OHL Alumni Central

Ontario Hockey League grad Jaroslav Kruzik started the 2011-12 season with HC Litomerice of the Czech Republic Extraliga Tier 2. After moving over to the Slovak Extraliga a few days ago, Kruzik has now played his first game for HK Nitra.

Jaroslav played in the Ontario Hockey League for three years from 2007-08 to 2009-10. He began his OHL career with the Barrie Colts after Barrie chose him 49th overall in the first round of the CHL Import Draft in 2007. Previous to starting with the Colts, Kruzik played for Rytiri Kladno in his home Czech Republic.

After 50 games for Barrie in his first OHL season, Kruzik was shipped to Kingston after just one game with the Colts in 2008-09. He played 64 games with the Frontenacs that season, contributing 23 points from the blue line. In his final season with the Kingston Frontenacs, his point total dropped by one while playing five less regular season games. He got a taste of Robertson Cup playoff hockey with four games in the spring of 2010.

Kruzik returned to the Czech Republic for the 2010-11 season, once again playing for Rytiri Kladno, this time for their under-20 team. His game total was held to just eight.

Jaroslav played 12 games with HC Litomerice this season, scoring a goal and adding an assist for two points. Nitra can use some strength on defense. The team is off to a rough three win start and sits in tenth place in the eleven team league. Their goals against is the second worst in the league at the moment.

HK Nitra plays out of the 4,800 seat Nitra Zimny Arena in Nitra, Slovakia. The Slovakian Extraliga is currently dominated by former National Hockey League players, Zigmund Palffy and Miroslav Satan. The two sit one and two in league scoring.

Patrik Lusnak will return to HK 36 Skalica for his third season. The Sudbury Wolves grad began his professional hockey career in the Czech Republic part way through the 2008-09 season after playing 35 games with the Wolves. In those 35 games, Lusnak scored 20 goals and totalled 34 points.

Lusnak played in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons, 2006-07 to 2008-09, all with the Sudbury Wolves. The Slovakian born player was an important member of Team Slovakia at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. Despite finishing out of medal contention, Patrick contributed five points in six games. 2007-08 was Lusnak’s best season in the OHL with 20 goals and 59 points in 58 games.

After finishing the 2008-09 season with HC Trinec of the Czech Extraliga, Lusnak moved back to Slovakia and SK 36 Skalica of the Slovak Extraliga. This past season, Patrik played in 54 regular season games with Skalica, scoring 13 and adding 14 assists for 27 points. Skalica finished seventh in the eleven team Extraliga and bowed out in the first round of the playoffs.

Lusnak was loaned to SHK 37 Piestany of the Slovak 1.Liga (tier 2) for their playoff run. SHK 37 Piestany finished the regular season first in the 14 team league. Patrik played 17 playoff games for the team, contributing eight points as they marched their way to a championship.

Lusnak will return to HK 36 Skalica for the 2011-12 season. Could this be his breakout year in the league?

After over a three year absense, Ontario Hockey League grad Tomas Skvaridlo has been recalled to duty with HKM Zvolen of the Slovakian Extraliga. Tomas had started the season with HK Detva of the Extraliga 2.

Skvaridlo played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 1999-00 and 2000-01, both with the Kingston Frontenacs. In his second season, Tomas played for Team Slovakia at the 2001 Under-20 World Hockey Championships held in Moscow. Slovakia was held to just one win and Tomas contributed four points in seven games.

Before he came to the Ontario Hockey League, Skvaridlo was already drafted by an NHL club. Tomas was taken in the fifth round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 144th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He never played professional hockey in North America, instead choosing to immediately return to Slovakia after finishing with the Kingston Frontenacs.

Tomas played for his hometown Zvolen for four years from 2003-04 to 2006-07. He played with a few different teams in the Extraliga before heading to France for the 2009-10 season. He played for Gap in the Ligue Magnus, contributing 17 points in 23 games.

This season, Tomas returned to Slovakia but had to play the first half of the season in the tier 2 league. Zvolen is currently in sixth place in the eleven team league and gearing up for the playoffs.

Check out Tomas Skvaridlo’s profile page at the HKM Zvolen official website.

Ric Jackman playing for Björklöven of Sweden's Allsvenskan during 2004-05 season.

After a great start to the season with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL, Ontario Hockey League grad Ric Jackman has packed up his belongings and headed eight time zones to the east. After sixteen games with the Grizzlies, where he contributed fourteen points from the blueline, Jackman will be playing for HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovakian Extraliga. The team is the current home of former NHLer, Miroslav Satan.

Jackman played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1995-96 to 1997-98, all with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He was team’s leading goal scorer in his final season with 33, despite playing in just 60 games and playing defence. In his second season, he was an important part of Team Canada’s gold medal winning squad at the 1997 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships.

Ric was a first round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 1996 NHL draft, going fifth overall. Jackman put in 231 career games in the NHL with the Stars, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks. He won a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.

Interestingly, he was traded Pittsburgh to Florida during the 2005-06 season for another former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound, Petr Taticek. Taticek was also a first round pick in the NHL, going ninth to Florida in 2003, and is currently playing in Switzerland (read previous post on Petr Taticek here at OHL Alumni Central).

During the 2004-05 NHL lockout season, Jackman played for Björklöven of Sweden’s tier 2 Allsvenskan. Somewhat uncharacteristically, Ric led the league in penalty minutes with 209 in 46 games. Throughout his NHL career he averaged just 0.71 PIM per game. However, he was also third in scoring on the team as well.

For the past three seasons, Jackman has been playing Europe. 2007-08 was split between EC Salzburg of Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga and Leksand of the Allsvenskan. He played for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup that season and helped the team win gold over Slovakia’s HC Salavat Yulaev Ufa. He remained with Leksand for the 2008-09 season and played for Biel of Switzerland’s National League A last season.

Check out the article annoucing Ric’s arrival in Bratislava at the team’s official website (in Slovak).

Vojtech Kloz played just one season in the Ontario Hockey League. Kloz was a Kingston Frontenac in 2003-04. He played 62 games and was definitely a stay-at-home defenseman getting only three assists over the season.

Kloz returned to his native Czech Republic in 2004-05 and played pro in that country at various levels until midway through last season when he made the switch to the Slovak Extraliga and HK 36 Skalica. Vojtech played a total of 39 games at the highest level in the Czech Republic, the Extraliga.

For a reference, the IIHF ranks the Czech Extraliga third in Europe while the Slovak Extraliga is fifth.

Michael Kolarz played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2004-05 to 2006-07, all with the Kingston Frontenacs. Good enough to earn a spot on Team Czech Republic at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Hockey Tournament but not good enough to be drafted by an NHL club.

Kolarz played a partial season in the Central Hockey League after graduation from the Ontario Hockey League but has since mostly toiled in the Czech Extraliga 2. Last season was his first with MsHK Zilina of the Slovak Extraliga and he is back with the team for the 2010-11 season.

The Slovak Extraliga consists of 13 teams throughout the country of Slovakia. This past season, 2009-10, HK 36 Skalica finished sixth and MsHK Zilina finished tenth.

Check out Michael Kolarz’s profile page on the MsHK Zilina official website.

Check out Vojtech Kloz’s profile page on the HK 36 Skalica official website.

Check out this previous post about OHL alumni playing for HK 36 Skalica.