OHL Alumni Central

The IIHF has what’s called the ‘Triple Gold Club’. To belong to this exclusive club you must win a Stanley Cup, World Championship and Olympic Gold Medal. Currently, and until at least 2014, there are 25 members. The 25 consist of 24 players and one coach. Seven of the players and the one coach are from Canada (read more about Canada’s Triple Gold Club members here). Of those seven, three are Ontario Hockey League grads.

Of the OHL’s three members, one has recently retired from the game and two are still active in the NHL. The first achieved all the requirements in 2002 and the third entered the club after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Brendan Shanahan won gold at the 1994 World Championships, has three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings (1997, 1998, 2002) and won Gold with Canada at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Shanahan played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights, 1985-86 and 1986-87. He was denied World Junior gold as a member of the team involved in the Punch-up in Piestary in 1987.

His NHL career spanned from 1987-88 to 2008-09 with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers. Brendan played in eight NHL All-Star games over his career. He was named the 2003 recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions.

Chris Pronger won World Championship Gold in 1997. His one Stanley Cup victory to date came in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks. Chris has two gold medals from 2002 in Salt Lake City and 2010 in Vancouver.

Pronger played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes in 1991-92 and 1992-93. In 1993, he was the CHL’s top defenseman as well as being named the Max Kaminsky Trophy winner as the OHL’s top blueliner. In 2000, Pronger won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top D-man, making him one of only three players to win both the Kaminsky and Norris.

Pronger’s NHL career began in 1993-94 with the Hartford Whalers. He was traded to St. Louis in 1995 for, ironically, Brendan Shanahan. Currently a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, Chris also played for the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks along the way. He has played in six NHL All-Star games and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in 2000.

Eric Staal was quick to join the club. Staal won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006. The following year, he won gold at the World Championships. Eric was part of the 2010 gold medal winning team in Vancouver.

Staal played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2002-03, all with the Peterborough Petes. The second overall pick of the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft is currently still with the club, wearing the ‘C’ on his jersey. Eric has been to four NHL All-Star games in his six seasons. He was a 100 point man in his second season with the Canes.

Better late than never! Our apologies to Team USA fans at the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships - we almost passed you by.

There is one player on the roster of Team USA that is a graduate of the Ontario Hockey League. Nick Foligno played three seasons in the OHL from 2004-05 to 2006-07, all with the Sudbury Wolves. Nick led the Wolves in scoring in his final two seasons and had an impressive 29 points in 21 playoff games in his final season as the Wolves advanced to the Robertson Cup final before losing out to the Plymouth Whalers in six games.

Nick was a first round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2006 NHL draft. He spent a portion of his first pro season with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators but has been a regular with Ottawa ever since.

Check out Nick Foligno’s profile page on the Ottawa Senators official website.

Check out these posts on other OHL graduates playing in the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships:

Latvia

Canada

Italy – Plastino

Italy – Parco

Czech Republic

Norway

Finland

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Team Slovakia has three Ontario Hockey League alumni on the roster for the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships. Two of the three were also on the National team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Olympians Peter Budaj and Andrej Sekera

 are joined by Richard Panik for the Worlds.

Richard Panik is one of the newest OHL grads to be playing at the pro level. He played his only OHL season in 2009-10 and split the year between the Windsor Spitfires and the Belleville Bulls and could potentially be back with the Bulls next season. He completed the season with the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL. Richard was a second round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2009 NHL draft.

Peter Budaj played three seasons between the pipes for the St. Michael’s Majors from 1999-00 to 2001-02. A second round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 NHL draft, Peter has just completed his fifth season with the NHL club.

Andrej Sekera played two seasons in the OHL with the Owen Sound Attack, 2004-05 and 2005-06. Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2004 NHL draft, Andrej has remained in the Sabres organization.

Click on the country to see what OHL grads are on the roster for the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships: Latvia, Canada, Italy(1), Italy (2), Czech Republic, Norway, Finland.

In addition to the three Ontario Hockey League grads that played for Team Latvia at the 2010 Winter Olympics, there are two more OHL alumni added to the roster for the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships. Juris Stals and Andris Dzerins join Olympians Arvids Rekis, Herberts Vasiljevs and Kaspars Daugavins (click here for Olympics post on Team Latvia).

Juris Stals played in the OHL for two seasons, 2001-02 and 2002-03. His first season was played with the Sarnia Sting and his second with the Owen Sound Attack. Drafted deep in the 2001 NHL draft, 269th overall, by the New York Rangers, Stals played a season with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack and two seasons with the ECHL’s Charlotte Checkers before heading to Europe.

From 2006-07 to 2008-09, Juris alternated between the Czech Republic’s Extraliga and Russia’s KHL. This past season found him back in North America playing for the Quad City Mallards of the IHL.

Andris Dzerins played two seasons in the OHL, 2007-08 and 2008-09, both with the Kingston Frontenacs. This season he played his first of his professional career with Riga Dynamo of Russia’s KHL.

Arvid Rekis played four seasons in the OHL from 1996-97 to 1999-00, all with the Erie Otters. He spent his first three seasons of pro hockey in the ECHL with the Peoria Rivermen, with an 18 game call-up to the AHL’s Worcester IceCats during the 2001-02 season. Since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Arvid has played in Germany’s DEL. His first five seasons were with the Augsburg Panthers and his past two have been with Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams.

Kaspars Daugavins played three seasons in the OHL from 2006-07 to 2008-09, all with the Toronto /Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. Having been drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2006, before he’d played a game of junior, Kaspars played a portion of each of junior seasons with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. This past season, he played a full season with the Binghamton club with a single game with the NHL Senators.

Herberts Vasiljevs played just one season in the OHL, 1995-96 with the Guelph Storm. Vasiljevs put in 51 games in the NHL over four seasons with the Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and the Vancouver Canucks. After a year in Russia in 2003-04, Herberts has been in Germany’s DEL since, one year with Nuremburg and the past five with Krefeld. He is currently captain of the Pinguine.

Check out what other countries have OHL grads on their rosters for the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships:

Canada

Italy (1)

Italy (2)

Czech Republic

Norway

Finland

As with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver, Mathis Olimb is the lone Ontario Hockey League grad on Team Norway at the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships.

Olimb played just one season in the OHL, 2004-05. He began the year with the London Knights but 10 games into the season, he was traded off to the Sarnia Sting and was denied being a part of London’s magical run to the Memorial Cup.

Mathis has represented his country in world competition throughout his junior career and as a pro.

2007-08 and 2008-09 were spent with the Augsburger Panthers of Germany’s DEL. This season, Mathis switched to Sweden’s SEL and played for the Frölunda Indians of Göteborg. He was third on the team in scoring with 33 points in 55 regular season games. He added 4 points in 7 playoff games.

Mathis Olimb’s profile page on Frölunda’s official website can be found by clicking here.

Click here for the previous post on Mathis Olimb being the lone OHL grad on Team Norway at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Check out these other posts related to OHL alumni playing at the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships:

10 OHL grads on Team Canada

Nick Plastino playing for Team Italy

John Parco playing for Team Italy

2 OHL grads on Team Czech Republic

Oskar Osala playing for Team Finland

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