OHL Alumni Central

As we said yesterday, it’s pretty amazing that the 2003-04 Robertson Cup winning Guelph Storm still has 19 players that dressed for that club that season still active in professional hockey. Considering that the 2004-05 London Knights, a team considered to be one of the best ever assembled in Canadian junior hockey, has just one more player currently active in professional hockey.

The 2004-05 Knights broke OHL and CHL records seemingly ever game. The team won 59 of 68 regular season games and would have won even more if their top players weren’t taken away for the World Junior Championships. 4 Knights placed in the league’s top ten scorers, including #1, #2 and #4. They would lose just two playoff games enroute to winning the Robertson Cup. Of course, the magical season would culminate in a Memorial Cup victory on home ice that would pit Corey Perry against Sidney Crosby.

What follows is a summary of where the 20 Knights alumni from 2004-05 played during the 2009-10 season. This includes all players that dressed for the Knights at any point in time during that season. The list doesn’t include players that played university hockey. If you notice someone missing, or if you are someone that is missing from the list, don’t hesitate to let us know.

Corey Perry – Anaheim Ducks (NHL)

Dylan Hunter – Utah Grizzlies (ECHL), Rochester Americans (AHL), Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)

Rob Schremp – New York Islanders (NHL)

Dave Bolland – Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)

Danny Syvret – Adirondack Phantoms (AHL), Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)

Bryan Rodney – Albany River Rats (AHL), Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)

Dan Fritsche – Syracuse Crunch (AHL)

Trevor Kell – Trenton Devils (ECHL), Lowell Devils (AHL)

Brandon Prust – New York Rangers (NHL), Calgary Flames (NHL)

Josh Beaulieu – Adirondack Phantoms (AHL)

Drew Larman – Providence Bruins (AHL), Boston Bruins (NHL)

Jordan Foreman – Missouri Mavericks (CHL)

Marc Methot – Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)

Dan Girardi – New York Rangers (NHL)

Adam Perry – Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)

Mathis Olimb – Vastra Frolunda HC Goteborg (SEL – Sweden)

Harrison Reed – Lake Erie Monsters (AHL), Albany River Rats (AHL)

Adam Dennis – Fassa HC (Italy)

Ryan MacDonald – Lausitzer Foxes (Germany Bundesliga 2)

Gerald Coleman – Trenton Devils (ECHL), Lowell Devils (AHL)

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In 2003-04, the Guelph Storm finished second in the Ontario Hockey League standings, 7 points behind division rivals, the London Knights. The Storm would get revenge on the Knights by beating them in the seventh game of the Western Conference final. Guelph met the Mississauga IceDogs in the OHL final and swept their way to the J. Ross Robertson Cup. The Memorial Cup was the end of the team’s winning ways as they failed to win a single game at the tournament in Kelowna, British Columbia.

19 players that suited up at some point in 2003-04 with the Storm, played professionally in 2009-10. 5 of those players were not involved in the playoffs due to trades or other reasons. To put this number in contrast, the next season, 2004-05, the London Knights fielded what is still considered the best junior hockey team ever assembled in this country. From that London team, just one more player, 20, are still playing professionally and two of those players also played on the Storm the year before.

What follows is a quick summary of each player’s whereabouts during the 2009-10 season and a link to their player profile on their current team’s official website if available.

Martin St. Pierre – Marty played most of the season with the Binghamton Senators of the AHL while being called up for 3 games with Ottawa.

Daniel Paille – Daniel was traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the Boston Bruins after just two games.

Matt Ryan – Matt was with the Augsburger Panthers of Germany’s DEL.

Ryan Callahan – Ryan played for the New York Rangers.

Daniel Girardi – Dan joins Ryan Callahan on the New York Rangers.

Jakub Koreis – Jakub played his second season with Sparta Praha (Prague) in his home country’s Extraliga.

Ryan Garlock – Ryan was traded to Windsor in 2003-04, mid-season. Ryan is another in the Rangers organization, splitting time this season between the ECHL’s Charlotte Checkers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

Kevin Klein – Kevin played this season with the Nashville Predators.

Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn – Mark split this season between the IHL’s Dayton Gems and the SPHL’s Fayetteville FireAntz.

Cam Janssen – Cam was dropping the gloves with the St. Louis Blues this season.

Ryan Parent – Ryan played for the Philadelphia Flyers this season.

Tyler Haskins – Tyler was traded to Toronto St. Michael’s Majors during the 2003-04 season. He played this season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL.

George Bradley – George played just 6 games with the Allen Americans of the Central Hockey League.

Jiri Drtina - Drtina played just 14 games with the Storm in 2003-04 and didn’t appear in the playoffs. Jiri finished his fifth season with Slavia Praha (Prague) in the Czech Republic’s Extraliga.

Adam Dennis – Adam played in Italy this season with Fassa HC.

Colin Power – Colin was traded to Toronto St. Michael’s Majors during the 2003-04 season. He split this season between two ECHL clubs, the Stockton Thunder and the Wheeling Nailers.

Darryl Smith – Darryl played just 6 games with the Storm in 2003-04 and didn’t appear in the playoffs. He played for the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League this season as well as one game with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

Danny Taylor – Danny split his time between the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL and the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

Mike McLean – Mike played on three different teams this season. He started out with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, played 6 games with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL and finished up with the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL.

The 1998-99 Belleville Bulls finished a distant second in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Division, 18 points behind the Ottawa 67′s. The team was third in their conference and fifth in the league. Yet, the Belleville Bulls took the J. Ross Robertson Trophy as OHL playoff champs with a 7th game win over the London Knights in the final.

The team would go on to make an appearance at the Memorial Cup tournament in Ottawa, but relying completely on offense, would fall to the host Ottawa 67s in the semi-final.

Eleven years later, it’s nothing short of amazing that 14 players off that Belleville Bull team are still showing off their talent in professional hockey. Belleville alumni are represented in 9 different leagues in 5 different countries. Also, amazingly, in this day and age of building a winning team from the outside, 13 of the 14 players started their OHL careers with the Bulls. Only 5 of the 14 players finished out their OHL careers with other clubs.

As usual, where available, you can find each player’s profile page at their current team’s official website by clicking on their name.

Justin Papineau was a Bull from 1996-97 to 1999-00. He was the team’s leading scorer throughout the regular season and playoffs in 1998-99. He had 52 goals and 99 points in the regular season then exploded for 21 goals and 51 points in just 21 playoff games. Papineau logged 81 NHL games over his pro career with the St. Louis Blues and the New York Islanders. Currently, Justin is with Adler Mannheim of Germany’s DEL.

Ryan Ready was a Bull from 1995-96 to 1998-99. Ryan put in 7 games with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers in 2005-06 before heading to Germany to play with his current club, Iserlohn Roosters.

Jonathan Cheechoo played in Belleville from 1997-98 to 1999-00. He has enjoyed a 500+ game career in the NHL with San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators that was highlighted by a 56 goal performance in 2005-06. He has spent the last part of this season with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators.

Kevin Baker played in Belleville from 1997-98 to 1999-00. Kevin is in his second season with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. In his first season, he was the ECHL’s scoring leader with 57 goals and 45 assists for 102 points. He was also named league MVP.

Chris Stanley (the link goes to a list of the team’s forwards – click on Chris’ name to view profile) was a Bull from 1996-97 to 1999-00. Chris went the university route after the OHL and spent 4 seasons with Dalhousie in the AUS. Currently, Chris is playing in Germany’s Bundesliga 2 with Fischtown Pinguins.

Randy Rowe (link goes to team roster – click on Randy’s name to view his profile) played in Belleville from 1997-98 to 2000-01. Although he was an integral part of the championship team in 1999, his best season in the OHL came two years later when he potted 64 goals in just 63 games. Randy currently finds himself on the roster of the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL.

Branko Radivojevic played for the Bulls 1998-99 to 2000-01. Branko played 393 games in the NHL with Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and the Minnesota Wild before switching to Russia’s KHL. Branko is currently a member of Spartak Moscow. His profile page on the League’s official site can be found here.

Jason Lawmaster was acquired by the Bulls from the Plymouth Whalers during the 1997-98 season and played his second of two OHL seasons with the Bulls in 1998-99. Jason is currently with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the IHL.

Derek Campbell was a Bull for 1997-98 and 1998-99 but finished out his OHL career with the Owen Sound Platers in 1999-00. Derek played this season with the Coventry Blaze of the Great Britain’s EIHL.

Michael Jacobson played for Belleville from 1997-98 to 2000-01. His final season in the OHL, 2001-02, was split between the Sudbury Wolves and the Owen Sound Attack. After three years playing in Italy, Michael spent this season with the Belfast Giants of Great Britain’s EIHL.

Branislav Mezei was a Bull from 1997-98 to 1999-00. He put in 240 NHL games with the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers before heading to Russia’s KHL last season. This season was split between the Czech Republic and Finland. Branislav is currently with the Blues of Finland’s SM-liiga. There isn’t a profile on the team’s official website but the roster page can be found here.

Nathan Robinson played with Belleville from 1998-99 to 2001-02. Other than the Memorial Cup appearance in his rookie season, the highlight of his OHL career was a 110 point performance in his final season. Nathan is in his 4th season in Germany’s DEL. Currently, he is with former Bull teammate, Justin Papineau, on Adler Mannheim.

Kris Newbury played in the OHL from 1998-99 to 2002-03. His first season and a half were with Belleville and the rest of his OHL career was played out with the Sarnia Sting. Kris has 48 games worth of NHL experience with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. He is currently in the New York Rangers system with the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Doug MacIver started out his rookie season in the OHL, 1998-99, with the Bulls but was traded to the Sarnia Sting to finish out the season. Sarnia traded him to the Kingston Frontenacs the next season and he remained there until the end of his career in 2001-02. Doug played only two games with the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League this season and is currently off the active roster.

The 1999-00 Barrie Colts were the bad boys of OHL hockey. In only their fifth season in the Ontario Hockey League, the Colts won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as playoff champions. They would come up short of a Memorial Cup victory, however.

Sheldon Keefe was the league scoring champion with 121 points and teammates Denis Shvidki and Mike Danton would also make it into the top 10. Keefe also won the Jim Mahon Memorial Award for the top scoring right winger. Goaltender Brian Finley won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award for playoff MVP.

There are currently 7 players from the 1999-00 Colts roster that are still active in professional hockey. Interestingly, 5 of the 7 players were in their OHL rookie season that year. This does not include Mike Danton’s return to University hockey but we hope he will return to the professional ranks in the future.

Where available, click on the player’s names below to view their profile page on their current team’s official website.

Denis Shvidki was the team’s second highest point getter in the 1999-00 season, his second with the Colts, with 106 points. He played two seasons in the OHL, both with Barrie. Denis has played 76 games in the NHL scattered over 4 seasons and all with the Florida Panthers. Currently, he is with Karpat of the SM-Liiga in Finland, although his season consisted of only 4 games.

Michael Henrich (to view his profile, click the ‘Senior’ drop-down box and click on ‘Roster’ – scroll across until you find him) started his OHL career with the Colts in 1996-97 and finished in 1999-00. A sniper with 41, 38 and 38 goals in his final three seasons with the team. He was a first round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1998, 13th overall. He has never played a game in the NHL and has never been able to reproduce his OHL scoring ability until this season. With Asiago HC in Italy, Michael maintained nearly a 2-point per game pace.

Matt Dzieduszycki was in his first of two seasons in the OHL with Barrie during the 1999-00 season. Matt is now in his 4th season in Germany’s DEL and his third with the Hannover Scorpions.

Blaine Down played for the Colts from 1999-00 to 2001-02. Down has been in Europe for the past 4 seasons, 1 in Italy, 1 in Denmark and two in Switzerland. Currently, he is with ZSC Lions of the Swiss-A league. ZSC is out of Zurich and is done for the 2009-10 season after bowing out in the quarter-finals of the league’s playoffs. To view a previous post on Blaine Down, click here.

Tim Branham played in the OHL from 1999-00 to 2001-02. His first two seasons were with the Colts and his final season was with the Guelph Storm. Branham was a 3rd round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2000 but has never played a game in the NHL and has, for the most part, been a career ECHL player since graduating from the OHL. Currently he is on the Injured Reserve list for the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

Aaron Power enjoyed a 4 year career with the Barrie Colts from 1999-00 to 2002-03. After 5 seasons, mostly in the ECHL, Aaron left for Europe. He spent last season in Germany’s Bundesliga 2 and this season he played for HC Fassa in Italy.

Eric Reitz played three seasons in the OHL with the Colts from 1999-00 to 2001-02. Drafted very deep in the 2000 draft by the Minnesota Wild (6th round, 170th overall), Eric was able to put in 48 games in the NHL with the Wild and the New York Rangers. He is currently playing in Russia’s KHL with Sibir Novosibirsk. His profile page on the KHL official site can be found here.

The 1997-98 Guelph Storm won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as Ontario Hockey League play-off champions. The team would make an appearance at the 1998 Memorial Cup but would fall to defeat. Seven players from the 1997-98 Storm are still active in professional hockey today.

Click on the player’s names below to view their profile pages at their current team’s official website if available.

Brian Willsie played with the Storm from 1995-96 to 1997-98. Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, Brian has enjoyed a 380 game NHL career and now is in the AHL as a member of the Lake Erie Monsters. Brian was Storm’s leading scorer in the 1997-98 season.

Kevin Mitchell played for the Storm from 1997-98 to 1999-00 and finished out his OHL career with the Oshawa Generals in 2000-01. Currently, Kevin is with HC Eaton Pardubice of the Czech Republic Extraliga.

Kent McDonell played four seasons with the Storm from 1996-97 to 1999-00. Kent has played 32 games in the NHL, all with the Columbus Blue Jackets. McDonell is currently playing in the Swedish Elite League with Farjestad.

Manny Malhotra played in the OHL for the Storm for only two full seasons, 1996-97 and 1997-98. In 1999-00, after a full season with the New York Rangers, he played 5 games with the Storm. Manny has quietly put in 696 NHL games with the Rangers, Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets and the San Jose Sharks who he is currently with.

Eric Beaudoin played three seasons with the Storm from 1997-98 to 1999-00. Currently, after a 53 game NHL career with the Florida Panthers, Eric is the captain for Rogle in the Swedish Elite League.

Joe Gerbe played for the Storm from 1996-97 to 1999-00. He is currently in the All-American Hockey League (AAHL) with Battle Creek Revolution, an affiliate of the IHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Brian McGrattan played just 31 games with the Storm over the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Brian is a 6-team OHLer – you can read more about that in this previous post. Brian is currently in the NHL playing for the Calgary Flames.