The No. 39 and name O’Toole are synonymous with lacrosse royalty in-between the pipes.
For 16 seasons, Pat O’Toole was considered by many to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the National Lacrosse League. Playing for the original Rochester Knighthawks from 1999-2010, O’Toole won 102 games in the Flower City, then went on to pick up nine more wins in the postseason, including one that brought a championship back to Rochester in 2007.
O’Toole celebrated that win with his teammates, including Mike Hasen. The two remain teammates today, though this time with suits on instead of jerseys. Hasen is the head coach of the current Knighthawks and O’Toole is an assistant coach.
It’s been nearly 15 years since a Knighthawks game featured an O’Toole jersey on the floor, but that could change Friday night in Vancouver. It could happen with Connor O’Toole, Vancouver Warriors’ goaltender, Hasen’s nephew, and Pat O’Toole’s son.
“I’ve always looked back fondly on going to ‘Hawks games as a kid,” said the younger of the two O’Toole’s. “Seeing my dad playing and seeing my uncle; I was always around them. I just remember being proud that that was my dad. I bragged about it all the time.”
“It would be pretty surreal to see him out there,” said Hasen, Connor’s uncle. “I literally met him day one of his life. He shares my birthday as well. He stole my birthday and made it is. I hope we do see him out there.”
O’Toole enters the season as a 21-year-old and former first-round draft choice from a year ago. He’s become an adult, but his path to lacrosse was set as early as it was able to be.
“He was only a couple days old when he got to his first lacrosse rink,” said Pat. “We had a mini stick in his hands as soon as we could, and he was always hanging out at the rink. It’s been great watching him grow up.”
And as Pat watched Connor, Connor watched pat. The two could share a look with each other as Connor would watch his father from the stands during warm-ups and games.
“Family is a huge part of my life,” said Pat. “I can remember on one hand how many games Connor missed and I’ve tried to do the same for him as I’ve coached him.”
The father-son dynamic continued through much of Connor’s life up until he got to college at Brock University. Ahead of that, Pat had always been on the coaching staffs of his son’s teams.
“There’s some things that kind of suck about having your dad as your coach. One of the memories I have is going home from games after a bad game. I was not looking forward to that long car ride. But in the same breath, going home after a good game was very rewarding. But one thing that my dad has always been preaching to me that I’ve very much taken to heart is that you, as a goalie, are the last line of defense and people play hard for you the entire game. So, you have to play hard for them when they make their mistakes.”
The second-generation O’Toole carried that lesson into college, where he achieved multiple academic honors at Brock while in his final season guiding the team to a 9-4 record. In 2023-24, O’Toole guided his junior team to a 22-7 record. The path to playing professional was laid out in legacy, but Connor made sure to follow every direction he could to get to the end of that path.
“I remember watching him on the floor and seeing some of the videos and stuff like that you’d see him get into,” said Pat. “He was always at the rink with me, and you kind of take it for granted. And then when he was playing lacrosse, when I was coaching him and he came up to me one time and he asks if he can do his stretches? So, I said sure, and he went out and it was the exact replica of what Matt Vinc did, and it was crazy. And then at that point in time, you realize that he’s a student of the game and he watches and he’s just not there, you know, running around the rink. He was always one of the better moving goalies tracking the ball. I did very little teaching for him because he was always at the rinks, and he learned on his own. It was a dream of his to play pro and for him to strive for it and reach this point, that’s pretty amazing.”
While Pat puts all the credit to his son, the opposite can be said from Connor.
“I think my dad’s been very instrumental to my lacrosse career. I started just wanting to be like him and I just wanted to be the goalie. And as I grew up, I realized I was pretty alright at goalie, and I might have a chance to go professional just like dad. I think he’s been the biggest motivator for me throughout my entire life. But not only is he motivating, but he’s also very supportive. He’s giving me my praises when I do well. I’m very grateful to him, and I don’t think I’d be where I am without him.”
And now, there could come a chance where the O’Toole’s face-off and Connor gets to stare down his Uncle Mike in Vancouver. What will happen then?
“I’m not going to lie, it would be pretty cool and emotional to see him out there,” said Connor’s dad. Every step of his journey has been cool to watch. If he makes the first save, I might give a little bit of a fist bump, but after that we’d have to fill the net on him.”
“He’s not little Connor anymore,” said Hasen. “He’s as legit as it gets. His game has developed, and I really hope we get to see him out there. Whenever it happens, I know he’s going to find his way in this league.”
“We’ve always been a competitive family,” said Connor. “Obviously if it happens this weekend, it will probably be a moment I will never forget, but it’s all business from there. I wouldn’t mind having some bragging rights when the family gets together for the holidays here in a couple weeks.”
The Knighthawks will attempt to pull the seniority card on Connor Friday night, this way it can be dad and Uncle Mike that get the last laugh over leftovers.
