Drafted 123rd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft,[1] O'Donnell has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks.

He was a fourth-round choice, 59th overall, of the Sudbury Wolves in the 1988 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection.

[2] At one point during the Sabres' 1992–93 season, O'Donnell was set to make his NHL debut with the team due to the single-game suspension of Gord Donnelly.

However, his flight from Rochester, New York, to Hartford, Connecticut, was cancelled, and he was unable to make it to the city in time for the game against the Whalers.

Late in the season, however, he was dealt at the 2001 NHL trade deadline to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenceman Willie Mitchell.

[5] O'Donnell went on to appear in the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals with the Devils, but lost the championship to the Colorado Avalanche in seven games.

After another season with the Ducks, in which O'Donnell played in his 900th NHL game on January 18, 2008, against his former team, the Minnesota Wild, he was traded in the 2008 off-season to the Los Angeles Kings for a draft pick in 2009.