OHL Alumni Central

Update: Looks like after one game, Lorenskog has released Ryan.

Ontario Hockey League grad Ryan Jardine is back in Europe for the 2011-12 season after spending 2010-11 with the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League. Jardine had been in Europe since the start of the 2005-06 season before his one year return to North America. Ryan will begin the season with Lorenskog of Norway’s GET-Ligaen.

Ryan Jardine with the Louisville Panthers in 2000-01.

Ryan played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1997-98 to 1999-00, all with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Over his OHL career, he scored exactly a point per game with 198 points in 198 regular season games. In his final season, he was the team’s leader in goals with 43 and points with 77. Just five points behind Jardine was Josef Vasicek. Vasicek was a teammate of Ryan’s with the Greyhounds for 1998-99 and 1999-00. Josef was killed in a plane crash in Russia on September 7, 2011.

Jardine was taken by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, 89th overall. Ironically, he was drafted just two positions higher than Vasicek. To date, Jardine has played just eight games in the National Hockey League, all with the Panthers during the 2001-02 season.

After five seasons in the American Hockey League with the Louisville Panthers, Utah Grizzlies and San Antonio Rampage, Ryan left for Europe. He played his first season across the pond in 2005-06 with the Hamburg Freezers of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Since, he has played in Sweden, Italy and Austria.

Jardine is joined on Lorenskog by another former Ontario Hockey League player, Kenny Corupe. Corupe is also returning to Europe after a season in the Central Hockey League. Corupe and Jardine were teammates with Bolzano in Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG) for three seasons from 2007-08 to 2009-10.

Paul Ballantyne played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998-99 to 2001-02, all with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. A defensive defenseman, Paul maxed out his offensive output in his third season with the Greyhounds, scoring 12 and adding 28 assists for 40 points in 63 games.

Ballantyne was taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 196th overall. Paul played parts of three seasons with Detroit’s East Coast Hockey League affiliate, the Toledo Storm. Over the three seasons, he got into 39 games with the American Hockey League Grand Rapids Griffins.

Paul spent three more seasons in the ECHL before going to Europe for the 2008-09 season. He played for Lørenskog in Norway’s Get Ligaen for the 2008-09 season. The following season found Ballantyne moving a little further south and playing in Germany’s 2.Bundesliga for Eispiraten (Ice Pirates) Crimmitschau.

This past season, Ballantyne returned to the Get Ligaen to play for Manglerud Stars. The team finished ninth in the ten team league but will not be relegated and will return for the 2011-12 season.

Check out Paul Ballantyne’s profile page at the Manglerud Stars official website.

Well, we made it one full year at OHL Alumni Central! It was January 11, 2010 when the first post, featuring OHL Alumni playing for Asiago in Italy’s LIHG, went live on the internet. I believe over the year, the site went without an update on maybe two days. It was never intended to be a daily thing but there’s just so many OHL Alumni out there and, let’s face it, it’s a ton of fun tracking down their whereabouts! Thanks to everyone who has helped OHL Alumni Central continue to grow.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program…

Serge Payer will be resuming his hockey career in Norway’s Get-Ligaen with Vålerenga. After playing the past two seasons with Krefeld Pinguine of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the Ontario Hockey League grad was left without a club for the first half of the season.

Payer played five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers from 1995-96 to 1999-00. He missed time in 1999 due to Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Serge continues to raise awareness and funds to combat the debilitating disease through the Serge Payer Foundation.

Although not drafted, the Florida Panthers snatched up Payer and he played 43 games with the NHL team in his first year out of the Ontario Hockey League. Although mostly playing in the American Hockey League before his departure to Germany for the 2008-09 season, Serge has dressed for 124 NHL games with the Panthers and the Ottawa Senators.

Payer is one of two recent Canadian players to sign with Vålerenga to help with the stretch run in the Get-Ligaen. The team currently sits in second place in the ten team league. Another Ontario Hockey League grad is between the pipes for the team, Patrick DesRochers.

Check out Vålerenga’s official website.

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

Drew Fata as a Binghamton Senator in 2008-09.

Ontario Hockey League grad Drew Fata moved closer to brother Rico at the start of November by signing with Sparta Warriors Sarpsborg of Norway’s Get Ligaen. Drew’s brother Rico is also an OHL grad and is currently playing for EHC Biel of Switzerland’s National League A.

Drew Fata played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2002-03. He was a member of the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors until midway through his final season when he was traded to the Kingston Frontenacs.

Known more for his physical play than his speedy brother, Drew accumulated 439 minutes in penalties during 194 regular season Ontario Hockey League games. However, the big defenseman played an important role in the Majors appearing in the Eastern Conference finals in his first two seasons. In 2000-01, St. Michael’s lost four games to none to the eventual Robertson Cup winning Ottawa 67′s. In 2001-02, The team was again swept, this time by the Barrie Colts.

Fata was taken by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round of the 2001 NHL draft, 86th overall. He spent the first three years of his professional hockey career splitting time between Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, and their ECHL club, the Wheeling Nailers.

At the start of the 2006-07 season, Drew became the property of the New York Islanders and started the season with their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. That season, he finally got his first taste of NHL hockey, appearing in three regular season games and one playoff game with the Islanders. The following season, he increased the numbers getting a five game call-up with the NHL club.

For the past two seasons, Fata has bounced around the AHL, playing for the San Antonio Rampage, Binghamton Senators and Providence Bruins. He began the 2010-11 season back with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins but was released after playing just one game.

The Sparta Warriors are pleased to have this tough import on the team. Plans were for the team not to sign another import until after the Christmas holidays but injuries made it necessary. The team sits atop the Get Ligaen at the moment and is destined to reach the league finals as they did in 2008-09.

Check out Drew Fata’s profile page on the Sparta Warriors official website.

Drew appears in this previous post at OHL Alumni Central listing the graduates of the Mississauga/St. Michael’s Majors that were active in the pro hockey world during the 2009-10 season.

Jason Morgan as Washington Capitals hopeful for the 2007-08 season (he played the season with the Hershey Bears).

Keeping with the recent Norwegian theme, yet another Ontario Hockey League grad has chosen to play in Norway’s Get Ligaen for the 2010-11 season. Jason Morgan brings his many years of pro experience to Stjernen. Although still considered on a ‘tryout’, his close to a point per game production after 10 games with the team is an indication that he may stay.

Jason played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1993-94 to 1995-96. He began his career with the Kitchener Rangers and became a Kingston Frontenac midway through his second season. His best offensive totals in the OHL came in his final season with Kingston when he scored 16 and assisted on 38 for 54 points in 66 games.

Morgan was picked by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round of the 1995 NHL draft, 118th overall. He played in three games with the Kings in his first season after graduating from the OHL. In total, he’s played 44 games in the NHL between the Kings, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild.

The bulk of Jason’s pro career in North America was in the American Hockey League. he has played 584 games in the AHL, producing 325 points. His highest producing season was in 2002-03 with the Saint John Flames when he contributed 53 points in 80 games for the Calgary affiliate. He last played in the AHL at the start of this past 2009-10 season when he dressed for four games with the Springfield Falcons.

This season marks his third in Europe, each in a different country. 2008-09 saw him play in Sweden’s Elitserien with Södertälje. This past season after leaving Springfield he played in Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga for Klagenfurter AC.

Check out Jason Morgan’s profile page on Stjernen’s official website.

Check out these recent posts on Ontario Hockey League alumni playing in Norway:

Paul Ballantyne

Andy Delmore