Kavanagh was drafted in the 2nd round, 50th overall, by the
Philadelphia Flyers in the
1997 NHL entry draft. On January 31, 2007, Kavanagh signed with the
HV71 of the
Elitserien for the rest of the 2006–07 season after having played the early part of the season for
SaiPa of the
SM-liiga and two games with the
Portland Pirates of the
AHL. Kavanagh played for the
Iserlohn Roosters in 2007–08 and after a good season he moved on to the
Frankfurt Lions. He spent only a season there before moving to
ERC Ingolstadt. In the
2010–11 season, Kavanagh returned to sign a one-year contract with Iserlohn on July 9, 2010. On June 21, 2011, Kavanagh switched European leagues, signing a one-year contract with the Vienna Capitals of the EBEL. ==Career statistics==