OHL Alumni Central

Is Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League just using Ontario Hockey League grads for their fists? The EIHL typically has more than a few OHL alumni among the top ten scorers in the league. This year, there are just two in the top 20 with approximately 10 games to go in the regular season. These two, Mike Ramsay and Corey Neilson, fall in the 16th and 20th position. Ramsay, a player who was used sparingly by the Peterborough Petes over two partial seasons and Neilson, a 35 year old defenseman who last played for the Barrie Colts in 1997.

Yet, when it comes to time spent in the box, seven the OHL can lay claim to seven of the top 20, including three of the top five. Derek Campbell is the highest, sitting in second place with 209 PIM in just 44 games, a 4.75 PIM/GM pace. However, he doesn’t hold a candle to league leader Chris Frank of the Cardif Devils who has 286 PIM in 42 games – a 6.81 PIM per game pace!

It’s not that the British Isles are developing better talent. Just three of the top 20 point getters are from Great Britain and one includes Corey Neilson. Neilson is Canadian born but has since gotten his UK citizenship. For the most part, it’s just the way it goes in European hockey. It’s a transient hockey world and by next year at this time, OHL boys could be clogging the scoring race.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the players involved:

Top Scorers:

Mike Ramsay is tied for 16th wit 47 points in just 33 games, not bad for a guy who totaled just 5 goals with the Petes. Ramsay played with Peterborough for parts of the 2001-02 and 2002-03 season. He moved on to the QMJHL where he achieved greater success. This is Mike’s first year with the Sheffield Steelers of the EIHL.

Corey Neilson is in his sixth year with the Nottingham Panthers and truly leads by example. Neilson has also been the coach of the team for the past four years. The defenseman has 45 points in 45 games to rank him at the edge of the top 20. Ironically, his 81 PIM actually tied him for the 20th in that race, as well. Corey played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1993-94 to 1996-97 with the North Bay Centennials, Detroit Whalers and Barrie Colts.

Top Bad Boys:

Derek Campbell sits in second with 209 PIM in 44 games as a member of the Hull Stingrays. This his sixth year in the EIHL and first with Hull. Campbell played four years in the OHL from 1997-98 to 2000-01 with the Belleville Bulls, Owen Sound Platers and Kingston Frontenacs.

No surprise to Kitchener Rangers fans, Adam Keefe holds down the number 4 spot with 164 PIM in 41 games with the Belfast Giants. Keefe is in his first year in the EIHL and already has a ‘A’ on his jersey. Adam played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2004-05 with the Sudbury Wolves and Kitchener.

A position behind Keefe is Colt King with 135 PIM in 41 games with the Sheffield Steelers. This is Colt’s first season in the EIHL. He played in the OHL from 1999-00 to 2003-04 with what seems like half the league. King wore the OHL jersey’s of the Guelph Storm, North Bay Centennials, Saginaw Spirit, Oshawa Generals, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sarnia Sting.

Frantisek Bakrlik is tied for 12th with 90 PIM in 48 games. It’ll be interesting to see how many regular season games Bakrlik ends up playing. The Fife Flyers are his third team this season in the EIHL and it looks like he’s picked up a few extra games due to scheduling differences at the time of each of his trades. Frantisek played in the OHL in 2000-01 and 2001-02 with the Barrie Colts and Sarnia Sting. This is his first year in the EIHL.

Darryl Lloyd is in 15th with 88 PIM in 37 games with the Belfast Giants. Lloyd is in his first season in the EIHL and is currently injured. Darryl played three seasons with the Windsor Spitfires from 2001-02 to 2003-04.

Drew Bannister falls in 17th spot with 84 PIM in 40 games with the Braehead Clan. Bannister will turn 38 in a few months and began his OHL career way back in 1990. He played four seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1990-91 to 1993-94. A second round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992, Bannister has 176 NHL games under his belt, including playoffs. This is his second year in the EIHL and first with the Clan.

Just a minute behind Bannister is Sylvain Cloutier of the Hull Stingrays. Cloutier has 83 minutes in 41 games. This is Cloutier’s fifth EIHL season and third with the Stingrays. Like Corey Neilson with Nottingham, Sylvain is also the coach of the team and is in the third year of that position. Cloutier played three years in the OHL with the Guelph Storm from 1991-92 to 1993-94. A veteran of seven NHL games, all with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1998-99.

With Great Britain broken down into it’s individual countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales), Canadian players outnumber any other nationality in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League. According to EliteProspects.com, there are currently 57 Canadians, topping England which has 55. Therefore, it’s not all that shocking that three of the top ten and four of the top twenty in penalty minutes are Ontario Hockey League grads (all numbers are as of October 27, 2011).

Derek Campbell of the Hull Stingrays is no stranger to the penalty box but has also contributed nearly a point per game in his 260+ EIHL games since joining the league for the 2006-07 season. Campbell played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 1996-97 to 2000-01. He played his first two with the Belleville Bulls, his third with the Owen Sound Platers and his final season with the Kingston Frontenacs. He currently leads the EIHL in PIM with 88 in 13 games. He also has 10 points in that time.

Colt King sits tied for third with 64 PIM in 14 games with the Sheffield Steelers. This is Colt’s first season in the EIHL after seven years in North America with teams in the ECHL, UHL, CHL and AHL. King played five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1999-00 to 2003-04 with the Guelph Storm, North Bay Centennials, Saginaw Spirit, Oshawa Generals, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sarnia Sting. Colt played this past season with the Rapid City Rush of the CHL, wearing the ‘A’ on his jersey. Like Campbell, he also can help out in the offensive department, scoring five and assisting on four, so far this season.

Adam Keefe is another newbie to the EIHL. Keefe sits in seventh with 55 PIM in 14 games with the Belfast Giants. Adam played five seasons from 2000-01 to 2004-05 in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sudbury Wolves and Kitchener Rangers. He brings a ton of American Hockey League experience to a league that is producing a higher quality game each year.

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Darryl Lloyd is also new to the EIHL. In his first season with the Belfast Giants, Lloyd currently sits in 18th position with 36 PIM in 14 games. Darryl has spent the past five years in the ECHL with the last two as a member of the Kalamazoo Wings. Although providing a physical presence, Darryl also contributed 51 points in 72 games in 2010-11. Lloyd played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2003-04, all with the Windsor Spitfires.

Of course, Canadians are also in the top 20 scorers in this exciting league. Among them are Ontario Hockey League grads. Stay tuned to OHL Alumni Central as we profile these players in the near future.

The Belfast Giants of Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League have started the 2011-12 season with a bang, going 11-1 with an additional shootout loss. Despite this, the team sits just three points ahead of the Nottingham Panthers atop the league. The team is on track to challenge for the league championship, something they accomplished in 2009-10.

Adam Keefe has fit right in with the Giants. The Ontario Hockey League grad has brought his tough brand of hockey to Ireland and currently sits seventh in the EIHL in penalty minutes. Keefe wears the ‘A’ on his jersey. Another OHL Alumnus, Jeremy Rebek (Owen Sound Platers) is the team captain.

Adam played in the Ontario Hockey League for five years from 2000-01 to 2004-05. He began with the Sudbury Wolves and moved over the Kitchener Rangers during his second season. In his first full season with Kitchener, 2002-03, the team won the Robertson Cup and the Memorial Cup.

Undrafted, Keefe has toiled in the AHL and ECHL since 2005-06. This past season, 2010-11, started with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL but saw Adam play 40 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

With six points already this season, Keefe is on pace to have his best offensive season since entering professional hockey in 2005-06. That season, with the Toledo Storm of the ECHL, Adam contributed 21 points in just 28 games while sitting out 174 minutes in the penalty box. He also spent 31 games with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose that season, with much lower offensive results.

The Coventry Blaze of Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League will have two Ontario Hockey League grads on the roster for 2011-12. As mentioned in an earlier article, Mike McLean is taking his first step across the pond to play with Coventry. Just a few days ago, it was announced that Peterborough Petes alumnus Dustin Wood will be playing the point for the Blaze.

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Also, another Ontario Hockey League alumnus, Neal Martin seems to the be the first to be honoured on the Coventry Blaze Wall of Fame. Inducted June 9, 2011, Martin was a standout defenseman for the club for four seasons from 2004-05 to 2007-08. Martin last played pro hockey with AaB in Denmark. He played in the OHL for four seasons from 1992-93 to 1995-96 with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sudbury Wolves. After three years of bouncing around the North American minors, Martin left for Europe, never looking back. Along with Great Britain and Denmark, Neal also played in Germany and Austria.

Dustin Wood spent the past two seasons in the Asia League with Anyang Halla. Both seasons, the team was league champion, although this past season they were co-champs after play was suspended due to the Earthquake/Tsumani. Wood played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998-99 to 2001-02, all with the Peterborough Petes. He was team captain in his final season. Wood was destined to start the 2011-12 season with HC Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Extraliga but things fell through. He will start with Coventry in a couple of weeks after the paperwork is processed.

Mike McLean played in the Ontario Hockey League for parts of five seasons with the Oshawa Generals and Guelph Storm. After playing for nine different teams in the North American minors between 2007 and 2011, he makes the journey to Great Britain in search of stability. A Central Hockey League all-star last season with the Quad City Mallards, McLean totalled 51 points in 55 games.

After a great season in the Central Hockey League with the Quad City Mallards, Ontario Hockey League grad Mike McLean is off to Great Britain to play in the EIHL with the Coventry Blaze.

Mike McLean with the ECHL's Dayton Bombers in 2008-09.

Mike McLean played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2006-07. His first year consisted of just two games with his hometown Oshawa Generals. His second season started with the Generals and saw him end up with the Guelph Storm after eleven games. McLean was a mainstay with the Storm until the end of the 2006-07 season.

Undrafted by an NHL club, McLean has spent the past four seasons playing for eight different clubs in three different leagues. He was a point per game man with the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL in 2008-09 with 46 points in 47 games. This past season, Mike was tied for the points lead on the Quad City Mallards of the Central Hockey League with 51 in 55 games. The player he was tied with played eleven more games. McLean played in the CHL All-Star game in 2010-11. The Mallards finished seventh out of nine teams in the Turner Conference and made a quick exit from the first round of the playoffs.

McLean’s arrival in Coventry is highly anticipated. The Blaze finished sixth in the ten team Elite Ice Hockey League this past season and lost to the Belfast Giants in the first round of the playoffs. The team plays out of the Skydome Arena in Coventry which seats just 3,000 for hockey. Since 2002-03, the Coventry Blaze have been regular season champions five times and have been playoff champs twice.