OHL Alumni Central

In 2008, he was one of PETA’s 16 finalists for the Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door contest. At 6’3″ and 245 lbs., Kingston Frontenacs grad Chris Allen is not exactly the image people think of when the word vegetarian is brought up and he is proof that meat is not a necessary part of a professional athlete’s diet.

Chris played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1994-95 to 1997-98, all with the Kingston Frontenacs. In his second season, he competed in the first ever CHL Top Prospects Game and scored the first goal (assisted by Daniel Briere) in what has become an annual tradition. In his final season with the Frontenacs, Allen was both a CHL and OHL First Team All-Star. His 38 goals and 94 points led the league’s defensemen and he was awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s top defenseman.

Allen was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the third round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, 60th overall. He played one game for the Florida Panthers in 1997-98 and 1998-99. The rest of his time in North America was spent bouncing around teams in the AHL, ECHL and UHL.

Chris has put his passport to good use since 2004-05. He has played in Finland, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Korea, England and now Italy. After starting the season with Telford of Great Britain’s EIHL, he switched to Peterborough in the same league. He has now signed on with Merano of Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio Serie 2.

Chris Allen’s profile with Merano can be viewed by clicking his name on their roster page.

Check out this article on Chris Allen at the Animal Liberation Front website.

Brad Bonello's profile picture with Dortmund earlier this season.

In four Ontario Hockey League seasons, Brad Bonello went to the Robertson Cup finals twice. His first go was with the Erie Otters in his first OHL season, 2001-02. The Otters beat the Barrie Colts in five games to earn a trip to the Memorial Cup. In 2004-05, as a member of the Ottawa 67′s, Bonello once again appeared in the Robertson Cup finals, this time losing in five to the London Knights. The 67′s made the trip to the Memorial Cup anyway since London was the host. Unfortunately, Brad does not own a Memorial Cup ring.

Bonello played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He played two and a half with the Otters before being traded to the Peterborough Petes during the 2003-04 season. He played his full final year with Ottawa. In that final season with Ottawa, Brad finished with 66 points, tied for second on the team with Julian Talbot at only two points away from Mark Mancari for the team lead.

Undrafted, Brad spent the better part of four seasons in the North American minor pro leagues. In those four years, Bonello bounced around among ten different teams in four leagues before ending up the 2008-09 season in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League with the Edinburgh Capitals.

Bonello spent last season with just one team for the first time since his 2004-05 season with Ottawa. With HC Fassa of Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio, Brad played 34 games and contributed 27 points.

He began this season with Dortmund of Germany’s Oberliga but only played three games. A December 28th deal brought him back to the LIHG with Alleghe.

Check out the Alleghe official website.

Brad Bonello is joined on Alleghe by the following players (click on names to check out previous posts on these players at OHL Alumni Central):

David Bowman

Adam Dennis

Looking for a good hockey read? Check out the new book review page at OHL Alumni Central.

The defenseman with the most assists and points in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the 2009-10 season has moved on to play for HC Fassa in Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio for 2010-11.

Ontario Hockey League grad Marty Wilford had 38 assists and 41 points last season with the DEL’s Iserlohn Roosters. It was the second time in three years that Wilford led the DEL’s defensemen in assists, also leading the league in 2007-08 with 34 as a member of the Hamburg Freezers.

Wilford played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1994-95 to 1996-97, all with the Oshawa Generals. Yesterday, we featured a teammate of Wilford’s with Oshawa, Jan Snopek (see post here). In his final season with the Generals, he was second to Marc Savard on the team scoring list with 62 points from the blueline. The team won the Robertson Cup as OHL playoff champion and Marty contributed another 20 points in 16 games during that playoff run.

Marty was selected in the sixth round of the 1996 NHL draft, 149th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks. Although never playing an NHL game, Wilford put in 539 games in the American Hockey League over seven seasons. Twice he finished second on his team in total points, 2000-01 and 2003-04, both with the Norfolk Admirals. Both times, Marty was just two points out of the number one spot.

Wilford made the switch to European hockey in 2007-08 when he began play in the DEL. This season marks a change as he leads the blueliners for HC Fassa of the LIHG. His importance as an offensive defenseman hasn’t diminished with the new league as he’s producing at over a point per game average after 17 games.

Check out the roster page at HC Fassa’s official website.

Marty was recently featured in a post regarding the Ontario Hockey League grads in the LIHG’s top 100 scorers.

We give Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio Serie A1 a fair amount of attention here at OHL Alumni Central. With five Ontario Hockey League grads among the the top ten scorers as of Dec 9, 2010 and nineteen in the top one hundred, the attention is well deserved.

Here’s how our guys are doing in Italy. The number in front of their name refers to the position they sit at in the LIHG scoring race. Names that are hyperlinked will take you to a previous post at OHL Alumni Central featuring that player. (GP-G-A-PTS):

2. Luciano Aquino, Valpellice (16-12-21-33). Aquino played two seasons with the Brampton Battalion, 2004-05 and 2005-06.

3. Anthony Aquino, Valpellice (18-8-21-29). Anthony played one season with the Oshawa Generals in 2002-03.

4. Dan Tudin, Ritten/Renon (19-12-16-28). Dan played four seasons with the Ottawa 67′s from 1995-96 to 1998-99.

5. Ryan McDonough, Valpellice (18-14-11-25). Ryan played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2004-05 to 2007-08. His first season was with the Sudbury Wolves before becoming a Saginaw Spirit.

9. Michael Henrich, Asiago (18-10-12-22). Michael played four seasons with the Barrie Colts from 1996-97 to 1999-00.

18. Matt Kelly, Val Pusteria (19-6-14-20). Matt played four seasons with the Belleville Bulls from 2002-03 to 2005-06.

23. Marty Wilford, Fassa (17-3-16-19). Marty played three seasons with the Oshawa Generals from 1994-95 to 1996-97.

26. Kevin Baker, Ritten/Renon (18-7-11-18). Kevin played three seasons with the Belleville Bulls from 1997-98 to 1999-00.

30. Adam Henrich, Asiago (13-7-10-17). Adam played four seasons with the Brampton Battalion from 2000-01 to 2003-04.

33. John Vigilante, Asiago (17-7-9-16). John played four seasons with the Plymouth Whalers from 2002-03 to 2005-06.

43. Marco Insam, Bolzano (15-11-3-14). Marco played two seasons, 2008-09 and 2009-10, with the Niagara IceDogs.

46. Colin Chaulk, Alleghe (18-3-11-14). Colin played four seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs from 1994-95 to 1997-98.

47. Ryan Martinelli, Valpellice (18-2-12-14). Ryan played three seasons with the London Knights from 2004-05 to 2006-07.

52. Ralph Intranuovo, Asiago (14-6-6-12). Ralph played three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1990-91 to 1992-93.

55. Nick Plastino, Asiago (18-2-10-12). Nick played four seasons with the Barrie Colts from 2003-04 to 2006-07.

56. Tyler Doig, Val Pusteria (8-1-11-12). Tyler played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07, split between the Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm and Belleville Bulls.

70. Gerome Giudice, Fassa (15-3-7-10). Gerome played four seasons with the Sudbury Wolves from 2005-06 to 2008-09.

84. John Parco, Asiago (8-3-3-6). John played three seasons with the Belleville Bulls from 1988-89 to 1990-91.

89. David Bowman, Alleghe (18-1-5-6). David played four seasons with the Windsor Spitfires from 2000-01 to 2003-04.

Check out the LIHG’s official website.

Yesterday, we featured Marco Insam, graduate of the Niagara IceDogs and goal scoring phenom with Bolzano of Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio. Today, we look at the guy everyone is chasing for the scoring lead in the LIHG Serie A1.

Ryan McDonough played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. His first season was played with the Sudbury Wolves and his final three with the Saginaw Spirit. McDonough didn’t rip up the league but provided consistent offense throughout his career with 284 points in 258 games.

Ryan shared the captaincy of the Saginaw Spirit in his final OHL season with Patrick Asselin. His 45 goals that season stand as a team record.

McDonough took to Europe right after graduating from the OHL. He spent his first season, 2008-09, with EC Salzburg Red Bulls in Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. This past season, Ryan switched to Germany and played for the Landshut Cannibals of the 2. Bundesliga (tier 2 to the DEL).

Ryan is joined on the ‘Bulldogs’ by OHL grads, Ryan Martinelli and Luciano Aquino. Aquino sits two goals behind McDonough for the league’s goal scoring lead. McDonough also leads the LIHG in total points.

Ryan McDonough’s profile can be found at the Valpellice official website’s roster page (it’s an awesome picture!).