sub-par 38-27-7 record which most certainly put them in a rather difficult position to do much damage in the playoffs.  O'Malley finished second on the team in scoring with just seventy-eight points and while he continued to stay fairly disciplined, Thomas was clearly getting frustrated even getting into a fight late in the season in the third period of a loss.  O'Malley knew that if he and the Express couldn't correct things soon, they may very well be in a difficult position to make up for their previous playoff failures and knock out both the Vikings and Titans.  However, once game one started between the Vikings and Express in their opening round matchup, it was clear that the Green Machine came to play, as did Thomas O'Malley.  The Express dismantled the Vikings in four and won a tight series win against the Titans in seven, to advance to the VHL Finals for the first time.  The team was mainly being led by Martin Brookside but O'Malley, Robin Gow and Mason Richardson all were performing at an incredibly high level too, which made them a very dangerous matchup for the Quebec City Meute.  At the end of the day, the Express were too much to handle, catching fire at the right time, beating the Meute in just five games.  What a dominant playoff performance after such a sub-par season, and perhaps this playoff run was exactly what O'Malley needed to take the next step and stop the decline statistically.

 

Season 43 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S43(COL) 72GP | 53G - 78A - 131P | +55 | 11GWG | 64.4FO%

Playoffs:
S43(COL) 18GP | 9G -  8A - 17P |  0 | 3GWG | 56.2FO%

This was the year that Thomas O'Malley became a bonafide superstar.  Up to this point, O'Malley had a solid start to his career with well over 1.0 points per game.  However, he had been declining up until Season 43, when things would change in a big way for the young American center.  The Express made a big move in the off-season trading for Xin Xie Xiao who had just one season left in his career.  Xiao would solidify the top line alongside O'Malley, bringing an intimidating brand of hockey revolving around his blistering shot and ruthless brand of physical hockey.  O'Malley thrived with the new found room and went off for a league best 53 goals and 131 points.  Xiao finished just behind him with 124 points and 292 hits, and Cologne would finish with a 56-13-3 record, despite the fact that they moved Mason Richardson that off-season in a deal to acquire Bismarck Koenig.  The Express entered the playoffs as favourites to repeat and breezed through both the Dynamo and Vikings, on route to the VHL Finals and a date with the Seattle Bears.  In shocking fashion, the Bears who were generally considered underdogs in every series that year, pulled out a seven game upset after coming back from a three-to-one deficit.  While it was a difficult end to the year for O'Malley, he had a lot to be proud of.  He had easily the best season of any player in the league, and while he did not win MVP, he was able to capure the Most Outstanding Player Trophy and led the league in both goals and points.  This was the first step in what would be a long string of legendary seasons that O'Malley would put together.

 

Season 44 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S44(COL) 72GP | 59G - 76A - 135P | +56 | 10GWG | 63.7FO%

Playoffs:
S44(COL) 13GP | 4G - 12A - 16P | -5 | 2GWG | 55.5FO%

It would be hard to top what Thomas O'Malley did in Season 43, but did he ever do it.  O'Malley, coming off one the best seasons in the modern generation, came back ready to improve those numbers and did so with a 135 point campaign, leading the Express to a 52-16-4 record.  The Express received a lot of offense from their top three contributors: O'Malley, Koenig and Klose.  However, many of their losses did come due to their average goaltending and a defense that did not have the depth that some of the other top teams had.  What those teams did not have though was Thomas O'Malley who led all VHL players in goals, assists and points during the regular season.  A rare enough feat, it was not the only hardware O'Malley would receive that season.  First, was the playoffs though with the Express entering as the favourites to head to the finals representing the European Conference.  After receiving the bye into the EU Conference Finals, the Express won a tight seven games series against the Vikings moving on to face the Wranglers who were led by a goalie who may be the greatest of all-time at his position, Hans Wingate.  In a tough series where O'Malley gave everything he had, he was unable to lead the Express past the Wranglers who had the edge in the net and two players in Cote and Miller who combined for fifty-eight points in the playoffs.  While it was another disappointing end to the season (and perhaps O'Malley had started to become use to it) he once again had the Awards Ceremony to look forward to.  Thomas would sweep the board winning League MVP and Most Outstanding Player to go along with the trophies he would receive for leading the league in goals, assists and points.  At this point, people started taking notice of a career that may be talked about more significantly than the average Hall of Famer.  At this point, O'Malley had played five seasons and had three 100+ point campaigns, a season where he topped 90 and another where he finished with 78 but then played a huge role in a Continental Cup victory.  At this point, there was talk that with three more strong seasons, O'Malley may just be in the conversation for the greatest of all-time, or at least of his generation.

 

Season 45 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S45(HSK) 72GP | 50G - 72A - 122P | +55 | 9GWG | 65.5FO%

Playoffs:
S45(HSK) 12GP | 8G - 12A - 20P | +6 | 1GWG | 56.1FO%

 

Lets just add a fourth 100+ point season to the record books for Thomas O'Malley.  The center would continue his strong play...but for a new team!  That off-season, O'Malley was traded from Cologne to Helsinki (along with Klose) in a deal for three first round picks.  The Express had decided with a couple tough playoff finishes in a row, that perhaps it was time to move on and sell assets while they still held the value that they commanded.  Helsinki instantly became cup favourites adding these two stars to a team that already boasted Aleksi Koponen, Brady Stropko and Greg Clegane.  The Titans would finish with a strong 52-15-5 record to comfortably finish first in the league and take home the Victory Cup for best regular season record.  O'Malley and Klose's chemistry showed with the two leading the way offensively for Helsinki.  Klose had a very solid 97 point season but it was O'Malley who easily led everyone on the Titans offensively, with a downright dominant 122 points.  Once again, it sounds like a broken record, but O'Malley would lead the league in points and was just barely behind in the goals and assists department as well.  The Titans earned their bye and used the rest to prepare for their eventual matchup, and did it ever pay off.  Led by O'Malley, the Helsinki Titans defeated the Dynamo in just five games before taking on a Wranglers team that boasted some familiar faces in Koenig and Wingate.  This time, O'Malley would get the last laugh against Hans with a dominant finals showing, finishing well above everyone else on the Titans offensively with twenty points and eight goals in just twelve games.  O'Malley won his second Continental Cup and his first Playoff MVP to go along with League MVP, Most Outstanding Player and the trophy he earned for leading the league in points.  At this point, with two seasons left, O'Malley was approaching 700 points and there was a pretty strong belief that he should hit 900 which is nearly uncharted territory for anyone in the modern area of the Victory Hockey League.  That, along with his award cabinet that already stretched about triple what most Hall of Fame players had, made him a pretty special and unique player thus far.  

 

Season 46 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S46(HSK) 72GP | 57G - 72A - 129P | +65 | 9GWG | 66.4FO%

Playoffs:
S46(HSK) 10GP | 5G -  6A - 11P | +1 | 2GWG | 63.6FO%

The Titans would get some help in Season 46 adding Jackson Miller mid-season and seeing some of their players like Phil Hamilton take a huge step forward in development.  Meanwhile, it was status quo for O'Malley who continued to dominate, and do so in a fashion that made him stand out easily.  O'Malley would lead the league in points for the fourth consecutive season with 129 in the 72 game campaign.  In addition, he had become the league's best draw taker finishing just under 67% in the dot.  O'Malley finished the season just four points short of the 800 mark which was going to make that last season pretty interesting.  As for Season 46, O'Malley finished with thirty-six more points than anyone else on the Titans making him a pretty clear MVP candidate.  The Titans finished the season with another fantastic record, bringing home their second straight Victory Cup with a 54-12-6 record.  It had been more than two decades since a team had defended their Continental Cup victory successfully, but the Titans were looking to do that after ripping through the Dynamo in just five games.  The Titans took aim at the Wranglers for a second straight season and trampled them in five as well for a second straight Continental Cup.  O'Malley maybe didn't match expectations offensively but he still had a solid playoff run, finishing over a point per game and with a fantastic faceoff percentage.  The expectations perhaps are set sometimes too high with how incredible he is during the regular season, but that shouldn't take away from another solid playoff run.  O'Malley would finish with his third consecutive MVP Trophy and fourth consecutive Most Outstanding Player Trophy to go along with leading the league in points for the fourth straight year.  He became the first player to win the scoring title four straight times and now has won it more than anyone that is not named Scotty Campbell, doing so in a much more competitive era.  In addition, he tied both Campbell and Grimm Jonsson for the most MVP wins of all-time, with both winning on three separate occasions.

 

Season 47 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S47(NYA) 72GP | 45G - 72A - 117P | +59 [ 8GWG | 67.7FO%

Playoffs:
S47(NYA) 12GP | 5G -  5A - 10P | -5 | 1GWG | 62.5FO%

Thomas O'Malley's final season would bring one more destination switch in his storied career.  O'Malley entered Free Agency before his final season in order to find a team that could help him win a third consecutive Continental Cup.  Thomas decided on New York who already boasted top names like Edwin Reencarnacion, Lloyd Light, Jorma Ruutu and Blake Campbell.  With just 104 points needed to hit the illustrious 900, O'Malley would not leave it to chance dominating early and often finishing with 117 points and solidifying him in a very small group of players to accomplish the feat.  He also finished with one of the best faceoff percentages of all-time, narrowly missing out on hitting 68% on draws.  The Americans finished 57-10-5 and won the Victory Cup for best regular season record.  This was the third straight season that O'Malley's team had finished with the league's best regular season record.  Speaking of doing things for the third straight time, the Americans squeaked out a win against the Calgary Wranglers in seven, before dismantling the Stockholm Vikings in five.  O'Malley didn't have his best playoff run and finished fourth on the team in scoring that playoffs, but it was still a fitting way for O'Malley to finish his career.  His final season saw no individual awards won by O'Malley, as he passed off the torch to other players who had become frustrated with not being able to best him in previous seasons.  However, O'Malley would win his third straight Continental Cup and the fourth of his career, adding to an already storied career with strong playoff accomplishments and some of the greatest regular season accomplishments in league history.

 

Career Totals:

Regular Season:
576 GP | 381 G - 532 A - 913 P | +400 | 70 GWG 

Playoffs:
90 GP | 43 G - 56 A - 99 P | +4 | 10 GWG

 

How do you even sum up Thomas O'Malley's career? He retired with the fourth most points in VHL history, finishing just one back of Kevin Brooks for third on the list.  What is especially impressive is that he has the most points of any player created since the first decade completed.  Given that the three player's above him (Campbell, Szatkowski and Brooks) all played against much worse talent, some could argue that O'Malley's accomplishments outweigh everyone else's.  In addition to his regular season success, O'Malley finished third all-time in playoff points.  While he did play a significant number of games, his ninety-nine points and dominant faceoff taking played a huge role on four different Continental Cup winning teams.  He finished his career with perhaps the most impressive trophy case ever, even including Scotty Campbell.  Thomas O'Malley may very well be the greatest VHL player of all-time.  He is most certainly the greatest VHL player that wasn't created in the original VHL draft back in Season 1.  That alone is an unbelievable accomplishment and one that this lengthy and detailed Hall of Fame article can't even describe properly.  His career numbers may not be touched by any modern player for quite some time and his trophy case alone will live on as Thomas O'Malley enters the VHL Hall of Fame.

[BOOM 8,818]

Who?

[BOOM 8,818]

Great career again. Congratulations Ivo.

[NotAVHLM-GM 1,858]

1 hour ago, BOOM said:

Who?

 

You asked for it.

 

 

[BOOM 8,818]

You pussy.

[DollarAndADream 3,357]

Review:

This is a player I was around for. It's awesome how much success O'Malley had in his career. Whenever I think of O'Malley, it's always with the Express, even though he played for another couple of teams. I'm sad I never got to share "ice" with him, but I did witness it all. T.O. was a legend.