Nutmeg State Hockey Project #8: Brian Sullivan

Power forward from South Windsor scored lots of goals in the minors

Think about what you know now about hockey scouting.

Imagine your favorite team is one that usually makes the playoffs but can’t get over the hump. (I’m an Islanders fan, so imagining this doesn’t take much effort.) Imagine they have a prospect at the wing who is 6'4" and 195 pounds. He’s a point-per-game player for his college career and scores at a solid second-line clip in the minor leagues. He doesn’t shy away from physical contact, and really knows how to put the puck in the net. You would think that an NHL team would be interested in seeing what he could offer the big club, even in a lower-line role. Right?

Unfortunately, the opportunity to become a full-time NHL player never was awarded to Brian Sullivan, who fit all of these descriptions. The golden age of the New England-raised power winger was starting in the early 1990s—think John LeClair, Bill Guerin, or Keith Tkachuk—but it was apparently not Sullivan’s destiny to add his name to that list.

Why was that, exactly? It could be because the Devils were entering the best stretch in franchise history—they’d only miss the playoffs once between 1990 and 2011, winning three Stanley Cups in that time span. Guerin, Bobby Holík, and Randy McKay provided the muscle up front when the team picked up its first Cup in 1995. Though Sullivan’s numbers in the minors were good, they might not have been quite enough to earn a spot on the big club.

Putting on my scouting hat and remembering what the game was like in the early 1990s, did Sullivan drop the gloves? His penalty minute totals would indicate that he did, but his name is not seen on HockeyFights.com, which admittedly is not the most comprehensive resource for the minor leagues, and very little video exists of his games from what I can glean. If he indeed was not much of a fighter, that could have spelled doom for his chances in a lower-line role in that era, or possibly he just spent too much time in the penalty box.

Only those familiar with the Devils’ organization in that era will know for sure, because I can’t find very much information on Sullivan’s playing career—less than I can about Connecticut-raised NHL tweeners of that time period such as Matt DelGuidice, Chris Winnes, and Matt Martin. But in this article, I’ll do what I can to outline his very brief stint in the world’s best league and the years of productive hockey he played elsewhere.

Sullivan was born on April 23, 1969 in Hartford, the fifth and final Connecticut-raised player born in that decade to make his NHL debut, and raised in South Windsor. South Windsor is a nice suburb immediately northeast of Hartford. A number of Whalers lived there while playing for the team, and as such the South Windsor Youth Hockey Association had its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. Three native sons have played NHL games, tied with Darien in the southwest corner for the most of any Connecticut town (though to be fair, 98.7% of said games belong to Chris Clark).

Sullivan did grow up playing in the SWYHA, and showed promise from a young age, playing for the Hartford Jr. Whalers at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament in 1980. He made the varsity team at South Windsor High School as a freshman, joining older brothers Mike and Kevin on the squad. In three years, Sullivan put up 78 goals and 80 assists for the Bobcats, leading them to the state semifinal as a junior with an 89-point season, while also playing for the school’s tennis team in the spring. After Kevin, one year older, moved on following the 1985–86 season, Brian left the high school ranks to join the Springfield Pics, who were becoming the best youth program in that part of New England. He spent just one year in juniors, scoring 30 goals and 65 points playing alongside Guerin.

The NHL took notice of Sullivan after his strong season with the Pics, and the Devils selected him in the fourth round of the 1987 NHL Draft, 65th overall. For those who read previous Nutmeg State Hockey Project profiles, DelGuidice was chosen 12 spots later, and Winnes four rounds after that. The Sullivan family would end up having one of the greatest days of their lives on June 13, 1987 as Kevin, who had just finished his freshman year at Princeton, would be picked by the Hartford Whalers in the 11th round of said draft. After college, Kevin would spend two seasons bouncing between the International Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League before retiring.

It soon came time for Sullivan to choose a college, and he elected to ply his trade in Hockey East, moving up to Boston to attend Northeastern University. The Huskies were nearing the end of the best stretch the program would have until the last decade, and 1987–88 is a year they still talk about on Huntington Avnue. Sullivan was second on the team with 20 goals as a freshman and the team, led by All-American goaltender Bruce Racine, defeated Maine on a late goal to win their first Hockey East championship. Northeastern’s season ended with a loss in a two-game series to a little-known Merrimack team in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and they did not make it back during Sullivan’s time in college.

But Sullivan did elevate his status as a prospect in his final three years of college, playing for two coaches who had long NHL careers as players. He had his best season as a junior, with 24 goals and 45 points, then had 23 assists and 40 points as a senior. To date, his 74 goals are sixth in program history. After graduating from Northeastern in 1991 with a degree in business administration, he signed his first professional contract with the Devils.

The Devils’ American Hockey League affiliate at the time was in Utica, New York, a market the team would return to in the 2020s, and Sullivan started his pro career there. His two seasons in the Mohawk Valley were productive ones, with 23 goals and 47 points as a rookie and a strong playoff performance despite the Utica Devils getting swept out of the first round. Year two was even better, as Sullivan hit the 30-goal mark for the first time and added 27 assists and 88 penalty minutes to his season totals. In February of 1993, he would receive his one and only call-up to the big club, which lasted two games. He recorded his only NHL point on February 19th in his debut against the Buffalo Sabres with a primary assist on Alexander Semak’s second-period goal. After the Devils lost to the Quebec Nordiques on February 21st, Sullivan was returned to Utica.

The Devils took over the Albany market for the 1993–94 season and Sullivan spent that campaign with the newly-renamed River Rats. It would end up being his best year in the minors, reaching career highs with 31 goals and 30 assists. He also had his highest single-season penalty minute total with 140, a total that would have been seventh in the AHL in 2023 but was eighth on his own team in 1994. But the NHL did not come calling, and the Devils did not renew his contract after the season ended.

Sullivan did have another NHL suitor in the form of the second-year Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who signed him to a one-year contract. Leaving the Northeast for the first time in his hockey career, the big winger was assigned to the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League, and was not called up to Orange County after the half-season lockout ended. His first year in the IHL was similar statistically to his three seasons in Utica and Albany, with 24 goals and 47 points in 74 games.

Anaheim did not re-sign Sullivan when his contract expired, and he chose to ply his trade overseas in 1995–96, moving to Canazei in northern Italy to play for HC Fassa. Sullivan was the only player on his team with NHL experience, and he got to enjoy a point-per-game season in Serie A with 15 goals and 18 assists in just 29 contests.

After one year in Europe, Sullivan came back to the States, returning to the IHL with the San Antonio Dragons. The IHL had been a Triple-A league on par with the AHL for quite some time, but the NHL was starting to pull its affiliations from the league, offended that they were expanding into cities such as Chicago and Detroit and prospective NHL markets elsewhere. Beyond that, point totals were dropping across the board as the trap era began to take hold at the top level.

Though he scored more goals with the Dragons than he did two years earlier in San Diego, he’d spend the final two years of his hockey career in lower-line, veteran roles with the Grand Rapids Griffins and Houston Aeros, along with one brief stretch in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons. The independently-run Aeros finished with the best record in the IHL in 1998–99 and went on to win the Turner Cup, but Sullivan did not skate in a single playoff game that year. Whether that was due to injury or simply being left out of the lineup is a question I am unable to answer. After the season concluded, the 30-year-old chose to hang up his skates and move on to the next phase of his life.

Sullivan chose to settle in the Boston area after retirement and presently works as a financial advisor, putting his business administration degree to good use. His clients include, according to his profile on the UBS website, professional athletes. It seems like he’s been quite successful in the world of finance, and he is still involved with hockey as a volunteer youth coach.

Brian Sullivan only received one call-up to the Devils despite having solid numbers in the minor leagues and tools that NHL teams coveted then and covet now. Sometimes, that’s just how it happens. But it’s hard to argue that Sullivan didn’t get everything he wanted out of hockey. Playing the sport landed him a college education and connections in the world of professional sports that has served him well in his transition to a career in business. He got to see parts of the country and parts of the world that he might not have otherwise. Having a Hockey-Reference page is nice, but it’s merely one part of a player’s story. The greatest appeal of being a professional athlete, I imagine, is getting to live the experiences that so many people around the world wish they could do. Whatever you can accomplish beyond that is just a bonus.