OHL Alumni Central

At a time when most would have thought that the North Americans would have abandoned hockey in the far east after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011, an Ontario Hockey League grad is running away with the scoring title. Tied, in the assist category at least, is a teammate and yet another OHL alumnus.

Michael Swift sits 20 point higher than the next challenger with an astounding 71 points in 29 games. His 34 goals to date have matched his output from 2006-07 when he scored the same as captain of the Mississauga IceDogs. Swift’s 37 assists are tops in the league, as well, tied with teammate Bryan Young, a Peterborough Petes grad.

Michael played in the Ontario Hockey League for five years from 2003-04 to 2007-08. His first four years were with the Mississauga IceDogs and for his final season, he moved with the franchise to Niagara. Swift was team captain in his final two seasons. His 100 points in 2007-08 with the Niagara IceDogs was good for a seventh place tie with Jack Combs of the Saginaw Spirit. The performance earned him the Leo Lalonde Trophy as the OHL’s top overage player.

Swift went undrafted but spent three years in the New Jersey Devils system with their AHL affiliate. This is his first year in the Asia League with High1. The team is currently tied for fourth in the seven team league. High1 is based in Seoul, Korea. The team’s home rink is the Goyang Sport Complex Arena which seats 3,000 for hockey.

Bryan Young is in his second year on the point for High1. Young played for the Peterborough Petes for three full seasons from 2003-04 to 2005-06. He was a fifth round pick of the Edmonton Oilers at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 146th overall. Bryan managed to get into 17 NHL games during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. For the most part, Young spent between 2006-07 and 2009-10 in the AHL and ECHL.

 

It looks like the Asia League of Hockey will return to action for the 2011-12 season. The playoff championship for the league that has teams in Japan, South Korea and China was suspended due to the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami that rocked the region earlier this year. The Tohoku Free Blades were set to playoff against the Anyang Halla in the finals when the earthquake happened quite near Tohoku. The playoffs were suspended and eventually, both teams were determined as co-champions of the 2010-11 season.

High1 finished fifth in the seven team league in 2010-11. The team has gone out and acquired an Ontario Hockey League grad that should put a ton of pucks in the net for the them. Michael Swift spent the past season in the American Hockey League, starting with the Albany Devils and moving to the Worcester Sharks at the trade deadline.

Swift played five season in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2007-08 with the Mississauga and Niagara IceDogs. Swift was the last ever team captain of the Mississauga IceDogs and the first ever of the Niagara IceDogs. In his final season with Niagara, he finished tied for seventh in league scoring with exactly 100 points. He earned the Leo Lalonde Trophy as the OHL’s top overage player. Swift is proof that low draft picks still have a chance. Michael was taken in the 10th round of the 2003 OHL Priority Draft, 186th overall.

Undrafted, Swift was scooped up by the New Jersey Devils organization and has been with their AHL affiliate since 2008-09. Michael led the Lowell Devils in goals with 24 in 2009-10 and his combined points total between the Albany Devils and the Worcester Sharks wsa good for fourth on the AHL affiliate of San Jose.

The ALH also attracts a handful of Ontario Hockey League grads each season. So far, just Swift, Ric Jackman and Bryan Young are signed up for the upcoming season.

What should have been the pinnacle of the Asia League Hockey’s 2010-11 season, turned into an escape from disaster. The Tohoku Free Blades were to meet Anyang Halla in the league finals when the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan. Tohoku is right in the impact zone and the players experienced the phenomenon first hand, though all escaped safely.

The finals were to feature two Ontario Hockey League alumni going head to head. Dustin Wood plays for the South Korean Anyang Halla and Cole Jarrett plays for the Free Blades. The two teams have been declared co-champions as obvious more important matters are at hand in Japan.

Dustin Wood played four seasons in the OHL from 1998-99 to 2001-02, all with the Peterborough Petes. In his final season with Peterborough, Wood was the team captain.

After four years of jumping around in the North American pro leagues, Dustin made the jump to Europe for the 2007-08 season. Wood played two seasons in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) before switching to the Asia League for the 2009-10 season. Anyang Halla was Asia League champion in his first year and were co-champions this year after the rest of the playoffs were called off.

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Cole Jarrett played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 1999-00 to 2002-03, all with the Plymouth Whalers. Jarrett was a fifth round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, 141st overall. His only NHL game came during the 2005-06 season with the New York Islanders.

From 2006-07 to 2009-10, Jarrett toured Europe playing for teams in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Austria. He joined the Free Blades this season and led the league’s defensemen in goals (18) and points (51).

Check out this article from Pro Hockey News for more information on how the Disaster affected the players in the ALH.

Bryan Young played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06 (2002-03 consisted of just two games), all with the Peterborough Petes. Bryan is now off to Japan to play in the Asia League with High1 Sports.

Young was part of the 2005-06 Peterborough Petes team that won the Robertson Cup as Ontario Hockey League playoff champion with a series win over the defending champions, London Knights. The team was unsuccessful at their attempt to win the Memorial Cup tournament.

Bryan was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the fifth round of the 2004 NHL Draft, 146th overall. Young played 15 games with the Oilers in his first season of professional hockey. The rest of that first season was split between the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL and the Stockton Thunder of the East Coast Hockey League.

Young would go on to play just two more NHL games, both with the Edmonton Oilers in 2007-08. The rest of his time has been spent mixed between the Springfield Falcons of the AHL and the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL.

This upcoming season, 2010-11 marks a drastic change for Bryan as he heads to Japan to play in the Asia League. The Asia League is home to an increasing number of North American players.

Check out Bryan Young’s profile page on the High1 official website.

Bryan Young is on The Big List.

Hockey – It’s popular everywhere. Ontario Hockey League grad Richard Rochefort is one of a handful of Canadians that is bringing credibility to the Asia League Ice Hockey.

Rochefort played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1994-95 to 1996-97. His first two seasons were played with the Sudbury Wolves and his final season was split between the Wolves and the Sarnia Sting. Richard was a steady 20+ goal scorer in each of his three seasons and had seasons of 65, 65 and 70 points.

Rochefort was drafted in the seventh round of the 1995 NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils, 174th overall. He spent five seasons, from 1997-98 to 2001-02, with the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League.

Starting in 2002-03, Richard became a world traveller, toting his hockey equipment from country to country. He has played in Finland, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Germany and Japan. This past season, Rochefort played in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) with the Augsburg Panthers.

This upcoming season, 2010-11, Richard returns the ALIH with the Nikko Icebucks. The Icebucks have been less than marvelous over the past few seasons. They’re counting on Rochefort to help them into a top four position in the seven team league in order to move on to the post season.

Richard played previously in the ALIH for two seasons, 2007-08 and 2008-09. Both seasons were played with the Seibu Prince Rabbits which played out of Tokyo. The team is now defunct.

The ALIH official website is in English and can be found here.

The Nikko Icebucks website is only in Japanese and is not quite ready to go the for new season. The site can be found here.

Check out this previous post on the Asia League Ice Hockey.